An Affordable Online MBA for Sales Professionals
Earning a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) is an attractive prospect for sales professionals who want to advance their careers. Job flexibility, job stability, a salary increase and improved job satisfaction are all potential benefits of earning this degree. Yet, after adding up tuition, books, living expenses, the loss of wages and other expenses incurred, full-time graduate school can be cost-prohibitive. If you work in sales, you are probably predisposed to focus on the costs, the benefits, and the ever-present bottom line. So, is an MBA worth it?
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette’s) online programs provide a viable alternative for students who seek advanced degrees. UL Lafayette’s is an affordable graduate program for sales professionals seeking upward mobility. This MBA is tailored to the areas of study most essential to working in sales leadership.
What Is the Cost of Earning an MBA if You’re in School Full Time for Two Years?
It depends on a number of factors, all of which vary widely from school to school and region to region. The cost of tuition alone at a relatively affordable MBA school may be as much as $60,000. But the current cost at many schools is well over $100,000. And tuition is only a portion of the full cost of earning an MBA. When estimating the expense of earning an MBA, it is important to consider the other costs as well.
What Are These Other Costs?
The prospective MBA student should consider a few often-overlooked costs. In an on-campus MBA program, a student will need to pay for housing, food, parking and other living expenses. Cost of living estimates can substantially exceed $20,000 per year in the country’s more expensive cities — which can add up to $40,000 for a two-year program. When you’re figuring the total cost of your education, what it will cost to live in your prospective school’s city can be nearly as important as how much you’ll pay in tuition.
Other important considerations include the loss of income and the opportunity cost incurred while going to school full time.
A Top-Quality, Affordable Program
UL Lafayette’s Moody College of Business Administration holds accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a distinction held by fewer than five percent of business schools worldwide. Accreditation signals the quality of your MBA to prospective employers, some of whom require the AACSB seal of approval before they will even consider potential hires. Consequently, candidates with an MBA from an AACSB-accredited school have an edge in the job market for the more sought-after opportunities.
The tuition cost of UL Lafayette’s online MBA is $12,800, and students can complete the program in as few as 15 months. Because this is an online degree program, students can continue to work and advance in their careers without having to relocate to cities with a higher cost of living. There is no associated loss of income or opportunity. UL Lafayette has also joined the Open Educational Resources initiative, moving away from proprietary textbooks and other course material costs which generally tack on over $2,000 to a student’s annual costs.
Moreover, results from a survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council showed that online MBA graduates recouped their total investment in school within only 2.5 years after graduating. And, the survey doesn’t take into account their opportunities for career advancement while earning an MBA.
Clearly, UL Lafayette’s online MBA program offers sales professionals an affordable alternative, being considerably less expensive than many full-time, two-year programs (considering differences in tuition, cost of living, and loss of income). All of UL Lafayette’s MBA programs meet AACSB’s rigorous standards — students can count on receiving a first-rate business education that won’t break the bank. The flexible structure of UL Lafayette’s online program makes it convenient for sales professionals to earn an MBA.
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