How an Online MBA Can Lead to Career Change

Aspiring business leaders leverage a range of skills and knowledge to secure the best career outcomes. One way to ensure sustained career success is by earning an online Master of Business Administration, which can empower professionals to pursue leadership roles across industries or pivot to new career paths.

No matter the modality, the skills you learn in an MBA can be applied in a number of different ways, depending on your goals. While the most common reason that people get an MBA is to increase their salary, 39% of people seek an MBA to change job functions or occupations. By enhancing your interpersonal, management and function-specific skills, MBAs can empower business professionals to pivot into new industries and roles.

Online MBA Skills for Career Changers

Online MBAs prepare professionals with full-time jobs for high-level positions and to weather changing business environments by equipping them with interdisciplinary skills that are relevant to a wide range of management careers. By prioritizing practical skill development over theoretical knowledge, online MBAs provide you with the core skills for any role, as well as the specialized skills you need in a new career.

In the convenient virtual environment of an online program, you’ll be able to gain these skills while working full time. Since the skills you gain in an online MBA are widely applicable and offered in an invaluable flexible format, they can help support a career change without the need to give up your income or have a gap in your resume.

Interpersonal Skills through Networking

MBAs are a strong foundation for strengthening interpersonal skills. This knowledge doesn’t come from coursework: it comes from practice. One of the benefits of MBA programs is the opportunity to network, and networking with your faculty and peers will develop your interpersonal skills in a low-stakes environment that translates to various industries, roles and functions in the business world.

Online programs allow for excellent networking opportunities, even without face-to-face interactions. For professionals with an existing career, an online MBA also allows for networking opportunities with fellow professionals that they wouldn’t get a chance to meet, such as individuals from different locations and industries. By collaborating with a variety of professionals with different goals, you’ll be able to define your career goals with more specificity and gain valuable connections for a career change.

Management and Leadership Focus

MBAs are the most effective degree for professionals who want to learn how to be true leaders. MBA programs don’t just teach management in one or two courses, the whole curriculum is deeply rooted in it. Every course is infused with leadership, with the ultimate goal of preparing students to put their knowledge into practice through powerful leadership competencies.

Function-Specific Skills

While management, leadership and interpersonal competency are present throughout MBA curriculums, they typically offer specific courses in individual business functions too. At the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, the Online Master of Business Administration offers three unique concentrations that enhance the function-specific skills most relevant to today’s business leaders: business analytics, finance and marketing.

These technical skills are another important benefit for individuals looking to change careers, as they will foster specific skills that are needed for a variety of roles. Additionally, these skills open doors to positions with higher earning potential and faster salary growth, with projected average starting salaries estimated at approximately $120,000 for U.S. MBA graduates.

Basic accounting skills can be useful for any business professional, not just accounting professionals. MBA programs typically cover foundational accounting knowledge, such as:

• Income statements
• Balance sheets
• Cash flow
• Profit analysis
• Budgeting

These core accounting principles can guide business managers and leaders through financial management, development strategy and market viability.

Analytics skills have become increasingly important in many industries as recent technological innovations have enabled businesses to use data to guide development and strategy. In the Tulane Online MBA’s business analytics concentration, students will take courses in:

• Social Media & Online Marketing
• Web Analytics
• Advanced Spreadsheet Modeling
• SQL Database Fundamentals & Business Intelligence

Economics drives the landscape around organizations, but there are also parts of economics that are crucial for managers to understand. In an MBA program, students will gain an understanding of how economics impacts business development, investments and resource allocation. In addition, the knowledge that MBA students gain from basic finance courses is vital to ensuring an organization remains viable as it navigates challenges and opportunities.

How an Online MBA Drives Change

An MBA program is more than just a resumé-booster: they introduce the most important concepts for driving business success and development. These competencies are critical across the management, senior-level and leadership roles that MBA students want.

Given these benefits, many MBA students earn the degree to advance their existing career paths and tool kit of professional skills. However, by the time they graduate, students will have access to expert-level knowledge in a wealth of new skills, allowing them to pivot to new opportunities in fields that they may not have worked in before.

In Freeman’s Online MBA, students benefit from a top-tier curriculum and the same expert faculty that teach in the on-campus program — and the benefits extend far beyond the classroom. Online students also have access to the Freeman School of Business’s Career Management Center, which offers one-on-one career coaching that starts at the beginning of the program and extends beyond graduation. With the guidance of their career advisors, Tulane students can reach their professional goals while feeling knowledgeable, supported and prepared.

About the Online MBA at the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University

The Freeman School of Business at Tulane University offers an AACSB-accredited Online Master of Business Administration (MBA) and other MBA options based in Louisiana. The Online MBA program builds core competencies in accounting, data analytics, finance, marketing and operations, and also allows for in-depth exploration in your areas of interest. While a concentration is not required as part of the 46 required credits, you may pursue up to two of the following: Business Analytics, Finance or Marketing.

The program is designed to meet the needs of professionals from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds. Regardless of your desired concentration or industry, you’ll graduate with a comprehensive understanding of business and managerial concepts and the practical skills to make informed business decisions and lead in your organization.

In the 2024 U.S. News & World Report rankings, Freeman climbed 19 spots among the nation’s top MBA programs. This is one of the biggest year-over-year changes among ranked programs and reflects Freeman’s continued commitment to excellence and innovation in business education. The momentum continued with the school moving up an additional eight spots in 2025 to No. 54.

Download a program brochure or start your application for the Online Master of Business Administration.