MBA or Certifications?

I have recently been looking at ways to open more opportunities for my career (as an individual contributor), and have been approached by both MBA programs and additional certification programs (mostly for tech skills). Is an MBA, or gaining additional certifications worthwhile when looking to advance an individual contributor sales career path?

🤘 Personal Growth
💡 Education/Resources
4
HarryCaray
Notable Contributor
3
HMFIC
I’m about half way through an MBA program and I’m finding it really helpful. I also have a couple certifications. I think MBAs are universally accepted as a general degree that can help advance you up a ladder, whereas individual certs can be more specialized for specific roles. Both are useful, just depends on your goals and what you want to do long term. 

You can also gain a cert or 2 as part of your MBA program a lot of the time. 
MaSaaSter
Opinionated
1
US BD Lead
@HarryCaray Are you looking (or currently) in a managerial role? 
HarryCaray
Notable Contributor
0
HMFIC
No not actively looking now, but it's a long-term goal of mine.
Tres
Politicker
2
Account Executive
Depends on the company and your future career plans. I'd say an MBA can be a door opener for bigger name companies that have many layers and red tape to get into. I've seen applications for sales roles that say "MBA preferred" and in those cases it'll help you, but I don't think it would change much moving up in your current place of employment. 
Bandido
Politicker
0
Client Director
I'm also about half way through my MBA program and I feel like people on this site have been negative towards MBAs.  One reason I decided to go to back to school was myself, like most of us I would assume, have come up through the lens of BD/Sales.  This has caused me to only know that side of the business world which is a very incomplete story.  I wanted to gain the knowledge of the full interworking of organizations to one day move on from the world of sales.  I work in Professional Services sales a lot of courses have helped me better understand my client's environment to become a better sales person.

To your question, I would first think about what is important to you.  Having an MBA doesn't automatically equate to a big career advancement, but it could give you the tools/resources to best position for one.

A peer of mine once explained 4 motivating factors to get your MBA and I thought it resonated well:

1) just to get the piece of paper (companies, especially large well known ones, often require it for certain levels of advancement)
2) networking opps (every class tends to have group work and you meet people from every role/industry imaginable)
3) the education piece to become a better overall business person (you really do learn how to think differently and especially more "big picture")
4) to make a big shift (IE: go from sales to operations, strategy, marketing, etc)

Most people will say they want all 4, but there normally is an underlying factor you want to achieve that is motivating you to a time commitment like an MBA.

For those looking to make career moves, its interesting to see the job postings that LinkedIn recommends based on their algorithm once it sees you are pursing an MBA.  I would say I still don't truly know what I want to do next upon graduation, but those recommended jobs help with the thought process at least.

So I guess long story short, I'm not exactly for/against an MBA , I think it is all relative to a person's career motivators. 
12

MBA for salespeople?

Question
15
Is it worth it for a salesperson to get an MBA?
35% Yes
65% No
96 people voted
1

Using "MBA" as a title?

Discussion
10
Is using "MBA" as a title on LinkedIn and other places:
63% Douchey, it's not a title like a Dr. or a Knight.
37% Totally fine, flaunt it if you got it.
52 people voted
4

Recommendation : Top 10 sales courses (paid + free) to practically apply learnings?

Advice
5
Would you prefer taking them courses?
63% Yes. Makes sense
37% No
27 people voted