If you ask one Kogod alumna, the short answer is yes. When paired with applied experience, business context, and consistent career effort, an MS in Business Analytics & Artificial Intelligence (AI) enhances your existing background and can lead to strong outcomes across industries—from analytics to finance, operations to policy, and beyond.
Kogod graduate Elina Paraschou's career path demonstrates the long-term return. Through her MS degree program, she:
Before Kogod, Elina was working in Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, but realized she wanted to pivot her career while also navigating the uncertainty of the work visa process as an international student. That combination made the decision to pursue graduate school both strategic and time-sensitive.
Elina's outcome reflects a broader reality: skills in business analytics & AI, combined with the support, community, and networking built into a master's program, lead to career opportunities across industries.
Students in Kogod’s MS in Business Analytics & AI develop both technical and business skills, including:
This combination prepares students for roles that require both technical fluency and a strong grasp of business fundamentals. For Elina, this meant not only learning technical skills but also understanding how to apply them in real business and policy contexts.
Most students, like Elina, don't start a degree in Business Analytics & AI with coding experience.
Elina entered the program without prior coding experience—a common concern among prospective students—and now codes daily in her full-time role.
The key requirement isn't prior experience—it’s the commitment to learn and apply new tools and skills consistently in real-world scenarios.
Successful students follow a consistent, high-effort process that bridges their know-how with employers' needs:
Submitting many applications increases interview opportunities. It also allows you to refine your pitch, clearly define what you're looking for, and nail the interview.
“I applied to 100–200 jobs,” Elina said. “By the time I got interviews, I knew exactly what I wanted to say.”
In practice, this means: do more than coursework outside of class. Internships, part-time roles, and applied learning projects help you build career momentum. Elina participated in competitions, went to networking events, joined student groups, and prioritized saying "yes" to every opportunity thrown her way.
Elina’s job search reflects a thorough approach, combining volume, persistence, and continuous skill-building beyond the classroom.
Kogod's Career Development team provides guidance—but students have to practice their pitch, seek and learn from feedback, and iterate for every new job opportunity.
Elina described working with Kogod Career Development like this: “It was 50–50. They helped me, but I also did a lot of work myself.”
Employers prioritize applied experience over coursework alone. At Kogod, students gain this through:
For Elina, these experiences were a core part of building both confidence and credibility, not just resume lines. She made a deliberate decision early in the program to say yes to every opportunity—competitions, projects, and networking—knowing she had a limited window to maximize the experience.
With the confidence she gained and earnings she won through these experiences, like her second-place finish in a Google-sponsored hackathon, Elina was constantly leveling up outside the classroom.
During her IMF interview, that Google hackathon experience became a key differentiator—signaling both technical ability and initiative.
Students work with real organizations and datasets rather than focusing on theoretical case studies, giving them hands-on experience both analyzing data and working with business partners to solve problems.
In Elina’s case, a class project connected her with a World Bank/IFC network contact—leading to interview opportunities in international development and ultimately helping her land a full-time role after graduation. That connection was not something she actively pursued—it emerged from the program's structure, highlighting how embedded industry access can translate into real career opportunities.
Affordability depends on strategy—not just tuition. Students, like Elina, often combine personal savings with:
Elina, like most students considering grad school, was concerned about the cost of an advanced degree. She ultimately decided the return on investment (ROI) would be worth it, and did all of the above to reduce her financial burden. Considering ROI was key: while the master's program will cost a certain amount, the financial upswing for the remainder of your career can make up that initial investment multiple times over. She also approached the program strategically—working part-time, using competition winnings to directly pay down loans, and completing the degree within one year to limit overall costs.
Washington, DC, offers a unique advantage for students interested in AI across sectors:
Elina's proximity to organizations like the IMF and World Bank directly influenced her access to opportunities and professional network. Coming from Memphis, she described the move to Washington, DC as “mind-opening,” with access to opportunities and connections she couldn’t have experienced elsewhere.
An MS in Business Analytics & AI is worth it when students treat it as:
Elina's outcome—transitioning from a finance background without coding experience to a data analysis role at the IMF—illustrates what’s possible when students apply consistent effort and say yes to every opportunity.
More importantly, Elina's path shows how those outcomes are built through deliberate choices, continuous skill development, and applying what you learn in real-world contexts. Her experience reinforces a broader takeaway: the value of a degree that incorporates AI isn’t just in the curriculum—it’s in how students choose to engage with the opportunities around them.