earning an MBA mistakes

Hobbyists have for years bought and enjoyed little field guides for spotting favorite birds, flowers, trees, stars, and even fungi. So far, though, nobody has produced an effective field guide to obtaining an MBA, and this is unfortunate.

Just as Cooper’s hawk is easily confused for the sharp-shinned hawk (pshaw, we know you’re not fooled!), an MBA can easily be confused for the MBA, the Michigan Beekeepers Association. To keep from getting stung, avoid these four common mistakes. 

Is the MBA Program Legit? 

Heartbreaking stories abound of people spending literally thousands of dollars enrolling in online MBA programs only to find out they are not accredited. Rarely will a brick-and-mortar school evade the radar of proper credentialing, but online schools can spring up, take students’ money, and disappear. 

To prevent today's message from being miserably bleak, for each mistake, we will suggest a remedy. For questionable diploma mills, one easy way to avoid the mistake that could kill your chance of earning a real MBA is to check for accreditation with your state’s Department of Education, or an independent agency, such as the U.S. Department of Education. 

The Reason for Getting an MBA: How is Your Eyesight? 

Without laser-like focus on the reason for pursuing an MBA, you could easily wind up adrift in the MBA, by which we mean the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which has a lovely Tentacles exhibit.  

Pursuing an online or in-person MBA is a grueling process, and nobody should sell you a Hollywood version that ignores that. You will face long hours, struggling to balance work and home, researching or collaborating endlessly with classmates you might not select as friends but with whom you must work, classmates who very well could become competition for the better job you hope to get from the MBA program. An MBA program takes a core of intensity that you need to tap into for sometimes two or three long years, if you spread the coursework out while holding down a full-time job. 

Keeping that laser-eye focus means foregoing some relaxation, some sleep, and some social time. Many students lose focus because, especially with online programs, nobody is watching over you, the calendar can be turned to face the wall, and the hard study required is fatiguing. 

To counter this steady drain toward neglect and abandonment of your MBA aspirations, give yourself finite goals. You can even crunch these down to the assignment, using a technique called Pomodoro. You study and work hard—really hard—for 25 minutes, then reward yourself with a five minute fun period. Repeat as needed. 

For the longer haul, provide yourself with visible reminders of why you are pursuing an MBA, and we do not mean the Montana Bankers Association, fine people though they may be. Put up pictures representing the incentives, whether they are material things (yachts, gold bullion, a vacation home) or spiritually important reminders (family members, a sense of personal accomplishment, your favorite tentacled sea creature). 

Order Up! Choose an MBA Based on Your Goals.

MBA programs have specializations. They are never one-size-fits-all, unlike the other MBA, methylene blue agar . . . that old, familiar heterocyclic medicine used in staining microscope slides. Anyway, MBAs can and should be specialized, based entirely on your goals for applying the knowledge. Here are just a few: 

  • Business Management
  • Information Technology Management
  • Healthcare Administration

Simply enrolling in an MBA without a clear plan for specialization is a sure mistake that will kill your chance of earning the degree. This, fortunately, is easily prevented by some planning and soul-searching. Research a school’s offerings and see how closely they match your dreams. Do not accept an MBA program that “sorta fits,” because it will only give you fits. 

Greenbacks. Plan for the Expense of an MBA.

Money is always an obstacle, no matter what your budget. As adults we simply learn to cope, but when pursuing the MBA, and here we do not mean the Middle Bronze Age (yes, of course you remembered correctly—that period 2200 to 1570 B.C.E. marked by proto-writing and burial ritual), you really have to get all your finances in order. As U.S. News & World Report recently reminded us, a small budgeting error can cost you a lot of money, or your MBA itself.

The magazine offers three tips: 

  • Plan early—Calculate tuition and expenses, explore financial aid, and start saving
  • Consider all the costs—Add in commuting or relocating costs for a brick-and-mortar program or better internet service for an online offering, and take into account more than books and tuition
  • Look at every option—Interview student loan companies, explore federal grants and aid and see if your employer can give you a low-interest loan or even sponsor your education

Make No Mistake: Our Online MBA Could Be a Great Fit!

Help yourself avoid mistakes in pursuing an MBA. Contact ECPI today to learn more about our Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) with three specializations. Delivered wholly online, ECPI University’s program is efficient, cost-effective, and minimally invasive (the same cannot be said of that other MBA, modular body armor). Call today—it could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

Learn more about ECPI's College of Business TODAY!

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