Lahore School of Economics

Mobashir Ahmad

After having obtained my MBA degree back in 1999 and roaming around for 'exiting opportunities' in half of the world, I think I am now aware of the value that an MBA degree offers to both students and employers, locally as well as abroad. Obviously, the MBA still holds strong appeal as a stepping-stone to a more lucrative and challenging career path. What is more, evolution of the MBA and its role in the job market is still doubt changing.

The multitude of MBA programs and the demands of a competitive, global economy have made the process of selecting the right business school and the right MBA graduate quite rigorous for both students and employers. Both are trying to anticipate long-term needs in preparation for the marketplace of the present times.

MBA candidates, looking forward to their careers or perhaps to the exciting prospect of entrepreneurship, cannot afford to presume that every MBA program will meet the educational requirements specific to an industry or profession. In today's job market and that of the near future, just as no one would consider applying even for a secretarial job without having both well-honed computer and administrative skills, the MBA graduate will be expected to deliver both technical and non-technical skills in every business and industrial sector; national as well multinational. As in other areas of graduate study and related employment, the focus is, and will continue to be, on specialized expertise in business management.

By my own experience, I can tell that the employers at most major companies are aware of the makeup of the leading business school programs. The perceived value of the MBA degree has already changed considerably in the student community and within the concerns that hire MBA graduates. Today's graduates are under scrutiny to improve the standing of the degree in the corporate world.

How does this job market realignment affect the MBA holder's chances for a lucrative career in finance or marketing? The answer is often times more in the attitude of the prospect than in the present and future states of the job market. These behavioral issues resound throughout not only the financial sector but also the finance departments of major corporations.

Because management and finance are functions common to every conceivable type of business or industry, it is difficult to make predictions about job growth for MBA's in local job market. However, although it may sound simplistic, it is still true that career opportunities will most likely continue to exist for talented MBA's in nearly all areas of the marketplace into the future -- tremendous variety of positions still attract MBA's to accounting, management consulting, consumer products companies in functions including marketing, finance and operations. Even many nonprofit organizations are recruiting MBA's to help them redefine and reshape their organizations both economically and socially.