Looking At Career Options With A General or Specialized MBA

A common misconception is that all MBA students go into banking. But while a good number of business school grads do, in fact, head into jobs in either commercian or invesment banking, many others use their MBAs to get involved in managing businesses or projects in a vast array of other industries. More and more job listings specify an MBA as a requirement for getting hired, because managers in all kinds of departments (including technology, HR and other areas where an MBA was traditionally not needed) are required to do financial projections and reports that justify the value of everything they do. As a result, several kinds of specialized MBA’s have evolved to qualify people for more specialized career paths than you would expect with a basic master's degree in management.

This section provides an overview of some of the MBA degrees you may want to look at if you have a clear sense of what your specific job goal is. Included are reviews of what you'll study and the types of job prospects you can look to with a specialized MBA in health care management, an MBA in marketing, a masters in project management or in human resources. We've outlined some of the career and salary options you’ll find with each specialty MBA, as well as what you can still do with the tried and true standard MBA in management.

Virtually all graduate business degrees start with a group of “core” courses in topics like finance, marketing, economics, human resources, accounting and statistics. The latter part of your studies are likely to include much more concentrated courses in the area of specialty you have chosen, as well as a project outside of class that may involve writing a business plan, doing research on a particular financial concept or even working in a company. Just about all of these business degree programs are offered by online schools.

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