Consider the dilemma faced by Carla Viana. She could either have dropped out of the workforce for a couple of years and gotten an MBA, or stuck with a senior position at KPMG, the leading professional services firm.

For prospective business school students, leaving a job is perhaps the biggest consideration in deciding whether to pursue an MBA. Some decide they are content to stay in their current careers. Others aspire to climb the corporate ladder with haste.

For Carla, an MBA graduate of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, two years without any income was a price worth paying. “Of course, it’s something you have to take into account,” says Carla, who began her MBA in 2008.

“But in the end, after talking to people who had the experience, I thought it was a good investment. And it was worth it.”

She says that Fuqua alumni helped in her decision to pursue an MBA. “The way they talked about the school and environment made the difference,” says Carla, who is Portuguese. “They had a passion for Fuqua and spoke of how much they enjoyed the experience.”

She began her career with Accenture, a top management consulting firm, and progressed to a senior role over four years. Before transitioning to KPMG, she spent three years at Sonaecom, a retail conglomerate, as a project manager.

For international students, part of the Fuqua appeal is living and working in a strong economy, says Carla. “I had ambitions to work in a more global environment, to get a global perspective and also to strengthen myself with a broader range of knowledge,” she says.

She feels she has achieved her educational goals. “I got great value out of it [the MBA] – not only through the things you learn, but also the interactions you have outside the classroom,” says Carla.

“It was a very diverse environment and Fuqua has more diversity in terms of international students than some other schools.”

Carla says that she wanted to begin an MBA to transition from a consulting to a marketing function. Since graduating in 2010, she has been working for Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Vision Care, an arm of the multinational medical, pharmaceutical and consumer goods manufacturer. She first had a summer internship with the company as an EMEA brand manager.

Carla was recruited on campus. “J&J is one of the main recruiters at Fuqua, so, for sure; it did help me a lot. I don’t know if I would have come across J&J if I didn’t go through the MBA,” she says.

Carla is passionate about her function and says that Fuqua is strong in the areas of strategy and marketing. She feels an MBA degree has helped her move up the company’s ranks to a managerial position. She now oversees marketing strategy in the Nordic countries.

“At my level, the majority of people have MBAs,” says Carla, who is based in Stockholm, Sweden. “It [an MBA] gives me more opportunities to progress. It allowed me to get in easily and I think it continues to give me opportunities to progress.”

She didn’t envisage going into the healthcare sector, but fell in love with J&J after her summer internship. She says that the company matches her values.

Carla is responsible for the overall marketing strategy and execution in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland. She says that it is challenging providing a strategy for countries which are each very different.

“Even though you’re still in Europe, the culture is very different and the way that people live their lives here is very different than what we’d expect from Southern or Central Europe,” says Carla.

In her role, she thinks it is important to keep an open mind. She also regrets not investing more of her time in learning some of the North Germanic languages. “It’s challenging at the beginning, but it has been a very interesting experience,” adds Carla.

She didn’t take advantage of Fuqua’s Health Sector Management program, which is the largest health industry program among top U.S. business schools, but recommends that others consider it.

“That would definitely give people who want to go into healthcare after their MBA an advantage,” says Carla.

She says that the healthcare sector is a growing business and there are a lot of job opportunities for MBA graduates. Her career goals now, she says, are to further her marketing and strategy skills. “I believe one of the advantages of working at J&J is the broad range of opportunities the company can offer you, in terms of functions, because it’s such a big company,” says Carla.

“I plan to continue with J&J, but I’m open to changing geography or even function [within the company].”

The MBA has provided a good return on investment, she adds. “And I would do it all over again.”