Here’s how an MBA can accelerate your career in tech

Did you know that out of the top five most attractive employers for business or MBA graduates, three are tech firms? This was according to a 2017 survey by Universum. In their findings, Google came out on top, while in third and fifth place were Apple and Amazon respectively.

This suggests MBA skills are highly prized beyond traditional MBA recruiters like consulting firms.

Recent surveys continue to show that the tech industry is important recruiters of MBA and business graduates. The MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance’s survey, for instance, found that the tech industry saw the largest increase, with 57% of schools seeing an uptick in applications — similar to 56% who reported an increase in 2019.

“Healthcare also saw an increase in 2020 (50%), which is 10% higher than in 2019,” it said.

The technology industry also showed the strongest increase for internship recruiting for full-time MBA students, with 55% of schools indicating an increase; conversely, 61% saw an increase in 2019.

These findings show that an MBA is becoming an increasingly versatile academic credential as more industries embrace the importance of this business qualification.

If you have a passion for both tech and business management, an MBA can help you merge these skills and enter a high-powered tech career in no time. Here’s how an MBA can help you get there:

Leadership skills

Companies within the tech sector and elsewhere value good leadership — and many are willing to pay a good amount of money for it. An MBA is known for instilling leadership skills among its students.

Throughout the programme, students will have opportunities to develop their problem-solving skills, learn to work with others, and undergo ongoing upskilling. These are traits that make MBA graduates equally attractive in the tech sector, making them ideal candidates for leadership roles in companies such as tech startups.

Entrepreneurial instincts

The entrepreneurial route isn’t for everyone, but an MBA can still serve as excellent preparation for those who want to embark on that journey. Strategic thinking and concept ideation are among the skills you may gain over the course of your studies, which are highly useful for entrepreneurs in general, including for those who want to be at the helm of tech startups.

Meanwhile, the process of pursuing an MBA comes with several opportunities for tech industry aspirants to identify a clear business idea; understand in-demand products and services; and comprehend the roadmap to securing funding.

“The MBA I personally pursued while launching my company taught me the hard skills I needed to apply to my startup and provided me a community for support,” says Samantha Henderson, and MBA graduate who is also the co-founder and president of RevCascade, a startup that automates all aspects of a retailer’s dropship programme.

Relevant work experience 

One of the key perks of acquiring an MBA is gaining work experience in the process via MBA internships. This is especially useful when joining competitive MBA programmes that offer students opportunities to intern at top organisations. 

Some business schools offer their students several opportunities to do consulting stints at large companies, in addition to providing career guidance services that heighten an applicant’s chances of securing both an internship during their studies, and a job offer after. 

Many MBA graduates use their newfound knowledge in product management, product marketing, and corporate marketing to serve as strategists, business developers, and corporate higher-ups in technology firms around the world.

MBA graduates speak data

Tech companies heavily rely on data. They have also redefined the way data is harvested and managed to help companies make decisions. 

An MBA does not only help aspirants build crucial data analytics skills, it also teaches students the art of applying it to business scenarios. Thanks to this knowledge, MBAs are often more than capable of making data-driven decisions.

Soft skills for days

MBA graduates use their technical management skills at the workplace, but they also use their communication and collaboration skills to tackle ambiguity and take informed risks — traits commonly picked up at b-school. 

As natural problem-solvers, they can also take different parts of a challenge and put them together cohesively as an integrator. What’s more, they use their inquisitiveness to ask questions and boldness to conduct experiments when they need solutions.