It is increasingly rare to find people spending their entire careers at only one job. Instead, “job hopping” is the new normal, especially among millennials. This trend raises several questions, including how to prepare for these career moves.
Perhaps one of the best ways to prepare yourself for a career change is to earn an online Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. Whether you are looking to simply switch roles in your industry or change professions altogether, the coursework involved in an MBA program offers the skills you will need.
Switching Roles
Perhaps you have grown tired in your current role or you feel professionally unfulfilled. Changing jobs can help you get some new perspective on the arc of your career. Figuring out your next transition and how to get there means taking advantage of your particular experience. Research other jobs in your industry that require your background and determine how additional development through specific MBA courses can diversify your skill set.
For example, a nurse may want to become a hospital administrator. While this RN understands the best practices for treating patients, he or she may need to develop leadership and business skills before transitioning into an administrative role. By using the skills they learn in an MBA program, as they learn them — like how to implement policy changes or how to research, collect and process data — in conjunction with his or her background in nursing best practices, this nurse-turned-administrator can transition successfully from one career to another.
Switching Industries
Alternatively, perhaps you have grown tired of your industry altogether. In this case, you may be starting completely from scratch and will have a lot to learn about your new industry. An online MBA program can help you learn what you need to know about unfamiliar industries, as well as what they have in common with industries you do know about. For example, MBA coursework can help you understand the processes, protocols and laws of a specific industry. By learning to think outside the box while still meeting regulations, you can become an innovative, solution-oriented professional in your new industry.
An Online MBA Program to Change Careers
Many people feel stuck in their careers, but they do not have the time or energy to attend a class every night after work, and they likely do not have the money saved to quit their jobs and pursue a new degree. An online MBA program can be the solution. Students access lectures and other material from the comfort of their own homes via computers or mobile devices — and they can do so on their own time. After graduation, MBAs have a better understanding of the larger market economy, and they make more attractive candidates to potential employers.
Learn more about the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi online MBA in Finance program.
Sources:
The Muse: Want to Switch Careers? How an MBA Opens Doors
Washington Post: What Can An MBA Do for Your Career?
Street Directory: How to Choose MBA for Midlife Career Change
