Why an MBA could change your working life even if you don't have CEO aspirations

This article is sponsored by CQUniversity Australia. »

In many workplaces, job progression is critical to ensure sustained employee happiness and retention.

But working in the C-suite can be challenging and not everyone has ambitions of running the company.

It's simple: working hard doesn't always have to result in a position of leadership, and not all employees have the desire or capacity to do so regardless.

But that doesn't mean that they can't progress in their existing role or career trajectory by using the techniques employed by people in the C-suite.

This is why undertaking an MBA for career development might be worth considering.

According to Deloitte Insights, 86% of respondents to their global survey on Learning and Development agreed that the issue was important or very important to their work life.

Given a growth in artificial intelligence and automation in business, employees reported that they felt the need to keep ahead of the pack by building applicable skills.

By undertaking further study or research, you can develop these skills yourself.

Historically, MBAs have been perceived as expensive, time-heavy and industry-specific, eliminating it from the minds of potential students who could have applied the learnings of the MBA in their respective careers.

In actuality, the cost, duration and commitment of an MBA is entirely dependent on the course you select — in the same way that you shop around for undergraduate courses, you can do the same for an MBA.

Take the MBA (Leadership) course from CQUniversity Australia as an example.

Not only is it priced from $7,002 as an upfront fee with no additional overheads, but because it’s available to start anytime and is delivered entirely online, you can access it anywhere and complete it in your own good time.

In fact, it’s entirely autonomous and self-directed, there are no assessment deadlines and a hyper-flexible time frame for completion of 12 months to five years. The content is broken down into bite-size pieces which typically require 20-40 minutes, allowing you to work on the development and skill progression you seek in between your day-to-day.

Undertaking an MBA (Leadership) means you can study communication for leadership success, strategic marketing, global economics, business legal frameworks and social innovation.

These are all elements that could be beneficial for you as an employee no matter what rung of the corporate hierarchy you reside on, nor your industry.

Which is why almost anyone can undertake an MBA and derive value out of it, regardless of their ambition.

Current MBA (Leadership) student Mark Burgess agrees, saying, “I looked around extensively in relation to MBA programs ... What was important to me was full flexibility, including self-managed deadlines. That way I balance my career, family time and study.”

Ultimately, just because you don't wear a suit each day (or don't want to), doesn't mean you're excluded from benefitting from an MBA's teachings.