What does an MBA mean in this economic climate?

All the students in my class are currently preoccupied with final projects or their job hunt, probably both and I am no different. One thing to note is how the economy has changed during our year of study, before the property bubble in the States burst and liquidity dried up in the UK the economy, at least on the surface, appeared to be booming. What better time to do an MBA!

By the time we were two or three months into our studies, reports of mass layoffs and huge losses (most notably in financial institutions) were saturating the media and furthering the decline in confidence in our economy - and with it our confidence in the job markets that awaited us upon graduation. Still, we clung to the hope that the economy would sort itself out by September this year. There was nothing we could do to change the situation so blind optimism seemed like the best course of action. Still, as recently as March this year reports of job losses still plague the financial sector.

The time has now come to face reality; in approximately 7 weeks we hand in our final projects after which we are officially unemployed. A few on my course have already secured placements, one of whom has moved to Singapore where the financial market is booming, but most of us are still weighing out our options. Those of us looking to move into finance from another industry are probably going to find it quite difficult. Thankfully I am not one of those people and am most likely going to move into marketing (if things go to plan).

Either way, I feel that MBAs graduating this year are at a disadvantage when compared to graduates from previous years, all you have to do is look at the company sponsored projects available this year which has left approximately 10-15 (out of 80) students with no choice but to work on a desk-based research project and compare it to 2007's MBA graduates number of 2 out of 65. That's an increase of about 12% of students doing unsponsored projects. For those of us wanting to change career this is a big deal, a company sponsored project often gives you the edge when job hunting as it can classify as experience in your chosen field.

Impending recession is great for business schools though. As competition for fewer jobs in the market increases, the need for further education in order to differentiate oneself from other candidates becomes a requirement for more senior roles. If I follow this logic then it makes sense that there will be overall fewer MBAs in the job market this year since the economy was at its strongest during my enrolment. Lower supply, higher demand. Hmmm, there's a flaw in that logic somewhere.

If you are considering an MBA this September then it may be worthwhile to try and consider the economic conditions when you graduate (this may be more difficult for those doing two year courses), after all, the end goal of further education (aside from the acquisition of knowledge) is to make you more employable and thus eligible for higher pay and better positions.

Most of my class have been caught out this year but look on the bright side, if you want to turn your business round in times like these, who are you going to employ? Why an MBA of course!