No matter where you are in career journey, you may reach a point when you feel that adding qualifications to your resume is the only way to advance. Your educational background alone might not be enough. In fact, a recent EdAssist survey reveals that 72 percent of respondents feel their schooling did not effectively prepare them for the workforce.
Maybe you’ve already earned your master’s degree and are looking to deepen your expertise in a particular area. Or perhaps you’re hoping to gain valuable skills without committing to a lengthy program. Either way, you’ll be happy to learn there are post-baccalaureate certificate options designed for professionals who are hungry to drive their careers forward.
While certificate opportunities aren’t meant to stand in place of a graduate degree, they do offer professionals a way to gain new skills that could help advance their careers. As you seek to reach new heights in your professional endeavors, it’s worth looking into the variety of business certificates out there. University of Massachusetts Global, for example, offers the following seven.
7 Online business certificates that could help further your career
The number of people who hold post-baccalaureate certificates has more than doubled since 2001. Graduate certificate programs allow you to focus on specific topics or skills in your field, and they take a minimal time commitment. Employer-sponsored education benefits could even extend to certificate programs.
When searching for different business certificate opportunities, one of the primary things you’ll want to look for is whether the programs are accredited and offered by a school with a positive reputation. You can rest assured that the following options from University of Massachusetts Global check those boxes.
Graduate Certificate in Business Administration
This certificate program introduces conceptual and practical skills needed for standard business practice. These courses help both business and non-business students who are looking to enhance their administrative abilities in the public, for-profit or nonprofit sectors.
The Graduate Certificate in Business Administration can provide you with a strong practical foundation covering financial reporting, data analysis, economic influences and marketing management. You can also choose an elective course from subject areas including business, human resources, finance and organizational leadership.
Executive Certificate in Public and Nonprofit Leadership
The Executive Certificate in Public and Nonprofit Leadership program is intended for executives, managers and other professionals who are looking to enhance their abilities to lead and inspire employees and volunteers. You’ll also learn to create and implement positive change in any organization.
This program was designed with the understanding that participation cannot be demanded or extracted – effective leaders encourage commitment through the power of mutual influence. You’ll have the opportunity to discover new ways to motivate employees and community members to get involved and stay engaged with various causes and organizations.
Graduate Certificate in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics
This certificate program can apply to a broad range of careers in for-profit, nonprofit and public sectors. It aims to teach professionals how to make more effective business decisions using Esri geographic information system (GIS) software.
With the massive influx in the use of big data across all industries in recent years, many professionals have sought to increase their data analytics skills in an effort to keep up with evolving business trends. As a student in the Graduate Certificate in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics program, you’ll have the opportunity to examine, review and validate business data using the latest technology. You’ll also learn to generate dashboards and reports summarizing business, financial or economic data that may be reviewed by executives, managers, clients and other stakeholders.
Graduate Certificate in Health Administration
This certificate program is intended for health care professionals with a baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate degree who are looking for opportunities to receive specialized instruction in health administration.
As a student in the Graduate Certificate in Health Administration program, you’ll learn more about the foundations of health care administration while studying topics like law and ethics in health care, quality management, health care economics and health care information and communication systems.
Graduate Certificate in Human Resources
Students in the Graduate Certificate in Human Resources program are taught tactics to attract and retain employees, as well as how to develop collaboration among those individuals. You’ll begin learning the skills needed to maximize employee engagement and address cultural, regulatory and behavioral issues in a diverse workforce.
Professionals in this program will learn about strategic management, staffing, training and development, conflict and negotiation, employee benefits, and legal issues. Upon completing the program, you’ll be well-versed in making strategic decisions that ensure workforce capabilities and performance align with organizational goals.
Graduate Certificate in Organizational Leadership
Students who pursue the Graduate Certificate in Organizational Leadership can expect to develop the conceptual and interpersonal skills needed to incorporate value-centered, service-driven principles into their everyday operating philosophies and management styles. It’s designed to help mid-level career professionals who hope to merge theory and practice to gain a heightened awareness of both their capabilities and limitations.
In this program, you’ll explore topics like democracy, ethics, systems, teams and organizational development with the goal of enhancing your leadership skills by learning how to create a workplace culture that’s based on a common vision.
Graduate Certificate in Public Administration
In the Graduate Certificate in Public Administration program, professionals from all sectors have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge base to include principles of effective public leadership. Blending theoretical and practical perspectives that impact decision-making processes, students learn to apply concepts directly to their work environments to create long-lasting, positive change.
Whether you work in the government sector, for a nonprofit organization or in the enterprise industry, this certificate program can help you explore important operational dynamics, including political interactions, planning, resource allocation and management theory. You can also take elective courses in business intelligence and data analytics, computer science, human resources or organizational leadership.
Enhance your potential as a business leader
Taking your career to the next level with a business certificate could help you reap a number of benefits. Widely accepted data maintains, for example, that educational attainment has direct connections to how much money a person makes — the more you learn, the more you earn.
But beyond strengthening your salary potential, adding to your qualifications with one of these valuable business certificates could help broaden your impact as a leader in your field. Drawn to the idea of enhancing your expertise and adding to your existing skills? Explore UMass Global’s robust library of business resources.
If you’re considering going back to school for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) you have more options than ever to choose from. Programs have evolved and diversified over time and today’s business professionals must decide between a general MBA versus specialized MBA.
While a general MBA will offer students a broad knowledge base in business and management, a specialized MBA program allows students to focus on a particular industry or career path. There can be pros and cons to both options. Finding the right fit depends on your personal and professional goals.
To help guide you on your education journey, we outlined everything you need to know about specialized MBA programs and briefly introduce 10 different options that may intrigue you.
Why pursue a specialized MBA?
The MBA remains the gold standard for professionals interested in leadership and management positions in the business world, and there is a plethora of specializations to choose from. Even so, one in three employers surveyed by the Financial Times indicated they struggle to find business school graduates who are equipped with the requisite skill sets.
Earning an MBA can help you expand your network and increase your earning potential. It’s also important to note that one quarter of surveyed employers report candidates with a specialized MBA are more likely to earn higher starting salaries than generalized MBA graduates. These professionals are often able to use their in-depth industry knowledge to add immediate value to a new or enhanced role.
Dr. Helen Eckmann, associate professor of business and professional studies at University of Massachusetts Global (UMass Global), gives the following advice for prospective students.
For anyone considering an MBA, it’s helpful to evaluate your goals for pursuing a graduate degree in the first place.
You could start by asking yourself questions like:
Why do I want an MBA?
What is my ideal job or career?
Am I interested in a wide range of industries or a few specific ones?
Dr. Eckmann notes that students with clearly identified goals that pertain to a precise job or industry may benefit most from a specialized program. It’s much easier to be strategic and choose an MBA that will help you develop relevant expertise if you already have a particular role in mind.
10 MBA areas of specialization to consider
As employers report amplified interest in hiring specialized MBA graduates, an increasing number of graduate schools are beginning to offer a range of emphases. UMass Global, for example, currently has 10 different MBA emphasis areas.
Finance
In addition to having a core business curriculum, an MBA in finance is designed to help you broaden your expertise in areas like investment banking, stock market analysis, global economic trends and corporate finance. If you have your sights set on job titles like senior financial analyst, financial manager, investment banker or chief financial officer, an emphasis in finance could be a great fit.
Business intelligence and data analytics
The primary goal of an MBA in business intelligence and data analytics is to help graduates develop the skills needed to synthesize current business trends. In this type of program, students explore and apply the foundations of data analysis, visualization and modeling, using Esri geographic information system (GIS) software.
This MBA emphasis helps you build the skills needed to work with complex data. It could lead you to a role as a business analyst, statistician or risk solutions architect.
Entrepreneurship
An MBA that specializes in entrepreneurship can be a real game-changer for business owners. This degree program prepares you with the ethical decision-making and leadership skills needed to advance organizations of all types and sizes, regardless of if it’s a well-established company or a start-up. Students also learn foundational professional skills, such as lead generation, financing, assessment, resource procurement and exit strategies.
If you aspire to build your own business one day, this degree could be the perfect fit. You might also consider an entrepreneurship emphasis if you hope to one day work as a consultant.
International business
An MBA in international business is distinct from a generalized MBA, though they both cover topics like accounting, finance and human resources. The international business program expands students’ understanding and awareness of complex international dynamics and the cultural dimensions of global leadership.
This track allows you the opportunity to learn about basic U.S. accounting rules alongside financial practices of other countries, multinational consolidations, currency translation and international taxation. With an MBA in international business, you could be well prepared for a job as a marketing director, a multinational manager, a trade and customs manager, or a foreign policy advisor.
Marketing
If you hope to work as a marketing manager or a marketing research director, an MBA with a marketing emphasis could help you build the skills employers are looking for. This graduate degree path introduces students to principles of consumer behavior, research, international marketing, promotion strategy and new product development. An MBA in marketing allows them to explore the technological and psychological aspects of marketing.
Health administration
An MBA in health administration enables you to take a deep dive into the business side of healthcare, exploring things like increased market competition, major organizational restructuring and the impact increased government regulations have on the industry. This concentration could prepare you for a high-level position as a hospital administrator, healthcare policy analyst, pharmaceutical project manager or health services manager.
Organizational leadership
By choosing a program with an emphasis in organizational leadership, you’ll learn the role of values in ethical decision-making as you prepare to become an influential leader. If you hope to create positive and sustainable change, this MBA emphasis could equip you to work as a training and development manager, an organizational development manager, or a performance development manager.
The coursework will introduce you to contemporary issues and views on organizational leadership, with both multidisciplinary perspectives and classic theories. It’s also true that many retired military leaders pursue the organizational leadership emphasis within University of Massachusetts Global’s MBA program. Alternatively, UMass Global offers a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership option, in which military leaders can earn their postgraduate degree after only seven classes.
Human resources
Do you have hopes of working as a manager of human resources operations, a senior human resources consultant or even a vice president of human resources? An MBA in human resources can prepare you for roles like these by teaching you about compensation theories, wage and salary administration practices, evaluations systems, performance appraisals, incentives, and more. You’ll learn how to effectively plan, direct and lead administrative operations within your organization.
e-Business strategic management
An MBA in an e-business strategic management program can help prepare you for today’s complex business environment, which incorporates new and evolving technologies, cloud-based communities and omni-channel communications. If you’re intrigued by e-commerce and its related practices and strategies, this program could be very beneficial. You’ll explore the latest developments in information technologies that are critical to database management, enterprise internetworking and web-based enabling.
This specialized MBA path may qualify you for high-ranking positions in the finance and business sectors, while also paving the way for executive level positions in other areas.
Accounting
If you’re aiming for a successful career in accounting, this MBA has a lot to offer. The rigorous curriculum covers a full spectrum of core competencies, including things like financial reporting, data analysis for decision-making, business process, human resources and marketing management. With this graduate degree, you could land a job as a certified public accountant, a financial analyst or an auditor.
Which MBA path is right for you?
Now that you’re up to speed on 10 valuable MBA specializations, you are better equipped to choose the path that’s right for you. Before you enroll in a program, take time to research your options. Start by browsing the degrees offered at University of Massachusetts Global.
Not sure what to look for in an MBA programs? You may find this article helpful: “How to choose the accredited online MBA program that’s right for you.”
As an executive coach and consultant in business and a faculty member in a business school (and a woman) I often hear thought-provoking stories from women in business. As an executive coach I have worked with an equal number of men and women, titles including; CEOs, vice presidents and department heads. Coaching is often about listening to stories, finding the patterns in experiences and helping the person craft new “ways of being” or confronting the “sticky” parts of the professional and personal lives. As I help those I mentor make better (or at least different) choices (Einstein: Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”), I have noticed a pattern in the stories of the women.
These patterns often surround three themes: women being “left out” of decision-making (even when it is in their field of expertise); women being put in charge of something after it is already broken (like Mary Barra, first female CEO getting a shot at the helm at General Motors after GM’s major recall); or women feeling targeted by others for any mistake that is made, by them or any other woman in the organization.
Fighting the Pay Gap
It often occurs to me that women are in a bit of a bind when it comes to business. According to Catatalyst.org full-time, working women make approximately $11,000 a year less than their equal male counterpart in business [1]. Women are full of great ideas and more than likely what I hear is that smart, sophisticated and hard working women want to be taken seriously.
I have also heard from the men I have coached that they don’t like it when women try to “act like a man” in business. I can never stop myself from asking what “acting like a man” means. What I most often hear from the executive or C-Suite men is they don’t like it when women swear, act too aggressive, or try to take over a meeting. This answer always causes me to pause If women can’t act like men, what can they do?
One way that women can stop being left out, of getting only “fix-it” jobs is to become known as the “go-to-person” for new ideas, for opportunities and options and providing a fresh look at a persistent threat (like declining sales). Women make up more than 50 percent of employees. How can women establish themselves as thought leaders in business?
MBA Programs Can Help
I have found that an MBA for women means they are more likely to find that they can have a seat at the table. MBA programs focus on critical-thinking skills, complex problem-solving, financial expertise, and improves business communication skills. When a woman holds the MBA credentials she can present her good ideas with more confidence and back up her good ideas with data-driven decisions. Nothing turns the head of a CEO more than ROI (return on investment).
According to a 2015 article in Forbes Magazine people who get an MBA should expect a $45,000 bump in salary. I’ve never met a woman who could not put that to good use [2]. Forbes also reports 88 percent of companies in a new Graduate Management Admission Council study [3] say they plan to hire graduates of MBA programs in 2016. According to that same article, this year is the best year for getting an MBA!
Will getting an MBA solve all of the problems of women in business? Heck no! But it is a start and perhaps as more women get an MBA, women can lead the charge for getting business (and maybe even politics) to improve.