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Masters plan

Study online and get ahead in business

Words by Laura Latham

THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN IS GIVING ONCE-PROSPEROUS NATIONS A DIFFERENT INCREASE: THAT OF UNEMPLOYMENT. Conversely, business schools across the world are thriving, thanks to a surge of interest from students hoping to improve their qualifications while they wait out the recession.

The Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), which monitors MBA applications, reported a record increase in people taking the GMAT admissions test in 2008 and a further jump is predicted in 2009. In addition, London Business School has seen a 50 percent rise in applications this year, with most schools from the US to Singapore reporting rises of at least 20 to 40 percent.

Rachel Killen, of Warwick Business School, says many professionals are hoping an MBA course will help them escape a stagnant job market. “As well as full and part-time MBAs, we’ve seen an increase in self-funded distance learning because that’s the cheaper option,” she explains, “and less employers are able to finance MBAs.”

Killen claims the troubles in the global finance industry have reduced the career choices MBA graduates have come to expect. “Students have to be more flexible and look at options they may not have previously considered, such as the public sector or not-for-profit organisations.”

Professor Murray Dalziel of Liverpool University agrees people are turning to education as a means of getting a better chance in the current job market. Liverpool’s MBA programme has had a 30 percent increase in applications, with many opting for the school’s well-regarded online masters degree.

“Our online MBA is attracting a broad spread of international students,” says Dalziel. He says that online courses are popular because they don’t require students to relocate or give up jobs and are more flexible than full-time courses.

Business graduates may also have an advantage during the economic crisis as most MBAs include projects and placements with companies that may help students gain a foothold in suitable corporations. Many schools also have dedicated careers services with international connections and strong alumni networks.

But it’s not just getting a decent job that counts these days – it’s the potential career progression. Dalziel declares: “The real test of an MBA is not what a student does immediately after graduation but three to four years later.”

Case studies

THE HIGH-FLYING HOTELIER

James Phillips, 36, is Regional Director of Global Sales Europe for international resort brand Kempinski Hotels and is convinced his MBA helped land him the role. Phillips began his self-funded, two-year Executive MBA at London’s Cass Business School in 2006, while working as a sales director for Starwood Hotels, and graduated in 2008, just as the recession was getting into its stride.

However, part way through the course he secured a new job at Kempinski. “Within months of joining the company I was promoted into a more senior position,” he explains, “I was lucky enough to have a boss who realised I hadn’t spent £30,000 on an MBA just to stand still.”

Phillips, who oversees employees in seven countries and covers sales across 64 hotels, says Kempinski Hotels values managers with MBAs. “There’s no doubt my qualification contributed to my promotion,” he says, “Kempinski regards personal development and the company’s development as being very much linked.”

In a tough job market, Phillips believes that an MBA could be the best course of action for someone who is finding their career ambitions frustrated. “It’s a definite starting point for anyone wanting to move into an executive-level job, so now might be a good time to step out of the workplace for 18 months.”

As someone who works for a multinational brand, Phillips also suggests students should open themselves up to wider job markets. “The economic situation in Europe and America might be bad but other locations offer opportunities. The Middle East, for example, is still a centre of economic creativity.”

As to whether his qualification was worth the time, effort and cost, Phillips has no doubts. “It was important the MBA gave me a good return on investment and, as far as I’m concerned, it achieved that.”

Cass Business School, London, +44 (0) 20 7040 8600, www.cass.city.ac.uk

THE NET EARNER

Oliver Kroener, 35, from Neuhausen in Germany, elected to do an MBA via distance learning because he was unable to take time out from his job as a freelance IT specialist. He chose Liverpool’s Laureate Online degree not only because the course suited his needs but because, he says, the university has an excellent international reputation.

“Online study was really the only way I could have done my MBA,” says Kroener, “I wasn’t able to take one or two years out of my job and so it was the only chance I had to do it at that time in my life.”

Though Kroener was already a successful IT contractor, he decided to broaden his skills because he planned to eventually start up his own company.

“I wanted to do something that would enhance my career prospects and so decided to explore subjects such as management and marketing in more depth.”

Though not classroom based, Kroener says he had a lot of contact with students in other countries via the phone and online. He also managed to meet up with some of his classmates while on business trips. And, though he says studying at home required a lot of discipline, he enjoyed being able to work to a timetable that suited him.

www.uol.ohecampus.com

THE DAMASCENE CONVERT

Though already in a successful career in human resources, Rudayn Issa decided he needed an MBA to improve his prospects.

So the 30-year-old from Damascus, Syria, applied for a place on the full-time masters at Nottingham University. “I wanted to study at a school in the UK because they have the best reputation in the world,” he says.

Issa graduated this summer and returned to Syria, where he has taken up one of several job offers he was made while still a student. He will be working within the HR department of Siemens and, though he is going back into the same line of work, he’ll be entering the company at a much higher level with, he says, better prospects, salary and benefits.

“I didn’t really need to do the MBA as I already had a good job and several companies, including Siemens, had already contacted me about joining them before I went to Nottingham,” he says, “but I wanted to grow more as a person and expand my knowledge. I was an expert in HR practices but I didn’t really know anything about other elements of business, such as marketing, finance or management.”

Issa hopes to work overseas in the future but for now is content to be back home, where he says the economy doesn’t appear to have suffered as much as other countries.

“I have expectations that Syria will continue to grow and I certainly plan to work here for a few years. Then, who knows, I may aim to move back to the UK.”

The one thing he is sure of is the benefits of doing an MBA. “It was difficult to make the decision to give up a good job and move to the UK to study but, considering the role I now have, the results have already outweighed the sacrifices I made.”

Nottingham University Business School, +44 (0)115 84 66602, www.nottingham.ac.uk/business