Question for Folks with MBA / Grad Business Degrees

[ranger]

In my experience an MBA does not necessarily equal more pay - depends greatly on the company and the culture of that company. Do they pay for resume or results - seen both.

[VolGrad]

farscott and VolGrad are spot on.

I'm quoting this because I'm NEVER spot on here on PF.com. I'm usually more of a red headed stepchild tied to a tree out back.

[Matt O]

Never, never, ever go full time. You can get a very good MBA on the weekends or evenings and not give up the regular income.
Plus, all the pompous asses in the full time program have little real experience. I learned as much from my seasoned classmates as I did from the professors.

I also learned that I should have taken my undergraduate degree in Economics. EVERYTHING in life can be explained with a simple supply/demand curve. Literally!

I don't fully agree with this per se. I think you are somewhat correct in terms of personality and maturity level, but ultimately you should choose how to attend school based on your own life and financial situation, not the attributes of your classmates. Ultimately, who are they to you but passengers on the same train? Admittedly, personally, for me, part-time was and has been the way to go. That may not apply to everyone, however and I just wanted to point that out.

To some of the other comments, an MBA may not mean an immediate pay bump, but, at least a long long time ago, going to school also meant learning things. If Chance is planning on changing careers and focusing on a new area of knowledge and skills, what he learns is of equal value to the degree itself. For example, there are a lot of less-capable students in my Finance classes. They will have the same diploma on the wall that I will, but I know that I can do more than they can and employers notice these things. I changed jobs about 7 months ago with a very significant pay bump and a jump to management. I got that job because I was able to articulate and prove what I had done that was unique - e.g. how I think and solve problems. That capability and experience that I was able to articulate ultimately meant more than the degree I don't yet have. In the end, the MBA, just like any other degree, is a shiny toolbox that hints that you can do certain things. What gets you the job though, is your ability to actually do them.

[RoyGBiv]

I don't fully agree with this per se. I think you are somewhat correct in terms of personality and maturity level, but ultimately you should choose how to attend school based on your own life and financial situation, not the attributes of your classmates. Ultimately, who are they to you but passengers on the same train? Admittedly, personally, for me, part-time was and has been the way to go. That may not apply to everyone, however and I just wanted to point that out.

Of course.. Agreed.

But I'd honestly say the range of good candidates for full time MBA is much smaller than most folks would think. If you have generous parents or a GI benefit that pays for tuition, awesome. I'm tots' jellie. If you're a few years (or less) out of undrgrad, I think real work experience is far more valuable than an MBA, unless you're in the accounting/finance/banking/similar area where an MBA yields more immediate big-bucks opportunities. I'd rather hire a person with a track record of real world accomplishments than an MBA with none/few, but McKinsey and Bain would certainly disagree.

If you are making a good living today, why give that up AND pay big bucks for 2 more years of school when top schools are bending over backwards to make it easy for the gainfully employed to finish an MBA while working full time? If you've been out of school for more than 5 years, and absolutely if more than 10, imagine yourself going to MBA school with your just-graduated self.... Only in a narrow set of circumstances would I recommend it. YMMV, of course.

In the 20 years since, I have never been asked whether I was a full time or "non-traditional" (what they called it back in the day) MBA student as part of anything job related.

[Bratch]

I think it all comes down to the company if it adds any value. A girl I worked with 2 jobs ago got her MBA and it has done nothing for her career; same job, title and pay.

The last company I worked for ($7B O&G company) did not believe that MBAs were a value add and would not pay for employees to get one.

I would try to decide where you want to wind up and do your research if the MBA would be beneficial.

[Chance]

If you take on the effort and expense of grad school, then pick up a valuable skill set that few others posses. Finance is one of those skills sets.

The ins-and-outs of how money works is one of the things I'd really love to learn. People start slinging financial lingo, and unless it has the word "dollars" somewhere in it, I have no idea what's going on.

Regarding having a skillset: I have a BS, MS, and PhD in computer science, so I'm trying to figure out if an MBA would compliment those, or if it would leave me in a disjointed netherworld that's not really one or the other, and thus not especially useful to anyone. Knowledge obtained would still be worth it though, if for no other reason than being able to teach my future children useful things.

Never, never, ever go full time. You can get a very good MBA on the weekends or evenings and not give up the regular income.

That's something I'm looking at. There are a number of excellent part-time programs up here in D/FW that I could try to weasel my way into. However, my present employer wouldn't cover those (not that I'd mind paying out of pocket if it were worth the effort). Were I to use the business school on the other side of campus, I'd probably end up more of a full-time student, since I'm already here during the day anyways.

I would try to decide where you want to wind up and do your research if the MBA would be beneficial.

Well, that's the trick: I'm so clueless, I don't even know where to aim.

[Bratch]

Well, that's the trick: I'm so clueless, I don't even know where to aim.

Personally I would not invest the time or money into an advanced degree with no definitive path for it to repay that investment. If you are just looking to broaden your business knowledge there are tons of online resources you could use for free and at your own pace. If you don't know how you will use the MBA to advance your career not having one won't hurt you.

[RoyGBiv]

The ins-and-outs of how money works is one of the things I'd really love to learn. People start slinging financial lingo, and unless it has the word "dollars" somewhere in it, I have no idea what's going on.

Free: https://www.coursera.org/courses?lan...&query=finance

I've taken a couple of Coursera courses over the last few years... Both excellent.
Totally chickened out on taking intro Mandarin a few months ago...

My post-grad interest has been in behavioral economics... What drives people to make decisions, good or bad..
Stuff like this.... https://www.coursera.org/learn/duke-behavioral-finance

Here's the dirty secret.... I feel like I learned a few important things in grad school, but the most important things I learned were 1. The stuff I was thinking and doing at work was the right stuff, and I didn't need an MBA to know what to do. and 2. The language of business. All the other "facts" are easy to learn outside getting an MBA. Especially more so today with places like Coursera that didn't exist 20 years ago.

Also.... an MBA is fairly general... If you want to go into the finance field (example), an MBA will not prepare you for that. You'd be better off getting a degree of some sort (BA, Masters) in finance or economics. CS + MBA does not prepare you to work in mergers and acquisitions, not without a lot more training on the job. Adding an MBA to a CS degree after 5+ years of real work experience is a door opener, IMO.

[Chance]

Free: https://www.coursera.org/courses?lan...&query=finance

I've taken a couple of Coursera courses over the last few years... Both excellent.

Oh, yeah. Coursera and Great Courses put on some fantastic content. I often wonder if my SO keeps Great Courses in business, as she has literal piles of those videos lying around. Combine that with some outstanding content on YouTube from places like Khan Academy or individuals that just have a passion for the material, and you can definitely put a respectable base of knowledge together.

But on the flip side, if I can take a five minute walk to get to one coherent program where people explain it to me in person for free... it kind of seems like a waste not to take advantage of that. There's one guy in the department who basically collects Master's degree as a hobby: he has three of them now.

So the growing consensus seems to be: it could potentially be useful at some point, but is rarely a game changer, and wouldn't be of any special use to me specifically.

[RoyGBiv]

So the growing consensus seems to be: it could potentially be useful at some point, but is rarely a game changer, and wouldn't be of any special use to me specifically.

It can be a game changer if you have a plan for it to be so. Got your eye on a new career? A specific new job?... If an MBA helps get the door open... Game changer. For me, with a science degree working in a science job, an MBA was THE key ingredient to get me to the next level. Sad that I had to change employers to make it happen, but, without the MBA I would not have been considered for the new position. My science background was a useful ingredient to the new position, but my professional experience + MBA was what got me in the door. If you are just adding to your degree collection, I don't think it's worth the cost.