Mastering A Master’s Degree

Editor’s Note: I asked Cynamon to write a post about her experience as she’s our only MBA and we’re very, very proud of her. She started as a link builder with us but has moved on to helping out on the content/social side.

I recently graduated with my Masters of Business Administration or MBA in Marketing and it has definitely given me a different perspective not only in work but in life. I completed the two year full time program at UNCG which is a little different from their part time evening program. The full time program is geared toward individuals who have little full time work experience. When I entered the program, I had been at Link Fish Media for one year although I had been working for about six years at different jobs.

The first year of the day MBA program was geared toward core classes that everybody in the cohort takes. We took statistics, accounting, economics, information systems, marketing, finance, operations, and a new class called LACE which stands for Leadership Assessment and Career Enhancement. The first year was difficult because I had to balance work, find the time to do school work, volunteer, and try and have some sort of life. Unexpectedly, my friend’s mother passed towards the end of my first semester. She was like a mother to me and it was a complete blow that I wasn’t sure how to handle. It was really hard trying to juggle everything but I was determined to not give up.

Over the summer, we were required to complete an internship. I did mine at a marketing agency to gain a whole new experience. There I learned what we call “traditional” forms of advertising such as TV, newspaper, radio, and billboard but I did get to do social media as well. I really enjoyed it and continued into the fall semester. I decided not to continue for the spring semester because working two jobs and going to school full time was a recipe for a heart attack at the age of 25.

The second year, we still continued to take more core classes with our cohort but not as many. I took human resources, ethical leadership, strategy, and we had our capstone class where we had to be in groups of three to four and provide consulting services for local businesses. This was also the year that I could take my elective classes which I actually began over the summer. I chose to do a marketing concentration so I took international marketing, brand management, and consumer behavior.

So, what did all of these classes teach me over the past two years? Well here is what I took away in a nutshell that I can use at work and in life:

• Life happens but knowing how to deal with it in a healthy way can help when unexpected obstacles arise.
• Planning goes a long way. Of course you can’t plan for every single thing but being prepared for anything can save you a lot of time later.
• Be open and flexible. The unexpected is destined to arise but only focusing on one thing can cause you to miss out on something else.
• Prioritizing is absolutely necessary. When so much is due at the same time, prioritizing and maximizing your time is key to get as much done as you can with little time.
• Network and stay in touch with people. Perhaps you are passionate and your expertise is needed or maybe it’s the other way around and you are looking for the expertise of somebody else. Do you have somebody you can go to if you need to know something? Well you will if you stay in contact with people that you come across.

Of course I learned other things like how to run a regression analysis but I believe it’s not only important what I learned but how to apply it and that’s what getting my MBA did for me.