The high fees for these master's degrees and the massive appearance of cheaper offers contrast with their prestige and exclusivity in the job market.
Opening professional doors, learning soft skills, assuming responsibilities as a business leader, are some of the attributes we evoke when talking about the possibility of studying a Master of Business Administration (MBA). As we saw in previous articles, these postgraduate programs often mark turning points in the careers of many professionals, regardless of the field of work.
However, of course, professional benefit is not the only factor in the equation. The high cost of these programs can often discourage people from taking them in the first place. This is a reality that we can see throughout Latin America.
For example, in Chile, tuition for an Advanced MBA from the Adolfo Ibáñez University costs 70 Unidades de Fomento (UF) or $2,631,538 (US$2,819). Meanwhile, a certificate in Global Management from the Global MBA offered by the University of Chile and the University of British Columbia (Canada) costs US$26,500. Colombia experiences a similar scenario with the cases of the Universidad de los Andes and Javeriana, which offer MBAs at $152 million (US$37,271) and $163.5 million (US$40,091) respectively.
These high fees and the increase in online educational offerings such as master's degrees and online courses raise doubts among thousands of professionals who are debating whether to choose the classic MBA or cheaper, but less sophisticated, options. "Approximately, an MBA costs 5% more than a specialized master's degree. When comparing it with online programs or certifications , the difference in cost is greater, since these can cost up to 50% less than a classic MBA," explained Sonia Camacho, academic vice dean of the Universidad Los Andes (Colombia) to AméricaEconomía .
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It is at this point that the factor of the skills imparted in MBAs comes into play as their main card, especially at a certain stage in a professional's career.
“As one gains experience, whether in a corporation or a startup, the skills or abilities that one has and must use become different. So, the most technical knowledge, in general, is more in demand at the beginning of one's career. And when one is in the middle of one's career, advancing into senior positions , basically the skills that are most in demand are: strategic thinking and leadership,” said Alejo Rodríguez, academic director of the MBA at the Universidad Torcuato di Tella (UTDT, Argentina) for AméricaEconomía .
If this logic is applied, an MBA is especially useful when a professional needs to design a company's international expansion strategy, study the way the competition thinks, or define whether a business should be in-person or online . For Rodríguez, one must start from the idea that as someone advances in their professional career, sooner or later they will be given the responsibility of leading teams.
In practice, this vision of the study programs is reflected in the profile of its students. UTDT offers an MBA program and an Executive MBA program: in the first, the average age is between 33 and 34 years old and in the second, it reaches 40 years old.
On the other hand, each professional should evaluate their current priorities. This is what Fernando Sánchez, an academic in Strategy and Innovation at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Chile, explains. “When you study an online course , you usually look for specific knowledge. In master's degrees, you often go into different topics or areas of a single major subject. On the other hand, when you take an MBA, you combine marketing finance strategies with leadership and decision-making skills,” Sánchez told AméricaEconomía .
However, the academic highlights that today, MBAs also adapt to new trends in tools and digital tools and therefore, their study plans now include topics such as sustainability, data analytics , innovation or new businesses.
“They don’t necessarily focus on teaching you how to start a business, but also on how to create new business units within a company. We are talking about a curriculum that combines the different areas of the company, such as management or strategic direction, but at the same time includes problems that a company faces today,” he adds.
The possibility of expanding networking is also a factor to consider. “The more prestigious the institution, the more valuable the degree will obviously be, but you also have to consider that your classmates will be your work colleagues. And in general , the best universities bring together the best candidates. So, I think that one should consider choosing an institution that attracts other interesting candidates, because that professional networking is very important,” says Alejo Rodríguez.
The professor uses two former students of the UTDT MBA as examples: on the one hand, Cristian Von Schulz Hausmann, a doctor by profession and today CEO of Merck Mexico; and on the other hand, Paula Altavilla, CEO of Schneider Electric and the first woman to preside over the Institute for Business Development (IDEA), one of the largest business organizations in Argentina.
INCOME AND OPPORTUNITIES
Regarding the salary prospects of graduates of these programs, Sonia Camacho points out that according to a survey carried out by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) among recruiters in American corporations, the median starting salary for a person who graduated from a specialized master's degree is between US$70,000 and US$80,000. In contrast, the salary of a person who graduated from an MBA is US$120,000 per year.
But this does not mean that recruiters only focus on this job profile. “Employers indicate that the classic MBA continues to be an added value for those who decide to study it and they recognize the prestige of well-established institutions. However, in the midst of a difficult economic situation, they are also willing to hire people without this training or with a more accessible one, but with the required work experience,” says Damián Rendón, executive director of the MBA program at Universidad Los Andes (Colombia).
Along the same lines, Camacho adds that “employers often value the balance between rigorous academic training, practical applicability and specific skills. Therefore, it is crucial for candidates to demonstrate how their training translates into tangible value for the role or industry in question.”
But again, in the long term, final decisions must be made based on the context of each professional. “It is not that there is a good or bad program, old or new: there is a program that meets specific needs. Therefore, if you are developing a career and you focus on one area, but you want to have a more strategic vision, an MBA can be an excellent alternative. On the other hand, if you are in an area and you only want to deepen one type of knowledge in marketing or finance, perhaps a master's degree is the best option,” explains Fernando Sánchez.
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