職場雙語:一年制MBA的風險何在?

It certainly seems like a good deal: A full-fledged M.B.A. degree in half the time and for less money. But is it?

這的確像是筆劃算的買賣：一半的時間和一半的花費就能拿到正式的MBA學位。不過確實如此嗎？

While business schools in Europe for years have favored a shorter M.B.A., institutions stateside and elsewhere have lately been warming to one-year degrees as they seek to appeal to cost-conscious students. Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management announced earlier this year that it plans to at least double the size of its one-year option, for example, while Melbourne Business School at Australia's University of Melbourne this fall is replacing its 16- and 20-month courses with a 12-month offering as demand grows for even more abbreviated programs.

多年來，歐洲的商學院一直青睞較短學制的MBA，近來，爲了吸引注重成本的學生，美國和其他一些地方的學校也開始對一年制的學位感興趣。西北大學凱洛格管理學院（Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management）今年早些時候宣佈，計劃至少將一年制項目的招生規模翻倍，而隨着學生對時間更短學制項目的需求增加，澳大利亞墨爾本大學墨爾本商學院（University of Melbourne's Melbourne Business School）將於今年秋季將16個月和20個月的課程換成12個月。

The appetite is real. A survey this year by QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd., a business-education research company, found that 29% of U.S. and Canadian respondents preferred programs of 10 to 18 months, up from 21% in 2009. Preference for programs lasting 19 to 24 months fell to 57% from 71% in that time.

需求確實存在。商業教育研究公司QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd.今年所做的一項研究發現，29%的美國和加拿大受調查者更青睞10至18個月學制的項目，比例較2009年的21%有所上升。青睞19至24個月學制項目者的比例從71%跌至57%。

But as business students learn, it isn't just about cost. Prospective one-year M.B.A.s need to consider the benefits of the one-year option, as well as the drawbacks, which include fewer networking opportunities, the potential loss of a summer internship - often the key to landing a full-time job - and deep immersion in individual subjects.

但正如商學院學生所學的，這不僅僅是關於成本的問題。想上一年制MBA的人需要考慮一年制的好處，同時也應考慮存在的缺陷，這包括建立人脈的機會更少，可能沒有夏季實習──這通常是獲得全職工作的關鍵──還有太過專注於個別的科目。

'Thinking that you can learn all the basics of management in just one year is simply impossible,' says Jordi Canals, dean at University of Navarra's IESE Business School in Spain. Mr. Canals - whose school's only full-time M.B.A. program takes two years to complete - says it takes at least seven or eight months to learn the fundamentals of business, such as strategy, marketing and finance, and another year to gain 'literacy' in those areas.

西班牙納瓦拉大學（University of Navarra）IESE商學院院長若爾迪•卡納爾斯（Jordi Canals）說，在一年之內就學完管理學的所有基本知識是不可能的。該學院唯一的脫產MBA項目是兩年制的。卡納爾斯說，需要至少七或八個月的時間學習商業的基礎知識，比如戰略、營銷和金融，然後還需要一年時間在這些領域“掃盲”。

Betsy Ziegler, associate dean of M.B.A. programs and dean of students at Kellogg, says one-year students are required to come in with some business courses under their belt - most have undergraduate business degrees - which allow them to jump right into higher-level courses, electives and club activities. Tuition for Kellogg's one-year M.B.A. is $75,400, and the two-year option costs $56,550 a year.

凱洛格商學院MBA項目副主任、學生處主任貝特西•齊格勒（Betsy Ziegler）說，他們在招收一年制學生時要求學生有一些商業課程基礎，以便能迅速進入更高級別的課程、選修課以及俱樂部活動，大部分學生都有本科商業學位。凱洛格一年制MBA的學費是75,400美元，兩年制學費爲每年56,550美元。

Though students generally pay less for a one-year M.B.A., the immediate return is also smaller. Two-year M.B.A.s from the class of 2011 reported median starting salaries of $85,000, but that figure was $73,203 for those graduating from one-year programs, according to a report from the Graduate Management Admission Council. While 86% of two-year M.B.A. graduates reported being employed after graduation, 75% of those in one-year programs did.

雖然一年制MBA學費一般較便宜，但短期回報也更少。美國研究生入學管理委員會（Graduate Management Admission Council）的一份報告顯示，兩年制MBA項目2011屆學生的起薪中位數爲8,5000美元，而一年制畢業生的起薪中位數爲73,203美元。86%的兩年制MBA畢業生畢業後就找到了工作，一年制畢業生的這個比例爲75%。

One-year M.B.A. students often can't participate in summer internships at coveted firms, such as those in finance, making it near impossible for them to land full-time jobs there after graduation. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says the majority of its associate hires come from internship programs, while the summer intern pool accounts for nearly all M.B.A. hires at Morgan Stanley. Both companies say they focus internship recruiting mainly on two-year programs.

一年制MBA學生通常無法去心儀的公司參加夏季實習，比如金融行業的公司，這使得他們幾乎不可能在畢業後在這些公司獲得全職工作。高盛集團（Goldman Sachs Group Inc.）說，其招聘的經理大多數來自實習項目，而在摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley），所有的MBA新人幾乎都來自夏季實習人才庫。兩家公司都說，他們把實習招聘的重點主要放在兩年制MBA項目上。

To give its one-year M.B.A. students a leg up, University of Oxford's Said Business School this year is matching 10 incoming students with employers for eight-to-12-week assignments before classes begin. The school declined to name participating employers.

爲了助一年制MBA學生一臂之力，牛津大學薩伊德商學院（University of Oxford's Said Business School）今年在開課前安排10名學生與僱主配對完成八至12周的工作任務。學院拒絕透露參與的僱主名單。

To give its one-years a shot at summer opportunities, the University of Miami School of Business Administration conducts its briefer M.B.A. on a calendar cycle, breaking for the summer months, rather than a traditional academic year. But it is still not easy to pull off an internship, since recruiting usually kicks off in January, days after the one-year students arrive. 'They've got to really hit the ground running,' says Gene Anderson, the school's dean.

爲了讓一年制的學生能有夏季實習機會，邁阿密大學工商管理學院（University of Miami School of Business Administration）將其短學制MBA項目的週期由傳統學年換成了自然年，在夏季的幾個月休息。但要獲得實習機會依然不容易，因爲招聘通常從1月開始，那時一年制學生剛開學沒幾天。學院院長基恩•安德森（Gene Anderson）說，他們需要立即快馬加鞭行動起來。

Of course, a one-year option holds significant value for some students. Administrators say it can be a good fit for those with strong work experience and a clear career path. A one-year program may suit someone who wants to shift from finance to strategy within the same company or stay in marketing but at a different firm.

當然，一年制對某些學生來說有重要的價值。學校管理人員說，一年制很適合擁有很強工作經驗以及清晰職業規劃的人。如果想在同一家公司從金融部門轉到戰略部門，或繼續做營銷工作但要去另一家公司，那麼一年制課程就很適合。

For students seeking a total career change, a two-year M.B.A. may be a better option, Mr. Anderson says, because the internship and additional electives, along with club and group travel activities provide 'a broader set of opportunities to soak things in' and explore new job paths. In other words, the shorter program is a mild career accelerant, while the two-year option is a launch pad.

安德森說，對於想徹底改變職業的學生來說，兩年制MBA可能是更好的選擇，因爲實習機會和額外的選修課、以及俱樂部和團體旅行活動會提供更廣闊的吸收東西的機會，並幫助學生探索新的職業道路。換言之，一年制項目是溫和的職業催化劑，而兩年制項目則是一個發射臺。

As prospective students better understand the different experiences and outcomes, some have soured on the speedy approach. University of Miami's business school, which began offering a one-year M.B.A. in 2006, has seen applications fall by nearly half, to 54 for the class that started in January, down from 103 for the class five years earlier. Miami also offers a two-year degree.

隨着準備申請的學生更深入地瞭解到兩類項目之間這些不同的經歷和成果，有些人對速成的一年制失去了興趣。從2006年開始開設一年制MBA項目的邁阿密大學商學院發現，申請1月開始項目的人數減少了近一半，只有54人，而五年前是103人。邁阿密大學也開設有兩年制MBA項目。

The one-year program at IE Business School in Madrid initially appealed to Jeff Taylor, who enrolled with plans to switch from education to human-resources without taking too much time or loan debt.

傑夫•泰勒（Jeff Taylor）最初對馬德里IE商學院（IE Business School）的一年制項目很感興趣。他的計劃是在不花太多時間或貸款的情況下從教育工作轉到人力資源工作。

After graduating this year, he's now an analyst in the human-resources department of a renewable energy company. Despite landing a job in the industry he wanted, Mr. Taylor says he's still waiting for his return on the investment to 'kick in.' Many others in his department don't have M.B.A.s, and he says he earns less now than he did as a teacher - under 35,000 ($42,800).

今年畢業後，他去了一家可再生能源公司人力資源部做分析師。儘管在自己喜歡的行業找到了工作，但泰勒說，他依然在等待自己的投資產生回報。他所在部門的其他很多人都沒有MBA學位，而且他說自己現在掙的錢還不如做老師時多──只有不到3.5萬歐元（4.28萬美元）。