Question for Folks with MBA / Grad Business Degrees

[Edster]

My field is technical. I was a worker, started the MBA, and transitioned to management as I was finishing the degree.

The university was good but not very prestigious. It was a good fit for my budget and available time.

It was absolutely worth it.

I learned skills related to managing people, negotiating, and basic business accounting. I use these skills almost every day. If I had to learn them "on the job", I would have been off to a very rough start.

I do wish I could have attended a more prestigious school just to have a more impressive resume. However, the education itself was worth it.

[GardoneVT]

Just to clarify, traditional analyst jobs in finance are very different than the predictive analytics jobs that are hot right now. Here's a bit of background information:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/piyankaj.../#5c78d9a62d62

http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/tag/predictive-analytics/

http://www.wsj.com/articles/wharton-...ing-1462381445

Aren't you glad you asked us, Chance? We'll have it all planned out for you by next week.

This is why asking people who actually do it is always worthwhile , while reading an article sometimes isnt.

In most organizations BI and Data Analytics aren't separate processes. You can't deliver an impactful analysis on a business topic without understanding how you got the data in the first place.

Lets use a shooting example. Say you want to create a reliability scorecard on a sample of 50 randomly selected pistols used by P-F forum members,. BI is the process of collecting the shooting and weapon data from each member , and the analytics involves sticking the data into the dataset software for detailed mathematical analysis. Lets say we use SAS EM for the sake of argument.

How do you know which data variables to include in SAS for the predictive model? Should you reject the data featuring low budget pistols like Girsans and base Tanfoglios, because the cost data skews your price variable ? If you have no idea how you got the data ( self reported by members? Receipts from FFLs at time of sale?) you have no idea how to manipulate it for analytical study. Which in turn influences the practical conclusion of your model.

[Chance]

There are a lot of reasons why you might pursue additional training or education. If it makes sense in your current or future career path, especially if someone else is paying for it, it's kind of hard to resist taking advantage of it.

That's kind of where I'm at. I don't have any kids yet, I don't really have any hobbies (because I've been a broke-ass student all my life), I like learning things, I like being challenged, it's an area I have significant interest in, it could potentially be useful, and someone else is paying for it. Seems kind of dumb to turn away the opportunity.

Just to clarify, traditional analyst jobs in finance are very different than the predictive analytics jobs that are hot right now. Here's a bit of background information:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/piyankaj.../#5c78d9a62d62

http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/tag/predictive-analytics/

http://www.wsj.com/articles/wharton-...ing-1462381445

Cool links. I'll have a gander when I've the time.

Aren't you glad you asked us, Chance? We'll have it all planned out for you by next week.

"I think, therefore it depends."

MBAs, and graduate degrees in general, seem more impressive or intimidating to those without than than with them.

I've never been able to gauge that well. I usually come away from anything I do with a sense of irreverence (ala Groucho Marx's, "I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member,") but that's just me. People that throw their creds around to get a reaction are just douche bags in general.

[ranger]

A "Data Scientist" working with Big Data and various analytic tools is a lot different from a Business Analyst position. It is a very hot field and will continue to get hotter.