Is Business School Right for You?

Career Skills
Written By Evan Burk
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On Thursday February 20th, 2020, Tunde Oshinowo, former NFL player, spoke about his decision to get his MBA from University of Chicago Booth School, and if getting an MBA is right for you.  Does anyone have similar experiences with making a decision to pursue, or not pursue, an MBA? Where were you in your career when you made this decision? Things to consider:

  • Opportunity Costs - There are a lot of costs associated with business school, both financial and opportunity costs. Tunde: “You can learn some of the exact same things by getting the real world experience vs. going to school.”  
  • Financial Costs - Tunde mentioned a NFL Program where they pay for half of tuition. "Business School is really expensive. I could not have gone without the scholarship from the NFL and the scholarship I got because of my GMAT score.”
  • Your Story: Why are you doing this? "Your story is really important, especially if your background is common.” There are some parts of your story that people want to know about. Think about what those are, and being prepared to talk about those things.
  • Preparation for Business School: Things you are doing right now to prepare for this, such as: Taking Initiative in your current job, Preparing for the GMAT, Making plans financially to get your MBA, Deciding what are you trying to do with your MBA?

 Reasons to get an MBA:

  • Signaling: “This also has a lot of influence on where you go to Business School. Some companies have a reputation, and they look to pool their talent from a certain types of schools. Chicago Booth has a reputation with Finance and the people that come out of that school."
  • Taking (Calculated) Risks: Yes it can be a risk, but the risks you take while you are there are relatively low. You have a built in support system.
  • Ability to Network: Opportunities to connect with people. "When you are in your MBA, people will talk to you. But also be aware that once you graduate, you are competition."
  • Learning in a Structured Environment: "I needed to learn how to take risks better, and the environment at Booth made that possible"

 Takeaway: Think really hard about your options before deciding MBA is best for you. It’s costly, and it can be a risk. For Tunde, the risks were worth it.  Thank you so much to NCSA and Tunde for great such excellent insight into the decision-making process for going to business school. 

Evan Burk

Evan Burk is a speaker, former NFL coach, and podcast host who uses the sports world as his backdrop to engage audiences with thought-provoking lessons of leadership, team-building, and creating championship cultures.

Evan Burk is not your typical football coach. Despite not playing football beyond high school and no network in the coaching profession, Evan's unlikely football journey began as a 4th grade coach, where he quickly worked his way to the NFL in just 6 years, and included coaching for teams such as the Miami Dolphins, UCLA, and SMU.

After spending fifteen-plus years working with the highest-performing athletes, coaches, and teams on the planet, Coach Burk uses his unique football coaching background to teach people how to utilize the same strategies in business and life that elite players and teams use to perform at a world-class level.

Evan received his B.S. in business management from the University of Colorado, and his Master of Liberal Studies degree from Southern Methodist University. He also hosts his own weekly sports leadership podcast, The Highest Level, where he reveals how championship team cultures are built and the keys to leadership excellence at the highest level.

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