The MBA has long been cast as a degree for finance executives and corporate consultants. In reality, it is one of the most adaptable, wide-reaching graduate degrees available today. The graduate degree offers a strong foundation in leadership, strategic thinking and analytical problem-solving that applies across nearly every industry.
An MBA equips professionals with a dynamic mix of hard and soft skills that translate across sectors. Whether your goal is to advance in traditional business roles or shift industries and lead innovation in fields like healthcare or tech, an MBA will prepare you with the tools to drive action.
Interested in learning how an MBA can support your goals both within and beyond the business world?
The benefits of having an MBA degree extend beyond what lies at face value.
An MBA offers career flexibility, stronger qualifications for executive and entrepreneurship roles and a foundation of versatile skills. Students sharpen strategic thinking, deepen financial literacy, build leadership capabilities and gain knowledge in data analysis—all skills that are highly transferable across industries.
To understand what specific skills an MBA gives you, consider the breadth of technical areas it covers.
Though first-hand experience in the field is valuable, skills gained in professional settings often take years to accumulate and can be difficult to articulate or apply outside of their original context. Through an MBA program, you can develop the above combination of technical and leadership expertise in a concentrated timeframe, supporting meaningful career growth and preparing you to lead in fast-changing, complex environments.
For many professionals, the answer is a clear yes. An MBA offers a measurable return on investment, especially for those seeking career advancement, higher earning potential or the opportunity to switch industries or roles.
On average, MBA graduates earn more than $105,000 as a starting salary, and the degree increases annual earnings by approximately $36,742 per year.
Over the past decade, employer demand has also grown. The number of recruiters planning to hire MBA graduates has risen across global markets, and nearly 40 percent of C-suite executives on the Fortune 1000 list hold an MBA degree, underscoring the degree’s value at the highest levels of business and leadership.
Want to learn where an MBA can take you? Explore what MBA graduates can do across industries and roles.
An MBA opens doors to a wide range of high-impact career paths for professionals looking to grow within traditional business sectors. From finance to strategy, MBA graduates are equipped to lead and innovate.
Here are some of the best industries for MBA graduates within core business functions:
Each of these industries leverages the foundational skills developed in an MBA program, while allowing professionals to specialize in their area of interest.
Just as professionals benefit from an MBA, so do businesses and organizations of all kinds. Explore different career paths where an MBA adds significant value outside of standard business sectors.
The common denominator among these industries is their reliance on business systems—no hospital, nonprofit or school functions properly without strategy, financial oversight and leadership. An MBA brings these elements together, making it not only applicable across sectors but indispensable.
The benefits of getting an MBA lie in its ability to open doors across industries, support professional reinvention and deliver the core skills needed to lead in any function.
At the Knauss School of Business, the MBA is a step toward leadership and versatility in your career.
Ranked as San Diego’s #1 Full-Time MBA and among the Top 50 MBA Programs for Entrepreneurship globally, the Knauss MBA offers experiential learning through consulting projects, mentorship and faculty with real-world experience. Whatever your personal or professional goals may be, the program will prepare you to lead with purpose and apply business principles for good.
Explore our MBA Career Guide or start your application today and take the next step.