Essentially, it's the second year of a normal two-year program. The program is only available to those with a Business degree (your degree counts as a waiver for the first year). They do have a program based in South Florida, but the increased costs would not outweigh the benefits, at least that's my stance right now.
Unfortunately on b-school apps they make you go to the 0.01 on GPA, otherwise you'd be able to say 3.0, which is basically what you got anyway. I remember thinking "too bad" because mine rounds up to 3.3, which sounds a little better... Anyway, good luck on your job interview! A solid professional experience is far more important than GPA in the long run.
I agree with you, but I also think JayZ750 is right from a theoretical standpoint. I grew up in Missouri, most of my friends went to Mizzou, I went to a top, private college in New England. I definitely have Mizzou friends who are more successful than I am, so I definitely believe it's what you make of an opportunity not the opportunity itself. That being said... there's clearly something to be said for the prestige, network, and training offered by a top tier school vs. a regional one.
I'm not saying that if you go to Wharton or HBS that you will be more successful than someone who didn't 10/10 times, but you will have a better chance of being more successful and the road won't be as difficult because you will have companies actively seeking you out and you will have a network that is filled with people at prestigious companies.
brand is very overrated. Yes, it does help superficially on a resume but the work you do is what will make you money, not the school you went to. The VP/CFO of my company got his mba from some no name school but he is smart as a whip and works damn hard. that being said. Good luck. Grad school is actually pretty easy and you do some fun projects.
Agreed. I think he also said that different schools are good for different things and different people, for example I want to do general management for my family's startup, which limits the value I would get from the recruiting aspect of the top schools. But again, I agree with you that in general, (if you could generalize) obviously the more pretige, the better.
Any of you in the technology industry trying to get an MBA? (And by technology, I mean you're an IT guy, software engineer, etc..). Basically, what can a techie do with an MBA (besides the obvious, start a company)?
I would like to know that too. And also, if you do want to start your own company, does MBA really helps besides the network advantage?
Hedge Funds and Investment Banks are always looking for software engineers and they are very well compensated too.
I've visited a bunch of b-schools, and there are TONS of people from software / IT backgrounds. So presumably it's a positive career move for them. I don't know from experience, but I'd imagine that b-school would be good for: 1. Becoming a manager. Like chief technical / information officer etc. 2. Career shifts. I think this has been mentioned. If you want to go from software to consulting or finance. 3. Entrepreneurship. Lots of benefits beyond network. There's so many aspects of running a business (finance, accounting, corporate law, HR, etc.) that b-school has classes on. I wouldn't say it's necessary, but saves you from trial and error.
About starting your own company ... the above is definitely true. It's got extra value if you're from an engineering/technical background. I went to an engineering management program at Duke (mechanical engineering undergrad). the program let us take classes at the business school too. - business mindset and engineering mindset (and evaluation of value of a product) are so far apart, understanding both before you butt heads in the office is pretty valuable - it's like a crash course in all the aspects of business you should consider when starting a company (finance, business type, intellectual property ...) - we had seminars with venture capitalists and went through that whole process (how to get funding, when to let the reigns go, etc) I'm pretty sure all engineering management programs the same (stanford and dartmouth have them too). fringe benefits - duke has basketball . All in all valuable experience and networking.
