The stereotypical business school student is grooming for Wall Street, but not all MBAs desire corporate careers. Some seek administrative positions within nonprofit organizations or the government. Employees in these sectors, and especially the nonprofit sector, tend to describe their jobs as personally fulfilling.

These jobs are generally lower-paying than corporate jobs, but MBAs have had their business school loans waived in exchange for work with a nonprofit or government agency.

For a list of online MBA programs related to the government and nonprofits, click to the end of this article.

Working with Nonprofit Organizations

Business students’ skills are highly valued in the nonprofit community. That’s because nonprofit organizations operate like businesses in many ways. Business-minded individuals help nonprofits to operate smoothly and to compete with other organizations for support of their goals.

Some business schools devote little time to nonprofit management in particular. They might offer just a few specialized courses, and that’s in part to help their corporate-minded students prepare to serve on nonprofit boards. Other MBA programs offer full concentrations in nonprofit administration. Some examples of course topics include ethics, philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, and sustainability.

Smaller non-profit organizations do not necessarily advertise their job openings in the same places that large corporations do. MBAs should frequently check job postings on individual organizations’ websites. For a daily digest of nonprofit openings, job seekers can add their names to Idealist.org’s mailing list, although most of these jobs are in San Francisco and New York. As with any job search, social networking can also be extremely beneficial.

Working for the U.S. Government

U.S. government agencies including the Internal Revenue Service, the Labor Department, and the Treasury routinely recruit managers through MBA programs. Earning a concentration in public policy, finance, or management can provide a job candidate with an edge over the competition for these government positions. Some MBA programs offer joint MBA/public policy degrees that are also worth considering.

MBAs can find government job listings on USACareers.com and on government agencies’ individual websites. Again, however, the fastest route to actually securing a job may be intense networking.

Start Your Search for Online MBA Programs

The following online MBA programs train students who are interested in nonprofit or government jobs:

George Washington University’s online MBA program in healthcare management trains students to work in government, the private sector, and nonprofit health care environments.

West Virginia University’s online Executive MBA program offers concentrations in finance, marketing, management, entrepreneurship, and non-profit management.

Northeastern University in Boston trains students to work in a range of businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.

The University of Washington’s Executive MBA program has been training leaders in business, government, and nonprofits for more than 25 years.