Q&A: Should I get a Design MBA or a masters in Design/HCI?

Deciding to earn a master’s degree is an exciting, life-changing, and expensive decision. It can quickly accelerate your career trajectory or saddle you with debt (or both). Over the course of my career, I’ve been fortunate to earn both a Master’s in HCI and an MBA. Hopefully, with my story and your own research, you can decide what makes sense for you and your career.

Get a Master’s in Design/HCI to jumpstart your career.

Flashback to the cold fall of 2009. It’s the pit of the Great Recession, and I’m a college senior frantically trying to figure out what I’m going to do after school. I had majored in Design with a concentration in Human Factors, so naturally, I searched for jobs with those keywords. However, I quickly discovered that most roles required a Master’s or Ph.D. Fortunately, my program offered a one-year master’s degree. I applied, was accepted, and even earned a fellowship. Then, with my in-progress graduate degree, I was able to land a graduate-level internship. Finally, after a summer of hard work, I converted that role into a full-time position.

I recommend getting a Master’s in Design/HCI if you’re trying to break into the product design industry. If you’re already working in product design, gaining more years of experience is a better use of your time. A good master’s program will help you develop a portfolio and will signal to employers that you’re committed to Design as a career. Even better, employers may directly recruit graduates from your program, which will further improve your chances of landing that first role.

Get an MBA to level up as a leader.

By 2017 I was well into my design career and was even managing a small team. However, I wasn’t sure where to go next. However, as I looked around, I saw many of my peers - both inside and outside of Design - earning MBAs. Additionally, as a design manager, my day-to-day job was changing. Increasingly, I was solving general business problems like organizational planning and budgeting. In school and through my early career, I had almost no exposure to these topics. As I researched MBA programs, it became clear that I would learn important non-design, business skills and would be primed for advancement into senior design leadership or product management. Eventually, I settled on an online program which meant I didn’t have to quit my job, and my employer would cover the cost.

Immediately, my MBA was helpful for me as a leader. It formalized my management approach, it helped me collaborate with my cross-functional peers, and crucially, I better understood my company’s strategic business decisions.

I’d recommend an MBA if you’re already in design management or if you want to switch to a different business or management discipline. Also, remember that MBA’s come in many different formats. I did my MBA online and part-time. Doing a program full-time and in-person is a different experience with its own pros and cons.

Takeaways

Deeply consider the monetary and opportunity cost. I was fortunate that I earned both of my degrees with almost no student loan debt. If you’re planning to finance your education with debt, please consider what else you could do with two years and $200,000. Most importantly, make sure your post-graduation career goals justify and can support the expense.

With a master’s degree, just like designing, make sure you know what problem you’re trying to solve. A Design Masters will help you get a foot in the door. After that, your on-the-job experience is what matters. An MBA will help you level up and set yourself apart. As a designer, it’ll broaden your business horizons and help you meet and work with people outside of the design bubble. Overall, if you know where you want to go, it’ll be much easier to pick the degree, school, and experience you’ll need to get there.