“Was it worth it?” Four little words that drive straight to the heart of the matter. All things considered, do MBAs believe the multi-faceted investment of a graduate management degree garnered a favorable return on that investment?
One thing is certain: if GMAC posed the question to individuals in an open format where answers could be provided as a story rather than check marks on a matrix, the stories would vary greatly and the takeaways from each of those stories would be much richer for the inquisitor and the audience. However, such narrative data could not be aggregated so GMAC has done all it can do.
In an attempt to quantify responses on the value of an MBA in meaningful ways, GMAC defined a measure of value in terms of return on investment across three trajectories—financial, professional, and personal—and issued questions within each as well as the over-arching inquiry: How do you rate the value of your education?
Interestingly, the report looks at responses to the more granular questions about value in order to understand the key drivers to the broad-spectrum query of overall perception of value. As a base example, employment status impacts response rates across the value Likert scale (Outstanding, Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor). As might be expected, highly favorable perceptions of value are much lower among the unemployed than the employed. Still, it is interesting to note that of the unemployed respondents, 80% rated the value of their education highly. While that is sixteen points lower than their employed counterparts who responded with the same level of satisfaction, eighty percent could be interpreted as high, or, at least, higher than might be expected in light of the situation of not having a job.
A reasonable argument can be made that a key driver of the decision to invest in, pursue, and procure an MBA degree is borne from some element of dissatisfaction with one’s current job. Perhaps it is the job itself. Perhaps, despite satisfaction with a current job, it is dissatisfaction with the limited potential offered by the career path. Perhaps it is both and then some.
Nonetheless, looking at perceptions of the value of an MBA degree through the lens of the degree of satisfaction regarding a post-degree position must be done. If we bifurcate job satisfaction ratings as very satisfied/satisfied in one group and neither satisfied nor dissatisfied/dissatisfied/very dissatisfied in another group, we can track nearly reciprocating paths across the value rating. Those who are very satisfied/satisfied with their current jobs comprise a smaller and smaller percentage of the whole as we move down the value scale. Between good and fair, the tide shifts: 66% of respondents who are indifferent to or not satisfied with their current position rank the value of their education as fair. By the time we hit poor, 71% are in jobs they do not like.
Of course, the good news is that if someone enters graduate school in search of a management degree because of the desire to move, boost, or otherwise amplify a professional career, odds are that individual will determine the investment was well worth it. Regardless of program type, gender, or world region, 95% of respondents rated the value of their education as good, excellent, or outstanding.
