IN PURSUIT OF AN MBA: WHY TORONTO, WHY NOW?
Committing time and money now can lead to longterm rewards
Recognized and respected by leading companies the world over, a Masters of Business Administration degree can be an imperative final step to arming leaders of tomorrow with the skills required for top tier careers in business and management. But held up against the ultra-competitive business landscape of Ontario’s provincial capital, is this a good time and place for a prospective student to consider this often-pricey endeavor?
“Toronto is one of the global centres of the world,” says Marcia Annisette, associate dean of students at York University’s Schulich School of Business. “It may not be a New York or a London but it’s a close third. As a global city — as a city that is at the heart of global business more than anything else — there is a huge appetite for people who are trained in business to be attracted to Toronto.”
“This is where big companies go to look for their employees,” adds Chris MacDonald, interim director of the MBA program at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management. “If you need highly skilled managers, this is where Google, for example, is going to look to.”
MacDonald goes on to list Bombardier and Scotiabank as two of many other companies he’s seen actively recruiting from Ted Rogers’ graduating pool.
“It’s Canada’s business capital. This is the place where you’re going to make your mark in business. This is the place to do it.”
And when surrounded by the great minds and great ideas that come with such a business mecca, experts are quick to remind that a student’s transition into the workforce is likely to see a significant boost.
“Having an MBA from Rotman means you’ll be in the centre of the action and will emerge with a truly new way to think and also an important network,” says Jamie Young, director of recruitment and admissions for the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
And why do academics and professionals feel now is a better time than ever to consider an MBA?
“This is not the business world of the ’50s where you could learn the family business or where you could learn the business form the ground up by doing it the way a lot of people did,” says Chris MacDonald. “Canada is a highly educated country — having an undergrad is really barely table stakes if you want to be competitive and move upward.”
Marcia Annisette agrees, adding that when weighed against any other post-secondary degree, the MBA holds the most exemplary offering of the ‘global perspective’, which she says is highly important in today’s economy.
“More than ever now we are living in an increasing complex and globalized world,” says Annisette. “That is making it even more essential. You no longer are constrained by the parameters of your business or of your city or country —the world is so interconnected.”
“A good MBA by definition treats problems as global problems — as opposed to here’s how we do it in Canada.”
Moving into the future of business, Jamie Young adds that Toronto’s modern MBA programs are putting a greater emphasis on digitalization.
“Big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning,” says Young. “These are all areas of focus so that our graduates can design meaningful and fulfilling careers in the new era.”
So with this knowledge in tow, is it worth it to pursue this notoriously expensive endeavor — which can run students anywhere between $25,000 to $56,000 to complete? While each program boasts unique rates of success, all argue that the end goal is to make those who participate every penny of that money back, and then some.
“There is the cost of the program itself and the loss of income for the two years,” says Marcia Annisette. “But effectively what the measures are saying is that the income boost that you get when you complete the MBA is such that in three years you make that back. And in five years your income would be almost two and a half times what it was.”
“To boost your own personal development and boost your salary that much in two years,” Annisette adds. “It’s a no-brainer.”