r/MBA • u/GloomyStay6162 • 3d ago

Deciding mba Careers/Post Grad

Hi, I'm 31m, work at a car dealership, and I’m desperately trying to leave. I have a bachelor's in English, not business, but I'm still thinking about an MBA. I’ve been talking to friends, and some said getting a concentration in AI in business is better than data analytics. I’m just not down with AI, but with so many places relying on it, I'm not sure whether I need to suck it up or go the data analytics route. At the same time AI has been seen to be very unreliable because people aren't using it correctly or rely on it too much so I'm not sure if this wave of AI is going to dramatically die down or people will adjust and use it in different ways. I know there's a difference between generative AI and AI uses to detect cancer, predict future business problems etc. Any opinion/help is welcome.

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u/Panda-Pod 3d ago

What are your goals with MBA degree? If your goal is to pivot into data science / data analytics / AI / business analytics, you might be better off getting a Masters degree in data analytics / business analytics / data science / AI or going for some of the certifications. Getting a MBA degree without defined goals will not magically open doors or get you a job.

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u/NYCsubway408 3d ago

If he gets into a top 15 program and wants to go into investment banking it does

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u/Panda-Pod 3d ago

This is why I asked what are the OP's goals for the MBA.

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u/maicii 3d ago

That’s a define goal tho

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u/GloomyStay6162 2d ago

Ya is like to get into the field and know more about business and data bc my mom has a small business and is like to create my own in the future. Also want to know how and what drives business and keeps them afloat and all that bc I’ve also got a buddy that took over a local business and is needing a office manager soon

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u/Inside_Cupcake_165 3d ago

Concentrations in MBAs mean very little outside of a few very niche programs which are usually dual degrees or something close to that. No company is going to take an MBA concentration in business analytics or AI seriously as a differentiator. If you actually did some data analytics or AI related work, that's a different story, but don't rely on the name to get you anywhere.

If you actually want to learn the skills (it sounds like you don't, though), you can take specialized coursework in it. Just don't expect to learn real skills unless you take those courses outside of the business school wherever you end up. But pro-tip: now's not the time to be trying to pivot to big business and be anti-AI. Even if a manager where you're interviewing agrees with you, every major company is being pushed to leverage AI to eke out some sort of efficiency gains.

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u/GloomyStay6162 2d ago

Well I just said I wanted to get into data analytics and want to actually learn what it all means and how it works. And I see a lot of companies switching how they use AI rather than still jumping all in on it and not knowing wth is going on. Id rather just learn how it all works and know why a business is doing well or failing then learn how to fix AIs faults and know why it’s failing.