Early-Career MBA

What is an early-career MBA?

Early-career MBA students tend to have one to two years of professional work experience before coming into the program. Traditionally, MBA programs require several years of experience and because of that, there are very few quality, top-tier MBA programs in the US that offer an exceptional MBA for students with minimal professional work experience. Not only does Baylor have an early-career MBA option, but the program has curated a specific set of tools and experiences that prepare our early-career graduates to enter their careers with an exceptional MBA in hand.

Why an early-career MBA?

While starting an MBA program with several years of experience has its clear advantages, earning an MBA early on carries certain advantages as well. Getting your MBA several years earlier means jump-starting your career by getting more post-MBA experience under your belt several years sooner.

1. Early-career MBA grads average a much higher starting salary than someone starting their career with just a bachelor's degree.
2. By starting your post-MBA career earlier and with a higher starting salary, you increase your lifetime earning potential exponentially. (Tip: You'll learn about Time Value of Money while in the program.)
3. By graduating with your MBA earlier, you will have more time to recoup any out-of-pocket costs of an MBA.
4. Enrolling in Baylor's Full-Time MBA program in such close proximity to your undergraduate experience means starting while you're still in—or not too far removed from being in—a student mindset. Being out for several years can mean that you will need to relearn effective study habits.
5. Get more career development, experiential learning, and hands-on project management experience that will make you more competitive and marketable once you're ready for that first job or to take your career up a few notches.
6. Having an MBA means you'll have a stronger resume and employers will quickly see that you are serious about your career. Earning your MBA sends a signal to recruiters that you are intentional, strategic, and committed to your career. This can help offset a lack of professional work experience.

What makes Baylor's Full-Time MBA so successful at graduating early-career MBA grads?

Experience

We have admitted a younger student population into our Full-Time MBA for several years. Molding and preparing younger MBA candidates for their first or second professional job is something we have perfected over time.

Faculty

Our Full-Time MBA faculty brings industry experience and research into the classroom to help students without professional experience make the connection between the curriculum and the practical application of the concepts. Our faculty excels at helping younger students make these connections.

Career Development

Baylor's Career Center has a team of professionals who are embedded within the program and work closely and proactively with our MBA students. These deeply-experienced advisors excel at teaching a career strategy class to equip our students for job/internship searches, interviewing preparation, resume critiquing and more. All quality MBA programs offer some form of career development, but our Career Center team is uniquely qualified to help connect the dots between undergrad, the MBA program and that first big job offer! For an example of how our Career Center helps prepare early-career MBA students to launch their careers, take a look at this quick read about personal branding using LinkedIn by Baylor Career Center's Kaytlin Suarez. You can also learn more about our Career Center team, average starting salaries and internship opportunities on our career management page.

Employers

Just like we have faculty and career professionals who are experienced in supporting our early career students, we have a diverse pool of organizations and companies who have hired our students time and time again. Many of our employers have expressed that they love recruiting MBA students from Baylor specifically because they like hiring our well-equipped, younger MBA grads.

Opportunities

We have hands-on projects and practical, resume-building experiences woven throughout the curriculum to give students opportunities to lean into and learn from. Despite not having extensive experience in the field, our students are not short on experience as they enter the workforce once they graduate. Below are a few of the opportunities available to students during the program:

• Career treks across the state and a week-long Leadership Summit in NYC or attendance at ACHE's Congress on Healthcare Leadership.
• A transformative global management experience by way of an international trip to Latin America. Students will travel to Costa Rica in 2022.
• Leadership opportunities within the Graduate Business Association and the Adam Smith Society.
• Volunteer with the Prison Entrepreneurship Program.
• Portfolio Management Practicum allows you to manage a real investment portfolio valued at $10.5 million!
• Case Competitions: Baylor MBA is the reigning champion of the 2022 Big 12 Case Competition!
• Focus Firm classes allow our students to work directly with executives on real-world business problems and issues to get practical experience working on actual projects. Past projects have found students paired with Fortune 500 companies such as 7-11, Lockheed Martin, Nike, and Coca-Cola.

Learn More

Does an early-career MBA make sense for me? What questions should I ask when looking for an MBA program as a young professional? And, what is it about the Baylor Full-Time MBA program that sets it up so well to specialize in serving younger MBA candidates?

Early-Career MBA Podcast

This podcast not only highlights the early-career aspect of Baylor's Full-Time MBA, but it addresses the culture of the program as well. Join Baylor Full-Time MBA alumna Corrie Tebay and finance professor Dr. Erik Davidson to hear about the advantages of an early-career MBA and what you can expect your experience at Baylor to be. Also included in this podcast: sharing faith, faculty/student interactions, building a community and network while in the program, career development support and more.