Here are some hard-hitting headlines from highly-credible, well-respected news sources that prove the MBA degree is dying...
📰 The MBAs Who Can't Find Jobs
📰 The job market is a problem for Harvard, Wharton, other top MBA programs
📰 Is the MBA still valuable?
📰 MBA Applications Decline at Harvard, Wharton, Other Elite Schools as Degree Loses Luster
📰 Why an MBA isn't good anymore
📰 MBAs lose their luster at some schools
📰 Can the Full-Time M.B.A. Degree Regain Its Luster?
📰 Unemployed Graduates Question The Return on M.B.A.
The first headline is of course from the highly viral article published by the prestigious Wall Street Journal in Jan 2025.
Incidentally, all the other headlines are also from WSJ - published in 2022, 2019, 2018, 2013, 2012, 2005, 2002 respectively.
I stopped going back further in time to discover more. But the trend seemed to be clear. Every few years, WSJ comes out with such articles with provocative headlines, questioning the diminishing value of the degree and hinting at its impending death.
WSJ isn't the only one to do that. Many big publishers have been raising such red flags for decades, fueling fear, confusion and lots of reader engagement.
You can't blame them. Like business schools, traditional publishers are also trying to stay relevant and profitable. And controversial, scandalous headlines get eyeballs.
Yes, MBA jobs are down right now. And so are the jobs in engineering and every other legally permitted field.
But when we read headlines that say 60% of IITians not getting placed, we don't conclude that engineering degrees are dead.
MBA applications at the same elite colleges that WSJ thrashes are at an all time high. And so are the salaries - for those who are able to get jobs.
At MBA Crystal Ball, we concluded an admissions season where we saw a similar trend. Our application volume went up, and the competition for the T25 schools (and not just M7) was super-tough.
It's off-peak season now for application work, but we're already getting interest from ambitious and driven young professionals who need help with profile building. They're readying themselves for 2026-27 admissions.
Why are aspirants around the world putting in so much effort for a 'dying' degree? Do they know something that WSJ doesn't?
What's your view on the future of the degree?