What is the value of an MBA in todays economy?

If you work in Finance, its better to get an CFA.

 

I'm thinking about getting one too. I just took the GMAT and am looking at schools to apply to so I can start next fall.

I guess school would cost you around 30-50k total. But, a lot of the GMAT study books say that the starting salary for MBA graduates is around 90k. I dunno about you, but I'll take that.

But for me, the primary reason I want an MBA is so I can expand my career options in case my current job (software engineer) gets outsourced.

 

I have a friend who is just leaving the Yale MBA program. He says it was mainly worth it for the contacts and the prestige (for lack of a better word). He's already got a ton of offers for positions.

 

I doubt it. An MBA is all about the job you get right out of school. It's about networking, something you don't get at a degree mill like U of Phx or DeVry.

 

Before UH MBA = night
After UH MBA = day

I'll admit my company does not recruit from UH so I had to pound the pavement a bit. But the MBA (and the 3.8 I got in MBA program) gave me credibility.....which I needed after partying myself to a 2.7 GPA at Vanderbilt.

 

My boss recently started laughing out loud when reviewing resumes and saw one from UofPhoenix. That resume went in the trash with no call-back. Take that for what it's worth but U of Phoenix doesn't have a good rep.

All that said, I've been thinking about getting an MBA. I've asked around and so many people these days have MBA's that it's starting to get watered down. Like everything, it's WHO YOU KNOW. ...and if you meet a lot of people getting an MBA, then great. But spending 50k to get contacts seems like a lot to me.

I'm still deciding but I doubt I'll do it.

 

depending on your career and the school it can be great.

however i do think overall its significance and benefit are over-rated.

 

Answer: I damn well hope it's valuable...

 

I've considered doing it too. I put my 'career' on hold once due to family reasons, then got a masters to get back in. I had to leave again for another family reason so now I'm considering an MBA to get back into industry when the time comes.

A friend of mine, several years older and further along in his career (also w/ a masters) went back to get an MBA a year ago. What happened was a higher position opened up and he the most qualified to get promoted next. But the company ended up hiring an outside MBA person instead of promoting within. Thus his decision to get an MBA. He also strongly encouraged me to do the same before I start going back to industry. Also, he highly recommended doing the program fulltime, instead of the weekend or distance MBA's which some major programs offer. He said you'll get way more out of it.

As for University of Phoenix and the like, my guess is they might not be worth it. But I have no idea. Keep in mind you'll be competing against people w/ MBA's from brick and mortar universities so I don't think you'd fair too well. Hopefully I'm wrong. Maybe someone else has more insight.

One more thing, which may have been overlooked. Some companies are more than willing to help out w/ employees who want to further their education. You might want to ask your company if they offer this.

 

There are several aspects, of which some have already been hit upon:

1. Credibility
2. Contacts
3. What hasnt been mentioned yet... KNOWLEDGE.

A few good profs can make it well worth it if you plan on a professional career in many functional areas incl. executive mgmt. With knowldge comes confidence and ooportunity. Overrated my arse.

I found mine well worth it. I was interacting on a regular basis with Senior Mgmt of a 2 billion dollar company w/i a short few months of my MBA. I helped take another company public w/i 2 years of my degree and vested in stock. None of that would have happened.

But if you're not either 1) sharp or 2) an MBA from a top-tier college, it is prob nearly worthless.

 

My concern would be that the most benefit I rec'd from the program was not the textbooks but the interaction w/i the class and professors. I would be very concerned about whether Phoenix could deliver that.

 

I think the main benefit is that you will meet a lot of ballers. And people that hang around ballers tend to become ballers too.

It would probably be cheaper to just hang out at the yacht club bar though.

 

Or just hang out at the Baller's club. Duh.

And good point Cohen, which I totally overlooked. The major point of a good program is the interaction. While I can understand some people's circumstances for not being able to do it full time and in person, it's in your best interest to do it if you can. Some courses I took were MBA electives so I can't even imagine taking them long distance and getting the same experience.

 

Classic!

 

It depends on the job. If its a marketing or management job, it makes a big difference. All things being equal, management and recruiters tend to look more favorably on people with mba's than those that don't. Now if they had to choose someone with no experience with and MBA and someone with experience without one, experience would rule.

 

It's not like I spelled it 'nawlij'.

 

If you are going to get a distance education degree, get it from a brick-and-mortar institution that offers correspondence classes. I'm doing that for an MS from Oklahoma State.