Hi, in order to earn an MBA from a graduate program, would one need an undergraduate degree in business first? Or can you major in something else (engineering, science etc) and go get an MBA from a college afterwards?
Thanks
You can major in anything. Most top MBA programs require a minimum of 2 years post bachelor’s work experience for admission.
Agree, any major is fine. I know people who attended top MBA programs who had a variety of backgrounds.
Yup. @happy1 is 100% correct. My class had doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, engineers (all types) , musicians, TV personalities, technologists, musicians, singers, gym owners , research chemists, fund managers, government people & non-profit people etc. etc. They try to make a diverse class.
Your undergraduate major per se does not matter. But your prior-to-MBA working experience has implications on your future MBA placement.
For example, suppose that you are a computer science major, work for a Tech startup, and get into an MBA. You are then more likely to have a placement such as a managerial position in a reputable tech firm than say be a private equity associate.
That is, some (not all) post-MBA employers do look into your prior work and internship experience. In general, more reputable the MBA is, the less relevant the prior work experience is.
Use Linkedin and you will see that almost all Harvard MBAs hired by Blackstone have similar prior-to-MBA work experience. Of course, your prior-to-MBA work experience will be somewhat affected by your undergraduate major.
MBA is for your track records or career move. Most if not all of the Top MBA schools (like Booth, Sloan, Wharton, Kellogg, etc) require you to have professional progressive experience. Being progressive means that if your entry level job is an analyst and after working three years, you are still doing the same analyst job and no promotion, you are not being progressive (not advancing thru the ranks) at all; no corporate career movement. Then it is kind of hard for the Top MBA schools to take you in. There are other MBA schools also will take you even you don’t have any professional experiences. Those kinds of schools, they are like business as long as you pay then you will get the degree. They don’t care about your career.
My son went to engineering school and graduated this past May. Immediately got a job in aerospace company (big company with 65,000 employees) as an engineer. I looked up the Top guy (CEO) of this company, he also has EE (electrical engineer) and MBA from top school. He went back to school getting MBA paid by the company after working as an engineer.
So, if you want to have MBA degree, you can major in anything but don’t just take MBA for the sake of getting a degree without a clear career movement because MBA is expensive. More importantly, It is nice if you don’t have to pay for MBA aka your company will pay for advance education. May the Force be with you.