Two job candidates walk into an office for scheduled job interviews. They will be interviewed one-by-one by the same hiring manager, and then will be ushered into a short panel interview with a few company executives. The first candidate walks into the initial interview with a confident smile, a strong handshake and a resume featuring his standard MBA. The next candidate walks in with the same confident smile and strong handshake, but his resume proudly presents his MBA with a specialization in the industry this job happens to fall into.

Does the specialized MBA candidate have an automatic advantage over his standard MBA competition? Do you think he will make a better impression on the hiring manager and panel of company executives, just because he is presumed to know more about the industry the job happens to fall into?

There has been some controversy over this. The arguments for the specialized MBA programs are as listed:

* Programs offering specializations have reported impressive results in terms of graduates landing jobs within their fields and going on to enjoy long, advancing careers.

* Those who make the effort to get a specialization know more about a specific industry than others, giving them an advantage when applying for positions within their chosen industry.

* The job candidate with the specialized degree has everything the standard MBA job applicant has, but they also have the extra knowledge which puts them ahead.
Then there are people on the other side of the issue who give the arguments against specialized MBA programs as listed:

* Specializations are only good if you can actually find a good job in the field of specialization. This does not work out for every MBA candidate.

* Specialization in one field can hurt a job applicant who wants to interview for jobs in other fields. Interviewers will want to know why they are not following their chosen career path in that specialization field.

* The specialized MBA can actually narrow job opportunities, rather than opening many doors of opportunity.

There is a lot of truth and value in both of these arguments. For some students, going into a specialized MBA program makes sense, but for others it doesn't make much sense at all. You have to determine which group you fall into. This is a serious decision, since your job prospects in the future could be on the line.

You should be very confident in all of the following before you consider going with a specialized program over a standard MBA program:

* You can actually land a job in your field of specialization, or you are already working in the field and feel very secure in your job.

* You know that the extra work that goes into the specialization will benefit your career in some manner.

Without feeling very confident that you can enter the specialization field for a long term career and the extra work will benefit you in some manner, it is not worth going through a specialized MBA program. The worst thing that can happen is you get the specialization, put it on your resume, and find that you are unable to land a position in that industry. You are then in the position of going into other industries, with that specialization sticking out on your resume.

Think this through, and you will come to the right decision for your career. For some, the specialized MBA is a great deal.