5 Reasons a Managerial Degree Can Boost Your Career

JohnWikk

How can a business degree help my career?

Many people dream of moving out of their current dead-end jobs or having the chance to advance to a better position. However, they may not be exactly sure how to go about creating more and better opportunities for themselves. Some are beginning to discover that earning a degree in business and/or management can be just the right start in creating better opportunities when moving into a professional career track. Those who have not yet discovered the benefits of a business management degree can begin by considering five reasons employers find employees who hold managerial degrees valuable.

Getting on a Different Career Track

Even if one has started a career in the mailroom or as an administrative assistant, a managerial degree can be the key to starting a career track on the professional end of business rather than the administrative. Employers find that those who hold management degrees can take these skills into the professional realm and provide valuable services to the company. Furthermore, advancement does not have to be in the current field. An MBA can help those who want to get into a different industry altogether because most degrees are flexible enough to be adaptable to more than one industry.

Dedication

Many employers may also like employees who have taken the time to acquire the extra training and skills it takes to earn a managerial degree. This is especially true for current employees who are simultaneously holding a job and working toward a degree. This shows an employer who is most driven and who wants to take advantage of the opportunities available at higher management positions. Furthermore, these programs can take a fair amount of time depending upon how much time students have to dedicate to them, which can vary if they are full-time or part-time students and whether they have other obligations.

Networking and Connections

Seeking a business and/or management degree also has benefits such as putting students in contact with valuable industry connections. Many instructors and professors actually have real-world experience that they use not only to teach but also to put students in contact with others within the business world. This can help whether one is seeking an entry-level position or a job higher up the ladder. Not only is there access to professors, but there are also other ways to make connections such as job fairs, where employers seek current students who may not yet be ready for a position but have potential.

Employer Investment

There are even some employers who will pay for employees to go back to school to earn a business degree. This is one of the surest ways to boost a career because employers are looking to make a return on an investment when they pay an employee to earn a degree. In other words, career advancement is expected when an employer pays the expenses for courses and other materials needed in a degree program. Furthermore, employers who pay for employees to go back to school are also hoping to retain a good employee, so there is the promise of job security.

Flexibility in Skills

Another quality employers like in employees with managerial degrees is that they are very flexible in a variety of fields. Some business students may specialize within some areas like international business, but there are also many who acquire the general skills that an MBA offers. These students can adapt the skills to many different fields including technology or nursing. These are the types of employees that can help a company become more efficient and grow in the future.

**traumaRUs, MSN, APRN** · Jun 2, 2017

In my area the combo degree of MSN/MBA is a hot ticket....so even though management per se isn't nursing, how to manage people, budgets and the "suits" in our organizations is valuable

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 3, 2017

I have found that only having an MBA has not hurt me so far. In fact, I was gong to go back an earn an MSN, but there is no financial or career incentive at this point for me to do so.

jrt4 · Jun 13, 2017

MBARNBSN said:
I have found that only having an MBA has not hurt me so far. In fact, I was gong to go back an earn an MSN, but there is no financial or career incentive at this point for me to do so.

Magnet organizations require a certain percentage of their management team to have a masters in nursing. I don't think an MBA counts in that percentage but I could be wrong. I agree though an MBA only shouldn't prevent any career advancement opportunities.

klone, MSN, RN · Jun 14, 2017

jrt4 said:
Magnet organizations require a certain percentage of their management team to have a masters in nursing. I don't think an MBA counts in that percentage but I could be wrong. I agree though an MBA only shouldn't prevent any career advancement opportunities.

Magnet does not require a percentage of management to have an MSN. They require frontline managers to have at least a BSN, and director-level and CNO should have an MSN.

AJJKRN · Aug 16, 2017

klone said:
Magnet does not require a percentage of management to have an MSN. They require frontline managers to have at least a BSN, and director-level and CNO should have an MSN.

This is not the Kool-aid that my company is handing out. We have been told that for our recertifications that all managers must have an MSN and a few managers have left their positions (basically pushed out) because they were close to retirement and didn't want to go back to school. Some had been nurse managers for almost 20 years.

I'm guessing Magnet is open for interpretation? We are also being told that we have to increase our bedside RN education by certain percentages each recertification to meet Magnet standards.

In my personal experience, Magnet seems to just be a very pricey brand name that has not helped with our retention but instead attracts talent for us to train and then later leave for bigger cities, etc.

It is a good place to work but it was a good place to work way before the hoops and cost of Magnet came into play. I liken Magnet to costly distractions like Studer Group...

klone, MSN, RN · Aug 16, 2017

From ANCC's powerpoint on Magnet:

Eligibility Requirements

One Individual Serving as CNO
CNO

(1) Master's degree

(2) Nursing degree at baccalaureate level or higher

Effective January 1, 2011, 75% of nurse managers must have at least a baccalaureate degree in nursing

klone, MSN, RN · Aug 16, 2017

More info about Magnet (and in spite of what many people and/or hospitals believe, Magnet has NO requirement for BSN for staff nurses, ONLY nurse managers).

Credentialing Requirements for Magnet Status Hospitals

Nurse leaders, whose rank is between manager and chief nursing officer (CNO), must have at least bachelor's degrees in nursing as of 2013.

â€¢Nurse managers must also be registered nurses. This person will have 24/7 accountability for the registered nurses at the hospital. He or she will also handle performance reviews, recruiting, and other typical managerial duties related to the nursing department. Starting in 2013, all nurse managers must have a nursing degree at the bachelor's level or higher. Until then, only seventy-five percent of the nurse management staff needs degrees.

â€¢The CNO must be a participant of the hospital's governing body as well as the body responsible for strategic planning.

â€¢The CNO must have at least a master's degree. If this degree is not in nursing, the officer must have either a bachelor's or a doctorate that is in nursing.