Insead File:Everyone who has ever studied for an MBA will sooner or later be asked by someone considering the programme - was it worth it and would you do it again?

So this month I'm going to pre-empt the inevitable by offering some free advice to anyone who is thinking of enrolling.

All professionals considering the qualification will have their doubts about the scale of the undertaking, so that's where I'll start - by addressing common concerns.

I can clearly remember this time last year when friends and colleagues repeatedly asked: "Why are you leaving your successful career to go back to college to study business? Maybe it makes sense for an engineer, but do bankers really need to study business?"

Don't get me wrong, I had my doubts. With a business degree and seven years' banking experience, I wasn't sure what more I could learn about the business world. However, I was intrigued by Insead's marketing slogan: "One year to challenge your thinking and change your outlook".

It suggested there was more to the MBA than textbook- based learning, more emphasis on the development of soft skills, the intangible qualities which all great managers and leaders possess.

So I took my chance. Now that there's only one month left here in France and I feel I can state definitively: "Non, je ne regrette rien."

Now, I know what cynics are bound to argue. "Of course he believes in the value of his course. Hasn't he just spent a year's wage in tuition costs?"

So why should a professional take the chance? Why should they opt out of the workforce and invest a small fortune in fees? Well, forgive me if it seems I'm stating the obvious but, for one thing, an MBA really does give you a business education.

It didn't always seem so. Back at the start of the course the MBA sometimes seemed nothing more than an academic right of passage for aspirant consultants and apprentice investment bankers who were only interested in perfecting their spreadsheet modelling and presentation skills.

Yet now, with just one month's tuition remaining, we've come to realise that the MBA has actually taught us how to run a business. Only now are we grasping just how much our business acumen has developed through a course that's unique to Insead, called Your First 100 Days, which simulates all the trials and tribulations a new manager might face in his first three months running a factory.

Somewhere over the year we learned (almost without realising it) how to manage inventory to free working capital, how to renegotiate contracts with suppliers to reduce an overdraft and how to communicate a strategic vision to a sceptical workforce.

Of course it's all a simulation, but there's a great sense of achievement in knowing that the MBA has trained you to react intuitively to crises situations. It's not a skill set the average banker gets to develop.

You're also bound to ask: "Wouldn't it have been easier [ and cheaper] to go and really run a firm if that's what you wanted to learn?"

It's a fair question, but the programme is about much more than the development of tangible business skills.

Of course we're taught how to read balance sheets and income statements, but the most important takeaways from the course are intangible and relate to our personal development as individuals and leaders.

For example, by heightening the participant's self-awareness of their skills relative to others, by teaching how best to work cohesively in a group and by changing the way a student looks at the world by broadening his or her horizons, the MBA helps prepare its students for the challenges of management.

So if you're sold on the idea, and are starting to believe that the MBA may help you find the career of your dreams, allow me to offer some specific advice.

Look for heterogeneity among potential classmates; like minds think alike and will likely only reinforce your biases and opinions. The MBA is above all an exercise in personal development - will you really change the way you think if you spend a year surrounded by classmates with similar personal, career and educational histories?

It is also vital to speak with alumni from the schools that appeal to you before applying. You can really get an idea of prospective classmates' profiles - and whether or not you'll learn from them - by talking with previous graduates.

Don't get dazzled by an institution's academic reputation - it's only one of the criteria you should assess when selecting a programme. In reality, the school's alumni network is an equally important criterion.

Think about where you want to be, both geographically and sectorally after graduation, then look for a school with a strong alumni presence in your chosen location and field. The alumni network unlocks doors you previously didn't even know existed.

One final piece of advice: if you choose a full-time course and hope to make a career change after the programme ends, begin your job search immediately. New MBA participants simply don't realise how quickly the year will pass.