January 9, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
Does it make sense for a 23-year-old fund raiser to go back to graduate school, asks the author of the Future Leaders in Philanthropy blog.
The fund raiser has been working at a charity for a year-and-a-half, and is wondering whether money put toward a master’s degree in business would be well spent.
“Do nonprofit groups care about the degree? Or should he instead focus on getting the right jobs?” asks the blogger.
“It depends on where he dreams of going,” responds Sam Davidson. “If he’d like to be the CEO of a major nonprofit, then get the MBA now when you’re used to going to school. It will pay for itself in the end … But, if he wants to be a hands-on program manager in a service-based nonprofit, then he should get the right jobs.”
Maybe the fund-raising professional should consider a master’s in public administration instead of a MBA, says Paul Verrette, who attended New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. “The combination of qualified professors and students with considerable nonprofit experience made for a great learning environment,” she writes.
(For more about continuing-education efforts for nonprofit leaders, see The Chronicle’s annual guide.)
Do charities value graduate degrees? Is it possible to rise to executive-level positions without one? And what course of study is most useful? Share your thoughts by clicking on the comment line below.
