At WHAT POINT do you need a MBA?

[E equals MC2]

My friend makes $80K doing IT consulting with a Bachelor degree (28 yo)
My other friend is in Project management and makes little shy of six figures (29 yo)
My GF's tutor student's mom is a VP of Finance making big big bucks just holding a Bachelor and being right place at the right time in a small company.

My friend holds MBA.. he currently makes $65K doing finance work.
My coworker holds MBA making $48K holding the exact same position as I.

I know Bachelor means nothing and it all comes down to your character... but same can be said for MBA? Then why would I need MBA?

 

[Adn4n]

I might not be the right person to say this since I'm pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering and equate a degree in business to toilet paper, but higher education is good to have if you are applying for a position at a company you haven't previously worked at. Otherwise, your hunch holds true imo.

 

[E equals MC2]

Originally posted by: Adn4n
I might not be the right person to say this since I'm pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering and equate a degree in business to toilet paper, but higher education is good to have if you are applying for a position at a company you haven't previously worked at. Otherwise, your hunch holds true imo.

I figure MBA is pretty useless and it's just good to have it for your odds if your company is willing to pay for it.

 

[LS21]

at the point that your career progression is hindered without it. quite obvious to me. mba doesnt mean much in my parts. people will recognize what you can do, not what a paper says you can do

 

[Kadarin]

It's useful if you want to go into management.

 

[Slew Foot]

65K with an MBA? meh, whats the point.

 

[ultimatebob]

If Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Michael Dell can all become tech billionaires without getting an MBA, I wouldn't say that having one is a requirement.

They might be helpful once you get into senior management, but there is nothing saying that you HAVE to get one.

 

[Delita]

Originally posted by: ultimatebob
If Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Michael Dell can all become tech billionaires without getting an MBA, I wouldn't say that having one is a requirement.

They might be helpful once you get into senior management, but there is nothing saying that you HAVE to get one.

50 Cent doesnt have a degree either and he makes a shitload. Hell whats the point. Im just going to start rapping/playing sports. I like my chances.

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: Delita

Originally posted by: ultimatebob
If Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Michael Dell can all become tech billionaires without getting an MBA, I wouldn't say that having one is a requirement.

They might be helpful once you get into senior management, but there is nothing saying that you HAVE to get one.

50 Cent doesnt have a degree either and he makes a shitload. Hell whats the point. Im just going to start rapping/playing sports. I like my chances.

People don't understand the idea of anecdotes.

 

[LongCoolMother]

you will feel the need for an MBA when you've risen to a certain level in your career. look at the pre- and post-MBA stats for major business programs (Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, etc.) and you'll notice that an MBA matters a lot for the right people.

 

[Capt Caveman]

It varies. A MBA doesn't automatically mean you're going to be making six figures.

However, when interviewing two individuals with similar experience, the individual with a MBA may tip the offer their way.

Also, a MBA provides:

An advanced education
If you didn't have a business undergraduate degree or in a non-business career, it can give you the tools to change careers
Allow you to develop your teamwork and communication skills
Great networking opportunity that can lead to new career opportunities
Greater exposure to job opportunities from companies that recruit on campus to that school's career center

 

[everman]

A lot of it has to do with the school you get the MBA from, networking is one of the more important aspects of a top MBA program.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
If you didn't have a business undergraduate degree or in a non-business career, it can give you the tools to change careers

If you aren't going into a top program, from what I understand this would be the only reason to pay for one yourself. As is the case with me, I will graduate with a degree in "Social Science" which is fine for what my goals are but should I choose to become a suit it'll be either law school or MBA for me.

 

[Cattlegod]

If you go to a top 10 school and get your MBA, you can pull 170k your first year after you graduate if you choose consulting as your focus (120k base, 30k signing bonus, 20k year end bonus) at ~28 years old, much more than that if you make a huge life sacrifice and go IB.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
If you didn't have a business undergraduate degree or in a non-business career, it can give you the tools to change careers

If you aren't going into a top program, from what I understand this would be the only reason to pay for one yourself. As is the case with me, I will graduate with a degree in "Social Science" which is fine for what my goals are but should I choose to become a suit it'll be either law school or MBA for me.

or you could just read "MBA for dummies"

I know someone going for an MBA, and at the end of their degree, they told me they learned as much from that book as they did in school.

 

[Gunslinger08]

I think it's generally recognized that an MBA is worthless for everything but making you an additional $10-20k per year.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
If you didn't have a business undergraduate degree or in a non-business career, it can give you the tools to change careers

If you aren't going into a top program, from what I understand this would be the only reason to pay for one yourself. As is the case with me, I will graduate with a degree in "Social Science" which is fine for what my goals are but should I choose to become a suit it'll be either law school or MBA for me.

or you could just read "MBA for dummies"

I know someone going for an MBA, and at the end of their degree, they told me they learned as much from that book as they did in school.

This anecdote doesn't mean much without providing the name of the school.. if he went to Harvard then I'd be impressed, if he went to Phoenix Underwater Basketweaving Business College then I'd say what's your point.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Adn4n
I might not be the right person to say this since I'm pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering and equate a degree in business to toilet paper, but higher education is good to have if you are applying for a position at a company you haven't previously worked at. Otherwise, your hunch holds true imo.

:laugh:

At the university I go to, they had the brilliant idea to put the engineers and business students together in the same building. The thinking was apparently that, since they were near to each other, they'd just start magically infusing each other with knowledge from the different disciplines, just from passing in the halls. The problem is, the apparent animosity between the two is still there. Engineers seem to see business students as lazy whiners. Business students, well, I don't know how they view engineers.
My experience thus far:
- Business students as roommates were generally party-hungry slobs, who I'd never once see do homework.
- Someone I know switched from mechanical engineering to something in business. He says that it is so very much easier: less work, and the content is more simplistic.
- Engineering programs have the highest number of credits out of any degrees offered by this campus. Increasingly, bachelor degrees in engineering are becoming 5-year affairs.
- I'm in a project management class, taught by a business professor. He says that it's easier to teach us in one respect, because we don't collectively panic when he writes an equation on the board. We also tend not to answer questions he poses to the class, because they are so simple, everyone thinks they're missing something important. For example, he might talk about some concept for awhile, draw a really simple, but relevant, graph on the board, and ask, "What's the general trend of this graph?"
He's looking for, "The trend is increasing."
That's it! Not a college level question, not even a high school level question. That's what, middle school stuff? Why is he bothering asking? He might as well hold up a piece of chalk and ask, "What's this?"
I studied about 30 minutes for the first test. I don't remember which I got, 93% or 95%. It's a mind-numbing class. In our projects, he consistently is "wowed" by how good the class generally does. These projects seriously require minimal effort and time, and I don't know how they could really be screwed up.

A degree in business, well, maybe it's at least as good as some nicely quilted 2-ply toilet paper.

 

[LongCoolMother]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: Adn4n
I might not be the right person to say this since I'm pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering and equate a degree in business to toilet paper, but higher education is good to have if you are applying for a position at a company you haven't previously worked at. Otherwise, your hunch holds true imo.

:laugh:

At the university I go to, they had the brilliant idea to put the engineers and business students together in the same building. The thinking was apparently that, since they were near to each other, they'd just start magically infusing each other with knowledge from the different disciplines, just from passing in the halls. The problem is, the apparent animosity between the two is still there. Engineers seem to see business students as lazy whiners. Business students, well, I don't know how they view engineers.
My experience thus far:
- Business students as roommates were generally party-hungry slobs, who I'd never once see do homework.
- Someone I know switched from mechanical engineering to something in business. He says that it is so very much easier: less work, and the content is more simplistic.
- Engineering programs have the highest number of credits out of any degrees offered by this campus. Increasingly, bachelor degrees in engineering are becoming 5-year affairs.
- I'm in a project management class, taught by a business professor. He says that it's easier to teach us in one respect, because we don't collectively panic when he writes an equation on the board. We also tend not to answer questions he poses to the class, because they are so simple, everyone thinks they're missing something important. For example, he might talk about some concept for awhile, draw a really simple, but relevant, graph on the board, and ask, "What's the general trend of this graph?"
He's looking for, "The trend is increasing."
That's it! Not a college level question, not even a high school level question. That's what, middle school stuff? Why is he bothering asking? He might as well hold up a piece of chalk and ask, "What's this?"
I studied about 30 minutes for the first test. I don't remember which I got, 93% or 95%. It's a mind-numbing class. In our projects, he consistently is "wowed" by how good the class generally does. These projects seriously require minimal effort and time, and I don't know how they could really be screwed up.

A degree in business, well, maybe it's at least as good as some nicely quilted 2-ply toilet paper.

LOL. sums up the case at my university precisely. :thumbsup:

 

[sniperruff]

for a career-changer like myself, MBA at a credible b-school is the key to a new career.

<--- baruch honors MBA student this fall

 

[yllus]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
My experience thus far:
- Business students as roommates were generally party-hungry slobs, who I'd never once see do homework.

Reminds me of my experience dating a business undergrad while I was in computer science. As I think my fellow scientists and engineers can attest to, when March Break rolled around, it's not time for a break. It's time to panic and build/write code day and night because the deadline is right around the corner - and you've got to squeeze in some time for exam studying, too.

The business student I was dating, on the other hand, went to Myrtle Beach for five days with her girlfriends. She seemed a little shocked that I wasn't kicking back and relaxing. I was shocked that other university students weren't in crunch mode.

That said, an MBA from a respectable school is something wholly different. There's a hell of a lot of hard work and long hours to be had in such a program, and your payoff at the end is commensurate. It's a nice degree to get to round out your education as you head into the upper levels of management.

 

[Mo0o]

From what I hear, if your MBA isn't from a top 10 school, might as well not bother and just spend the time beefing up the resume w/ job exp instead.

 

[Imdmn04]

I hate it when people pick outliers as examples to prove a point. Learn some statistics, your sample size is way too small to make any kind of correlation.

Like Bill Gates dropped out of college, and therefore, a college degree is useless.

On average, an MBA degree holder will make more than a BS degree holder, which will make more than a high school grad.

That is the simple truth. There is nothing guaranteed in life, but a higher education will enable you to have a better chance to have a better life.

 

[JS80]

If at the age of 28 (average age of MBA student?) you are willing to spend $200k for b-school and forgo 2 years of earnings power...well let's just say you most likely failed in your career.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: JS80
If at the age of 28 (average age of MBA student?) you are willing to spend $200k for b-school and forgo 2 years of earnings power...well let's just say you most likely failed in your career.

Sure, if they use your failed logic.