Acquisition Management MBA Degrees Online
If you’ve been thinking about getting your mba and you have a background in business law, management, or leadership, you might want to consider getting an acquisitions mba.
Why Get An MBA In Acquisition Management?
Acquisition management is an exciting and challenging field, which is why it’s so vital to spend time getting your mba before jumping into this position.
The field of acquisition management deals with one business acquiring goods, services, or stocks from another business. Company mergers are also included in this as well.
Because mergers and acquisitions are legally binding transactions, companies rely heavily on acquisitions managers to make sure that the contracts and terms are legitimate and in the company’s best interests. Acquisition managers bear the brunt of the responsibility for these transactions, which is why most companies will not look at a recruit for these positions without an mba in acquisitions.
If you’re interested in pursuing your mba in this field, then you should have a strong sense of honesty, integrity, and responsibility. Because you’ll be dealing with national and international clients, your reputation is extremely important in this field. If you’re known as a trustworthy straight shooter, then you’ll largely be successful in your business dealings.
What You’ll Learn With An Acquisition MBA
Pursuing an mba in acquisitions means that you’ll be learning a wide variety of skills such as negotiating, leadership, and management techniques. You’ll probably also have several classes on business and contract law.
Some of the classes you might expect to take while enrolled in an acquisitions mba program include:
- Contract Pricing
- Pricing and Contract Integration
- Negotiating
- Logistics and Supply Chain Management
- Project Management
- Operations Management
- Financial Decisions Under Uncertainty
- Government Contracting
Careers With An Acquisitions MBA degree
Most people know that getting an mba degree is essentially making a huge investment in yourself. You’ll be happy to know, however, that in the field of acquisitions your mba is going to pay off big.
Salary.com estimates that acquisitions managers earn, on average, $132,000 to $196,000. The U.S. Department of Labor has a slightly different earnings estimate, ranging from $73,000 to $145,000. But the possibility exists to make much more than this; some headhunting sites list salary ranges as high as $287,000.
Your earnings will depend largely on the size of your company, as well as where you’re working, which is why there is such a large range.
It’s important to realize that the field of acquisitions is a bit different than most other fields. If you look at your peers in other industries, you might find that they switch companies every few years. If you’re an acquisitions manager, however, your earnings might be hurt if you constantly job hop.
The reason is because many companies promote acquisitions managers from within their ranks. Because acquisitions is such a complicated field, it’s vital you know the ins and outs of your company and how they like to do business. The longer you stay with one employer, the better you’ll be at your job (and the more you’ll make over the long term).
When you leave school with an acquisitions management mba degree, you might have to start lower on the totem pole than you’d like, or you might not earn what you were expecting. If you keep your focus on learning your company and working hard, however, it shouldn’t take long to get promoted to the position you studied for.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that almost half of acquisitions managers work internationally, so being proficient in another language (or even two) will definitely help your career prospects and earning potential. Acquisitions managers are also known as purchasing agents in some industries.
Because practically every business has to deal with mergers and acquisitions at some point, you can take your mba in acquisition management to almost any industry and find a job. You can pick an industry that you’re really interested in, such as healthcare, construction, or telecommunications, and you can also decide if you’d like to work nationally or internationally.
This is definitely a field that is flexible and gives you plenty of options. The work is both challenging and exciting, and you have the ability work pretty much anywhere you want. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the field of acquisitions will grow at a slow, steady rate during the next decade.
