MBA programs focus on running a business. Some offer specializations, such as accounting or Internet commerce, but most have the general aim of enhancing management skills. MBA programs teach graduates just enough about statistics, accounting, and finance to understand most businesses and they use the case study method to teach business skills that may be utilized in many different situations. An MBA is generally a two-year commitment. In 2007, MBA graduates could demand up to $92,000 in base salary.
MBAs are for business professionals or career changers who are looking to position themselves for a better job, such as a middle manager who is looking to become vice president or CEO someday or a schoolteacher looking to break into the business world. MBA programs stress getting a summer internship or a consulting project during the year with an organization in order to make professional connections.
Some professionals may prefer or be more suited to the more specialized, research-intensive and more academic programs offered through M.S. programs. M.S. programs in business-related fields come in many specialties including: Finance, Statistics, Actuarial Science, Taxation, Risk Management, Organizational Behavior, and Economics. Master's degrees are one-year to three-year programs. They can be done part-time if the student has work or family obligations. They also offer the option of conducting research in a specific field of interest.
Students who work in the specific field or know the field they want to specialize in should get a master's degree in that field. Students who want to become economists obviously should get a Master of Science in Economics. However, many students with Master's in Economics may follow the same professional route as someone with an MBA (i.e. to become a CEO); they will just have a more specialized knowledge base to draw from. Between 15 and 25 percent of students who get their Master's in Economics go on to get their PhD in Economics.
According to Marv Dumon from Investopedia: A Forbes Digital Company, "If you want to become a generalist manager CEO or division president, an MBA may be the right tool for you. However, if you enjoy being a subject matter expert such as an economist, an estate planner, a tax accountant, a statistician, a risk management consultant or an actuary, you may want to consider an advanced degree in your field"
Fiona Sandford, the Director of Career Services at The London School of Economics, says "the traditional MBA course exposes you to a wide range of management disciplines, and gives you a way of thinking about management and a career in that area. An M.S. in Finance or an M.S. in Economics gives you a very rigorous academic approach to finance disciplines or to economics."