{"id":2733,"date":"2021-06-01T14:33:22","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T14:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/?post_type=advice&p=2733"},"modified":"2021-06-01T14:33:22","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T14:33:22","slug":"should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program","status":"publish","type":"advice","link":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I Consider an MBA or a Certificate Program?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your success in the business world depends on your ability to meet the ever changing needs of the industry. No matter where you are in your career, advancing your education is always a great way to make sure you keep up. For years, a Master of Business Administration, or MBA was the gold standard of higher education in the business world. But now, graduate level certificate programs are gaining popularity and it\u2019s no secret as to why! These programs are fast, effective, and best of all, affordable. If you are looking to advance your education, you might be wondering if an MBA or certificate program is right for you. The answer depends on a few things, but it\u2019s important to remember that these programs are not necessarily interchangeable. An MBA is a broader education, whereas a certificate program focuses on a specific skill or industry sector. Here 7 considerations to help you decide between an MBA or a certificate program:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Goal<\/span><\/h3>\n

The most important consideration is what you hope to achieve with either an MBA or a certificate. Take stock of where you are in your career and where you hope to go. MBA programs are still the industry\u2019s top credential, so if you are a young professional with your sights set on a CEO position, then an MBA will help you get there. If you are an experienced professional, then a certificate is a great opportunity to bolster an already impressive resume.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Time<\/span><\/h3>\n

MBA programs can take up to 2 years to complete, while a certificate program can be completed in a few months or less. The difference in time is substantial, and you might be tempted to opt for a quicker certificate program. But it\u2019s important to prioritize the program that will help you achieve your goals even if it means taking some extra time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Cost<\/span><\/h3>\n

Certificate programs, by institution, can be expensive. Is a degree worth more?If you\u2019re just looking to add one or two certificates to your toolbox, then the cost is certainly worth it. However, if you want Marketing, Business Analytics, Finance, Management, etc then you should consider an MBA program, which will cover all this and more!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Specialization<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re looking to hone in on a particular skill set (i.e. AI\/Blockchain), it\u2019s worth a certificate. If you\u2019re looking to learn finance, a degree may be more appropriate. MBA programs are designed to cover the important parts of business administration, which makes it ideal for students who want a broader education. If you\u2019re looking to increase your knowledge or expand your skill set in a specific area, then a certificate may be better for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Value<\/span><\/h3>\n

Return on Investment is a term that most business students are well acquainted with. Higher education is a significant investment and you want to be sure that it\u2019s going to pay off. Rest assured that business degrees have some of the highest <\/span>returns on investment<\/span><\/a> of any master\u2019s degree. Certificates offer key learning components without the time commitment of a degree program, but do not necessarily have the same value of an MBA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Networking<\/span><\/h3>\n

Both often offer access to talented classmates \u2013but certificate courses generally tend to be full of executive professionals who might already have an MBA. However, MBA programs often incorporate collaborative projects into the curriculum and coordinate on-campus networking events. So, if networking is important to you, then an MBA program with built in networking opportunities is a great option.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Company Reimbursement<\/span><\/h3>\n

Companies may reimburse for each but check to see. If they don\u2019t consider pitching the idea to them. Your value as an employee only increases as you advance your education, so it\u2019s in their best interests to support your education. Not sure how to ask? Here are <\/span>8 strategies<\/span><\/a> to help you persuade your boss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ultimately, the choice is up to you. But we lean towards MBA degrees for those looking for a holistic, general approach\u2014and certifications for those looking to hone specific skill sets. One is not inherently better than the other since they serve different purposes. It\u2019s up to you to decide which program will serve your needs and help you accomplish your goals. Whatever you decide, Abound: MBA is here to help. We get you in touch with schools that we can confirm are <\/span>Accessible, Affordable, Accelerated, and Advanced.<\/span><\/a> Take a look at the <\/span>schools <\/span><\/a>we trust and find the program that works for you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is a degree or non-degree granting program right for you? Consider the benefits of each and make the right decision for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2734,"template":"","class_list":["post-2733","advice","type-advice","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","abound_advice_topics-finding-the-right-program","abound_advice_topics-student-success","abound_advice_topics-flexible-scheduling","abound_advice_topics-career-outlook"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShould I Consider an MBA or a Certificate Program? - Abound: MBA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is a degree or non-degree granting program right for you? Consider the benefits of each and make the right decision for you.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Should I Consider an MBA or a Certificate Program?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is a degree or non-degree granting program right for you? Consider the benefits of each and make the right decision for you.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Abound: MBA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/MBa-vs-cert-.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"950\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"578\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/advice\\\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/advice\\\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\\\/\",\"name\":\"Should I Consider an MBA or a Certificate Program? - Abound: MBA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/advice\\\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/advice\\\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/MBa-vs-cert-.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-01T14:33:22+00:00\",\"description\":\"Is a degree or non-degree granting program right for you? Consider the benefits of each and make the right decision for you.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/advice\\\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/advice\\\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/advice\\\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/MBa-vs-cert-.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/MBa-vs-cert-.jpeg\",\"width\":950,\"height\":578,\"caption\":\"MBA vs. certificate program\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/advice\\\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Should I Consider an MBA or a Certificate Program?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/\",\"name\":\"Abound: MBA\",\"description\":\"Top MBA Programs\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/mba\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Should I Consider an MBA or a Certificate Program? - Abound: MBA","description":"Is a degree or non-degree granting program right for you? Consider the benefits of each and make the right decision for you.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Should I Consider an MBA or a Certificate Program?","og_description":"Is a degree or non-degree granting program right for you? Consider the benefits of each and make the right decision for you.","og_url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/","og_site_name":"Abound: MBA","og_image":[{"width":950,"height":578,"url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/MBa-vs-cert-.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/","name":"Should I Consider an MBA or a Certificate Program? - Abound: MBA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/MBa-vs-cert-.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-06-01T14:33:22+00:00","description":"Is a degree or non-degree granting program right for you? Consider the benefits of each and make the right decision for you.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/MBa-vs-cert-.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/MBa-vs-cert-.jpeg","width":950,"height":578,"caption":"MBA vs. certificate program"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/advice\/should-i-consider-an-mba-or-a-certificate-program\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Should I Consider an MBA or a Certificate Program?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/#website","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/","name":"Abound: MBA","description":"Top MBA Programs","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advice\/2733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advice"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/advice"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}