Why People With A Non-Business Background Should Pursue An MBA Program

Whatever your professional background and aspirations, an MBA can give you a solid business knowledge base and teach you leadership and management skills while offering career transition and growth.

BusinessBecause spoke to two students about studying a MBA program at a top business school in Asia—and how they feel it is benefiting their future career prospects.

Saurabh Singh’s background is in engineering and IT. He is currently enrolled in a part-time MBA while working as the senior technical manager at The Hong Kong Jockey Club, one of the largest employers in Hong Kong. While he has seen progress in his career—he now manages a team of five—he wants to develop his strategy skills and to gain a better understanding of the world of business.

“My role has been very solutions-focused,” he says, “but if I want to take on a leadership role, to one day become a chief technical officer (CTO), I need to understand how other businesses work, how to develop strategies, how to be a good leader.”

Mi Jung Kim comes to her full-time MBA at the University of Hong Kong with six years’ experience practising law in Sydney, Australia prior to joining the program in Hong Kong. A work placement for her husband meant a move to the city, and enrolling into an MBA was a good option for developing her career in a new market.

What transferable business skills did you bring to the MBA?

An HKU Business School MBA looks at foundational business concepts such as accounting, economics, and marketing, as well as financial analysis, digital innovation, competitive strategy, business ethics, and leadership development. Both Mi Jung and Saurabh feel they come to the program with transferable skills that help them with the curriculum. 

Mi Jung says her background as a transactional lawyer helped prepare her: “A lot of my clients were very business-oriented in terms of acquisitions, and I was commercially aware of what was going on in certain situations,” she says. “But I wanted to understand more about how people run businesses, why they make certain decisions.”

Saurabh says that his solution-based approach and the attention to detail required in his current role has helped with his studies. The MBA curriculum also looks at emerging technologies and how to leverage them in business strategy—his tech background means he already has a solid knowledge base of these technologies and AI. 

What professional developments have you gained from the MBA so far?

Saurabh has found studying accounting extremely useful, particularly how he can apply what he learns to real-life scenarios. “Now I think about the whole cost of a project, not just the solution it brings, I understand about strategy, integration and ROI.”

Mi Jung believes her ability to think logically and clearly and to set out what needs to be done has been helpful, as have the client-facing skills she developed in her career in law. 

Mi Jung, far right, with fellow students

Team-based projects and group work are often interwoven though courses, which both Mi Jung and Saurabh feel have helped them nurture the softer skills of leadership and working well with people from different cultural backgrounds. With the HKU’s MBA cohort coming from various cultural and professional backgrounds, the program gives students a global perspective and opportunities to learn about international business practices and thrive in working across teams and business functions. 

What further developments are you hoping for from the program?

HKU offers tracks to London, New York City and Shanghai to the full-time program: for students going to New York, they can spend a semester in the city taking elective courses at Columbia Business School. Mi Jung is about to do a three-month exchange there and is excited to enrol in the Managerial Negotiations course. “I have experience of legal negotiations but I am looking forward to learning about different perspectives.” 

For Saurabh, who enrolled in part-time study modes, he hopes to continue to hone his strategy skills and is already using what he has learned so far in his job. “I’m no longer just focused on providing solutions but I now consider different options based on revenue, number of users, what kind of expenses will be incurred.” He hopes that an understanding of planning, costing, resource management will bring him more senior roles, perhaps one day leading to a position as CTO. 

Saurabh, far left, chairing an alumni sharing session

How do you feel your studies are broadening your career prospective and options?

Among the students on Saurabh’s program are people from the worlds of banking and shipping, an area he would never have thought about previously. “Talking to a member of my cohort I realise there would be potential for me to go into shipping, because I can solve a lot of technological problems the industry is facing. What I have learned is that companies in every industry need people who can leverage technological advancement—banks, finance, even retail. I’m excited because I can now consider roles within these kinds of industries. I have many more options than I used to have.” 

Post-MBA, Mi Jung would possibly like to be working as a in-house lawyer or with an M&A (mergers & acquisitions) advisory firm, with a view to ultimately taking on a C-suite role in the long run.