Many business professionals would agree that having an MBA on your resume is always better than not having one. But even more importantly, the need to have an MBA to compete and thrive in New Hampshire’s 21st century economy has never been greater. To gain more insight into why obtaining this higher degree of business learning is so critical, we spoke to Tuck Pescosolido, faculty director, online and part-time MBA programs association professor of organizational behavior and management at the University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business & Economics.
Q: Why is pursuing an MBA even more important as New Hampshire continues to develop its 21st century economy?
A: There are three big reasons why an MBA continues to be important, even with the changes we have seen in the economy over the past several years.
First is that an MBA is the best way for most people to get a systematic, broad-based, advanced education in business. You can go out on your own and find a hodge-podge of resources to pull from online, but you won’t know what critical things you simply aren’t looking for because perhaps you have never been exposed to them. So, the “core curriculum” of an MBA degree provides that thorough, overall exposure.
Second is that an MBA continues to be valuable. Aside from those overall core compe tencies, an MBA helps you develop your own specialty by practicing advanced tools and techniques. You choose the courses you want to specialize in, but then you get feedback in those areas by working with your professors and with other advanced students. You also get the opportunity to network with these student colleagues to help you with continuous learning and development after your MBA program is over. All this content expertise makes you more valuable to your organization.
Finally, of course, is the expected financial benefit. A 2021 study conducted by PayScale found that students who graduate from a top 50 MBA program can expect to earn more than $2.5 million more over their career than if they had completed only a bachelor’s degree.
Q: How does an MBA expand your competencies and confidence to stand out in the workplace?
A: Besides the benefit you get from simply receiving the training, a critical benefit of the MBA is that you become immersed in learning. When we look at the most innovative organizations, we see that one thing they have in common is that they realize that if you want to have innovation, you need to allow people to make mistakes and learn from them. Learning from mistakes and experience is a key part of being a student, being in an environment where it is explicitly okay to make a mistake, to not know the answer right away. This expe rience then gives you more confidence to try new things in your work environment, to say, “I don’t know the answer right now, but I can find out.”
Q: Can training/professional development credits or work experience be used toward an MBA program?
A: This will depend largely on the MBA degree you are in and the type of training or experience you are applying to. Each program will have its own rules. For the Paul College MBA program, our general policy is that you can waive a required course based upon coursework, work experience or a combination of both.
Q: Why pursue an MBA from UNH/Paul College of Business & Economics?
A: There are several reasons that make UNH Paul an excellent choice for you for your MBA. First of these is that we are accredited by the AACSB. This organization provides accreditation to roughly the top 5 percent of business schools worldwide. The Paul College MBA has also been recognized by organizations such as U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review as being a top program, with our online MBA being ranked No. 56 in the United States by U.S. News last year.
Another key advantage of the UNH Paul MBA is our flexible course delivery. You can take courses at our main campus in Durham, at the UNH campus in Manchester, fully online, or a hybrid of online and face to face. You can take individual courses in different formats based upon what works best for you.
Finally, I would say the biggest advantage of the Paul College MBA is our faculty. Our faculty is ranked among the top in North America based on scholarly research, and they bring a combination of cutting-edge knowledge and real-world experience into their courses to give you a competitive edge.
Q: What are some of the most prudent ways to pursue an MBA while you are working your full-time job?
A: I think a critical thing for MBA students to keep in mind is a good MBA program will take time. Some students may be able to take multiple courses per term, but most students who are working full time will probably want to limit themselves to one course per term. However, you should also consider online vs. face-to-face classes, which provides you with the best combination of learning and flexibility. I also talk to students about how to apply the things we are working on in class directly to their work environment, so that they are starting to reap the rewards of their MBA education from week one. This can be informal application, based on opportunities that simply present themselves, or it can be more formal such as working one on one with a faculty member on a student-designed independent study.
