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24EN Editor's Note:When the job market is tough, instead of struggling through, it can make sense to take time out and add to your CV. But if you are considering doing an MBA, you should know how to make the most of it.
当就业市场形势严峻时，与其苦苦挣扎，不如暂时停止工作，去为你的个人履历增加一些份量。但如果你考虑念一个MBA，就应该知道如何最大限度地利用它。
How do I fully exploit the experience?
我如何充分利用这段经历呢？更多信息请访问：http://www.engbus.cn/
Alongside the boost in earnings it offers, the increased employability and the new career channels it opens, an MBA also provides some stealthier benefits for those prepared to work them. There will be few other times when you enjoy such sustained exposure to future movers and shakers.
除了有助于提高薪水、增强就业能力，以及开启新的职业渠道以外，对于有准备的人来说，MBA学位还会带来一些更为隐蔽的好处。与未来成功人士和显要人物结下牢靠交情的机会，在别处是不多见的。
Most schools have active alumni associations to help you make the most of the contacts you establish. “The alumni network is like a giant little black book you can access years after you leave,” says Jenny Soderlind, alumni communications manager at London Business School.
多数学校都有活跃的校友交际活动，帮助你最大限度地利用你所建立起的人脉。“校友圈子就像一本绝妙的小黑册子，在你离校多年后都可以使用，”伦敦商学院(London Business School)校友交流管理人詹妮•索德林德表示。
How do I minimise the cost? MBAs are not cheap: Harvard puts the cost of tuition and board for one year at $76,600. You need to add the salary you will be forgoing while you study. It is important to recognise that if you are going to be a student again, you will, to some extent, have to live like a student.
我如何实现成本最小化？MBA可不便宜，哈佛一年的学费和住宿费就要7.66万美元。你还要加上在学习期间所放弃的薪水。你必须认识到，如果你要重新做一名学生，从某种程度上说，你就得像学生那样生活。
However, there are ways to lessen the financial burden. Some employers offer assistance for career development. Bursaries and scholarships are available from many schools and are always worth investigating – especially if you come from an a typical MBA background. Various government loans may also be available.
不过，有些方法可以减轻财政负担。一些雇主会为职业发展提供资助。许多学校都有助学金和奖学金，这些东西总是值得研究一番——特别是如果你有着非典型的MBA背景。此外或许还有各类政府贷款。
An MBA is also a huge investment of time. Many people who do them are married with children so you will need to explain to your four-year-old why you need to study on Saturdays.
念MBA还要投入大量时间。许多在读学生都是有家小的已婚人士，因此你需要向你4岁的孩子解释，为什么你每周六要去学习。
Is an MBA always useful?
MBA学位总是有用吗？
In some sectors, an MBA is virtually a prerequisite, but in others it might be viewed as a positively eccentric career choice.
在某些行业，MBA学位实际上是一项必备条件。而在其它行业，念MBA可能被视为一种极其古怪的职业选择。
“Like all degrees, MBAs are becoming more common and less of a differentiator than they were, especially from lower ranked schools,” says Corinne Mills of Personal Career Management, a career coach.
“就像所有学位一样，MBA正变得越来越普遍，不像以往那样具有突出优势，尤其是那些排名靠后院校的MBA，”职业指导公司Personal Career Management的科琳•米尔表示。
However, she notes, there are areas where the reverse is still true. “If you worked in the voluntary sector or some areas of the public sector, I'd expect that an MBA really would be valuable and would make you stand out.”
不过，她指出，在有些领域，情况恰好相反。“如果你投身志愿者行业，或者在公共行业的某些部门工作，我认为，MBA学位实际上很有价值，会让你脱颖而出。”
An MBA also confers bragging rights. Like most higher degrees it is perfectly acceptable to put “MBA” after your name on a business card, whereas alluding to your undergraduate degree tends to make you look slightly ridiculous. So, if you want to tell people you went to Harvard, this is the socially acceptable way to do so. In a similar way, an MBA can also help compensate for a lacklustre undergraduate degree.
MBA学位也是值得夸耀的一项资本。就像多数较高学位一样，在名片上姓名后面加上“MBA”字眼，是完全可以接受的，而如果你列出本科学位，则往往会显得有点可笑。因此，如果你希望告诉人们，你在哈佛念过书，那么这是社交上可以接受的做法。同样，MBA学位也有助于弥补不够耀眼的本科学位。
What is the case against? Some argue that the financial case may not stack up as it once did. Gabriel Hammond, a partner at Alerian Capital Management, says that he did not do an MBA while at Goldman Sachs, where traditionally it would have been an obvious step, because the price in terms of forgone salary would have been so high and because he believed that “a lot of what is taught in the classroom can be learned on the job”. However, he does add that this may only be true of the portfolio management side of finance.
反对的理由是什么呢？有人认为，经济效益可能不如以往。Alerian Capital Management合伙人加布里埃尔•哈蒙德(Gabriel Hammond)表示，在高盛(Goldman Sachs)期间，他没有念MBA（传统上，在这里这是明显该走的一步），因为就放弃薪水而言，代价过于高昂，而且他认为，“课堂上教授的许多东西，在工作中就能学到”。不过，他也表示，这种情况或许只适合于金融中的投资组合管理领域。 | 
