Nearly 9 in 10 finance executives say AI skills are more valuable than MBAs

EXECUTIVES are questioning the value of a master’s in business administration (MBA) in the artificial intelligence era.

Of the more than 1,000 US financial services executives surveyed by consulting firm PwC, 86 per cent believe AI training is more valuable than an MBA for many new hires, reflecting the urgency that companies face in adopting the technology effectively. 

The survey, released on Monday (Aug 3), showed that companies are willing to pay accordingly, with 91 per cent of executives increasing compensation for employees with AI skills.

“There is a clear need for people that understand not just what an agent is, but how do you build them? How do you think about managing them?” said Peter Pollini, who leads PwC’s financial services industry practice.

He added that many firms are looking for workers with technical skills to help them implement the AI use cases they’ve identified. 

Whether an MBA is worth the investment has long been the subject of debate, particularly as the typical total cost of the degree nears US$300,000. As tuition fees rise, prospective students are increasingly scrutinising what they will get in return.

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Universities, meanwhile, have spotted an opportunity. Prestigious business schools at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are offering a growing list of AI-themed executive education courses that are shorter and cheaper than a degree programme and offer certificates.

At MIT, for example, students can take a five-day course called “Leading the AI-Driven Organisation” for about US$13,000.

Growing demand for AI-savvy workers has led some companies, including software makers IBM, Shopify and Cloudflare, to ramp up entry-level hiring, betting that recent Gen Z graduates will be able to do more with AI tools than existing employees. BLOOMBERG