How to pick the best MBA program
for career success

Have you considered enrolling in a Master of Business Administration (MBA) to advance your career? 

When weighing up your options, you may be wondering if you'll see a return on your investment and how exactly the MBA will help you achieve your professional goals.

No matter your career goal, the right MBA can provide you with the skills, knowledge and confidence to successfully move forward and progress your career.

Here are 3 questions to consider to find the best MBA program for your career:

 

1. Will my MBA give me the knowledge and skills I need to succeed against uncertainty?

Studying an MBA is about more than the knowledge you’ll gain. A quality MBA will equip you with the capabilities, confidence and networks required to solve problems. It will also prepare you to embrace disruption and overcome obstacles in a dynamic business landscape.

Jessie Sadler, Founder and Director of inclusive fashion line Christina Stephens and MBA alum from The University of Queensland (UQ), says:

MBA alumnus Jessie Sadler at Brisbane Fashion Month
UQ MBA alum Jessie Sadler at Brisbane
Fashion Month 

“The MBA gives you contacts and confidence. It gives you a great framework and the means to help your ideas come to fruition. Even if you don’t know the answer to a problem yourself, you learn how to find the right people and get the right answers.”

If you choose to study your MBA at UQ, you’ll learn from some of the most awarded academics. But you’ll also gain practical experience and resources to achieve your career goals through extra-curricular opportunities.

These include:

  • working on community projects
  • expanding your personal and professional networks 
  • attending events with alumni and industry 
  • joining student clubs during your studies.

Kate Green, Chief Information Officer of Happy Paws Happy Hearts Foundation and UQ MBA alum, says: 

“The UQ MBA facilitates so many opportunities to network and get to know a diverse group of people. I gained as much value from the people I studied with, the ongoing relationship with lecturers and the alumni network, as I did from learning the course materials.”

 

2. What career support is available to help me succeed?

The UQ MBA Careers and Professional Development team will work with you to position you for career success in a competitive global market, both during your studies and after you graduate.

One of the key advantages of being a UQ MBA alum is continued access to personalised career coaching and advice, even after you finish the program. The UQ MBA team is as committed to your career success as you are, proudly evidenced by our graduate results. UQ MBA graduates on average earn $60K more than peers who graduate from other Australian MBA programs and 100% of graduates surveyed in 2020, who were seeking a new role, found a position in 3 months.*

Margo Camus, Global Brand Communications, Social and PR Lead at Adidas, found the UQ MBA helped accelerate her professional career. 

Quote from Margo "The UQ MBA took my skills and knowledge to the next level across multiple areas. It helped me develop my self-confidence, leadership skills and a more strategic way of thinking. Now, I feel more confident in presenting ideas to a board - whether it's in Australia or Europe - which can be quite a cut-throat environment. I now manage team members based all over the world and work at a global scale."

Sam Rush, Director and Principal Consultant at Legion Consulting Group, also vouches for the graduate outcomes that are possible with the UQ MBA.

“Five years on from graduation, I made my way up to executive management at a top finance corporation. I also launched my own consulting firm that aims to help small business and not-for-profit organisations solve their challenges. It was exciting to take my career in a new direction; applying the knowledge gained on my UQ MBA to transform organisations and make a difference, to be at the place where real change happens."

 

3. Will it lead to personal learning opportunities as well as professional growth?

While MBA students often start the program seeking career outcomes, many UQ MBA graduates regard the personal transformation they experienced to be one of the most valuable and unexpected results of their studies.

UQ Alumnus Rob Sutton
UQ MBA graduate Rob Sutton

Prospective students are drawn to the UQ MBA for the diversity of thinking they'll encounter. Coming from a range of different industries, UQ MBA students average 13 years of professional experience with around six years in management. This diversity creates engaging classroom debates that will challenge you to think and see the world – and yourself – differently.

For UQ MBA alum and Mirragin Managing Director Rob Sutton, the personal learning opportunities presented in the program resulted in him pivoting career direction.

 “The UQ MBA gave me the courage to realise that the path I thought I wanted to be on, wasn’t the right direction for me,” he says. “I came to this realisation through personal reflection during the program, but also by being exposed to different people doing different things. It became clear that moving up the corporate ladder wasn’t the only road to career success and fulfilment.”

Melanie Stojanovic, an Executive Leader at WorkCover Queensland, also found the UQ MBA to be a personally transformative experience.

“The program challenged the way I thought about problems and pushed me out of my comfort zone in many aspects, including how I thought about global issues, the limitations I thought I had and the relationships I developed with my cohort."

 

When it’s time to make your decision, it’s important to feel confident that the program you enrol in will be the best MBA for your you. Remember to consider whether the MBA program you’re interested in will give you the knowledge, confidence and support to take the next step in your professional life.