As more positions in Information and Technology become available in the future, undergraduate students will be flocking to computer and information science programs with the intent to benefit from the generous salary, high number of jobs projected, and ultra-low unemployment ratings associated with careers in IT. It makes perfect sense then, that technology professionals with experience and an undergraduate degree will want to consider what the advantages of an on-campus or online MBA with a concentration in Information and Technology could mean on their resume. A MBA in IT can mean job security, a better opportunity to move up in the ranks of an organization, and of course, better pay.
Two of the best questions to ask when considering a continued education in technology are, what are the benefits of an MBA and what does a Master’s of Business Administration offer in the way of curriculum? Generally speaking, says Rona Borre of Instant Technology, “An MBA can set candidates apart because the market is so strapped for people, they move tech programmers and technically skilled mid-level people up into leadership roles when they may not be ready.” Organizations are not just in need of professionals with a grasp of technology and systems, rather, they will thrive when they have business leaders in place equipped with the ability to lead teams and systems to success. A Master’s of Business Administration with a focus in Information and Technology is currently the 9th most-popular MBA major of the year.
As for the academic benefit to an online MBA, it is widely agreed that a quality program will offer its students relevant concepts and practical curriculums within a context of flexible scheduling. One high-quality MBA with a specialization in Entrepreneurship and Technology Commercialization is offered at the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University. Receiving its exemplary accreditation through the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the Poole College of Management has designed this program as a 40-credit hour, 100% online degree featuring two start dates each year and a tuition rate of $42,195. With concentration-rich courses like Entrepreneurship and Technology Commercialization include Managing the Growth Venture, Technology Evaluation and Commercialization Concepts, High Technology Entrepreneurship, and Product Design and Development, students will receive a balanced and relevant curriculum allowing them to grasp the important concepts of an IT program.
Recognized by many as the best distance Master’s of Business Administration with a focus in High Technology Management in the nation, the 50-credit hour program through the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University has received national attention by entities like U.S. News & World Report and the Princeton Review. Quacquarelli Symonds has gone so far as to rank this program as the 23rd best in the world. While some students of the business school have reported an average early career salary of $73,400 upon graduation, the true benefit to this degree comes from the rich and robust curriculum offered. This 50-credit hour degree is divided between 13 core courses covering the broad topics of accounting, decision making, business, and leadership and five elective courses entitled Entrepreneurial Finance for High Tech Companies, Virtual, Vicious Teams: Building and Leading High-Performance Teams, and Business Law, Corporate Governance, and Intellectual Property Strategies. It is the specialized courses within the High Technology Management concentration that will offer some of the best IT-oriented learning within this excellent program.
