Growing up, the go-to option for career development was the MBA. But nowadays, with the price tag, debt, and lost wages, it's lost its value. According to Forbes, "It's becoming more and more clear that an MBA degree is not just a questionable investment—it's a risk that's simply not worth it."

In the 1990s and into the early 2000s, a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) was the default approach to help you enhance your career opportunities or lead to a job promotion. An MBA used to be the access to the knowledge necessary to start a new business, and some employers still require an MBA for particular management or leadership positions; however, that landscape has been fast eroding with today's employment market and emerging career strategies.

An MBA from a top business school can cost $100,000-$200,000. Figure in boarding and book expenses, location fees, and other peripheral outlay; you mostly build substantial expenses, crippling debt, and a substantial time out of the workforce. The price doesn't justify the return.

Forbes reports, "The value of college and especially business school has been diminishing for a while. (Just ask Elon Musk, Sheryl Sandberg, or Mark Cuban for their opinion of the MBA or take a look at the declining application rates, even at the top schools.) The model of taking students out of the workforce to study decades-old cases was designed for a different era, when technology didn't shift entire industries at such a breakneck speed.

Covid-19 has shone a glaring spotlight on just how archaic this type of education is. Almost overnight, business plans have been torn up, the rules we've played by scrapped. Executives can't lean on the tactics they learned from outdated case studies—all of us are learning about our new world in real time."

Ambitious professionals understand the constant industry disruption we've all experienced—now accelerated by the pandemic—means we must continually learn about the latest trends, broaden our networks, and keep up with the ever-changing skills required for success. Increasingly, we're asking, How do I get the skills and insights I need for work now?

Advanced skills have never been more critical to long-term career success. Nowadays, the only jobs that are genuinely future-proof are those that can't easily be automated or outsourced. Entrepreneurs, executives, and employees essential ingredients require high interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and experience.

Excelling in academics used to serve as a solid foundation, but business school is geared toward something other than real-world professional outcomes. Many schools value relevant work experience in their application process because they can't offer it in their classroom. We need advanced business strategies to improve market influence and transact business faster.

LinkedIn's 2022 Global Trends Report reveals that "upskilling and opportunities to grow at their current company are two of the top priorities for today's workers, coming in only behind compensation, work-life balance, and flexibility. This is partly due to the pandemic and also the result of shifting job requirements and an uncertain job market, all of which have left people feeling unprepared for their next career move and desperately in need of more support."

LinkedIn reports, "A more recent study from 3 years ago indicates that 93% of employers want you to have the soft skills necessary to thrive." These skills include communication, organization, teamwork, critical thinking, and more. We need education, coaching, and consulting alongside our emerging startups, changing strategies, and altering realities. We need access to trusted communities of savvy professionals who can help us achieve our aims faster.

Instead of graduating deeper in debt, today's career strategies need to help achieve real replicable results, which include higher earnings, better health, and overall work/life balance. Think accurately about how to develop the business skills that speed up, level up, and scale up your career goals and corporate objectives.

AUTHOR

John Patterson
Co-founder and CEO
INFLUENTIAL U
John Patterson co-founded and manages the faculty and consultants of Influential U global. Since 1987, he has led workshops, programs, and conferences for over 100k people in diverse professions, industries, and cultures. His history includes corporate curriculum design focusing on business ecosystems, influence, leadership, and high-performance training and development.