In today’s challenging economy, many undergraduate students with an arts background often find themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to landing a career in business. Anthony P. Carnevale, lead author of the report “The College Payoff”, reveals that bachelor’s degree holders of liberal arts degrees are most likely to be at a disadvantage when finding a job and having earning power. “The truth is that if you get a liberal arts degree, there are a smaller and smaller set of occupations that you can go into,” Carnevale once told The New York Times.
Others agree. “The feedback we got from recruiters was that undergraduate knowledge is often theoretical,” says Julia Marsh, executive director of London Business School‘s Masters In Management. “They wanted students with business knowledge and an awareness of how they can apply it.”
The value of a masters’ degree on job prospects can be very significant. Marsh shares that according to the business school’s 2011 Masters in Management Employment Report, while 21% of its 2011 class came from a non-business study discipline – tourism, international relations and media, for example – 96% of the class secured an offer of employment withint three months of graduation.
Recruiters that work with London Business School‘s Masters In Management, such as A. T. Kearney, Citi, L’Oreal, RBS, London Stock Exchange, UBS, KPMG, Bain & Company, HSBC, point out core skills imparted by the program such as understanding of financial tools and accounting, market analysis and an appreciation of the global macro economy make students far more desirable as job candidates.
Take Taiwanese Yi-Chen Hsieh, alumna from the 2010 class, for example. Hsieh often talks about how she translated her undergraduate degree in linguistics and literature into a career in business with Blue Hive (WPP) a marketing company in Canary Wharf, with practical business skills to ‘get the job done’ straightaway. Participation in the school’s active student clubs, including the Arts Club and Media Clubs, also provided students with all-round experience that boosted their hiring chances.
And in these challenging times, an edge is a useful one. Undergraduates or undergraduates with arts degrees can earn that edge by supplementing that arts knowledge with a masters degree in business.
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