Perspective on an MBA

Here's a recent comment on my post titled The Value of an MBA that I thought you all would want to see. It provides some interesting insights/opinions -- especially for those of you considering an MBA:

I think there is a lot of misinformation conveyed above. There are really 2 distinct issues at hand when evaluating getting an MBA. First, improved/incremented knowledge and performance in your job. Second, increased job and career opportunities. In the first instance, getting an MBA if you are NOT educated about business AND work in a business/administrative capacity should clearly provide a benefit AND over time performance improvement and progress simply because you can do your job better. That will probably not propel your career at a vastly accelerated rate BUT should be helpful unless your company has no appreciation for improved work quality. You will still be impacted by all the other work processes/idiosyncrasies like politics, openings, growth or lack thereof creating opportunities etc. You also have to look at the culture of the company and see if having advanced business skills and knowledge are appreciated, acknowledged, utilized and rewarded. In some companies they are not due to size, family ownership etc. There is generally some opportunity cost to getting an MBA, whether time, money etc. You need to look and see objectively if you can get ahead with whatever degree you have or whether there is an "opportunity" premium associated with the degree.

In the second case, getting increased opportunities to really impact your career is probably reflective of going to a Top 10-20 school. However, you have to look at who recruits at the school, where their graduates focus and who they work for. National schools still have their niches. The cost is high for attending if you have to pay BUT generally you will leverage your pay significantly AND also the range of opportunities available to you. If, however, you are past 40 AND not say an ex military officer the benefit might be minimal. In many cases, at that point your career is established and the MBA is like frosting vs. flour. One finishes you off vs. being a core piece of development. The ideal MBA candidate is in the mid 20s-30 with at least 3-5 years of large business or organization experience. There is more appreciation for small company experiences than when I went to get my MBA at the University of Michigan in 1980. Then it was all large corporation focused...GM, GE, IBM, P & G etc. Now with the growth of venture capital, entrepreneurship, high growth companies etc the view is different. Getting a top 5 MBA like I did, opened doors which would not have otherwise been open especially with a BA in history and economics. It enabled me to move out of field sales into consulting, financial and strategic planning then marketing and general management. It gave me the background to do all those things successfully and the confidence to believe in myself due to increased skills and knowledge. It gave me a very good network of graduates to tap into. That especially is of very high value over the long run. Ultimately, 10 years out you have to be able to deliver but the MBA can open doors, enable you to perform and give you momentum with a good earnings stream. It also gives you the ability to be adaptive, deal with change, understand it in a broader context and should make you better able to be strategic and more objective and hopefully more flexible. Those are all key attributes in the business world. In terms of ROI, the payout is not just immediate but also in terms of momentum, that received and that which you can develop yourself due to the skills from the degree.

Realistically, you can also develop many of these skills by attending a good BBA program like Michigan, Wharton etc. Getting a law degree with lots of business courses also prepares you very well for business, especially in terms of critical thinking. The MBA will give you more soft business courses but a JD with accounting, finance, and some management courses will do good things too if the rest of the focus is business law. In today’s environment, the legal requirements and government involvement are omnipresent.

BTW, if you have a top BA many investment banks, consulting firms, and some other firms, all large, Fortune 500 types will provide you outstanding training that is as good as an MBA, mostly because the teachers are all MBA school profs doing "Exec" education. But that will not provide you the network of contacts, the degree, prestige etc but will give you good knowledge.

Good Luck.

Any additional thoughts on this?

Comments

[J in FL]

My only thoughts are that this person is right on. I also think that getting an MBA is all about timing and leverage... however, it's not the right path for everyone. But for most people, if done properly, it will usually pay off in the short/long run.

[tom]

A lot of doors will open up for a 20-30 something with an MBA from a top tier school. However, the author is right in the fact that 10 years out, it won't mean anything if you cannot deliver. It's up to you to take advantage of the skills you learned in the program.