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I am currently and MSW with a concentration in Macropractice (community organizing, policy, planning, and administration). I have been working in my field for a while, and I am thinking I need to become more marketable. My goal would be to become a better leader for a non profit (ie grant writer, budget, supervisor).
I have been doing research, and I am debating between an MBA with a concentration in Non profit management or MPH. I know an MPH deals with the public sector and MBA deals with the private sector. However, if I found the right MBA program, I am thinking that it might do just a good of a job as an MPH and make me more marketable. What does everyone else think?
Hi, 2 points: I would repost this in the colleges and universities sub forum. Also, I know someone who has an MBA in nonprofit management and what they did was a open a local chapter for a national organization. So if you go with non profit see if there is a lack of an organization in a certain area but a demand for it's services. My 2 cents Good luck!
I think you mean MPA aka Masters of Public Administration instead of MPH.
Also, I agree, a good MBA degree position you well in the market. The great thing about an MBA is that you concentrate of NPO and still graduate with solid understanding of management. All the best!
I've worked in the non profit field for about 7 years and the MSW you are currently pursuing would still make you marketable because of its focus. Lots of supervisors have the MSW and are doing well.
In my opinion and I base it on my 32 years of experience is that a MBA or MS is more powerful than a MPH. How do I know? The govt. accepts the degree as having a full Masters degree...
I interviewed many condidates for govt. jobs and there is a college that educates one for an MPH without the natural prerequisit of having a BS, BA or undergrad degree of any year/s.
I interviewed many condidates for govt. jobs and there is a college that educates one for an MPH without the natural prerequisit of having a BS, BA or undergrad degree of any year/s.
Care to share which one it is. I'm anxious to know!
In the non-profit world an MBA would confine you to the "back-office," i.e., administration, operations, development, HR and finance.
Think of it in a different context, for example, a non-profit theater. Someone with a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) is in charge of the artistic side of the theater. Large theaters also have a managing director with an MBA in arts administration. That person is in charge of the money and operations but has very little say in the artistic work of the theater. It would foolish for a person to get an MBA in arts administration if he or she really wanted to direct plays.
Similarly, with an MSW you have been involved with community organizing and policy, i.e, the "front-office" side of the organization. You may have done back-office work, but that's probably due to the size of the organization, rather than the nature of the degree. If you want to continue on the policy side, an MBA won't help you. In fact, it may prevent you from doing what you wanted to do in the first place.
You can take classes in grant writing and development if you want to improve your marketability. You don't need a full MBA for that.
On the other hand, you may want to transition into a fully administrative position. There's nothing wrong with that choice. The non-profit world desperately needs good administrators. They are hard to find because the don't get the direct emotional satisfaction from doing artistic, educational or social work, and they could make far more money in the for-profit world.
You have to have a clear goal before you start.
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. I have an MPH (Master of Public Health) and work in education.
