Executive MBA's

imported_griffis

Senior member
Sep 14, 2005
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Hey all, I was curious to see if anyone here has an executive MBA or a MBA they acquired while working their professional career. If so, what are some of the standard requirements to get in to a an Executive MBA program or other MBA programs. Georgia residents would be helpful since thats where I live.
 

halik

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
25,696
1
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Honestly a big part of an MBA is networking with all the other students. If I were you, I'd try to do it full time if all possible.
 

imported_griffis

Senior member
Sep 14, 2005
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Yeh, but I do not want to stop my career path for two years and then jump back into it, plus I cannot afford it either.
 

Feldenak

Lifer
Jan 31, 2003
14,090
2
81
I've been looking at EMBA programs too. Trying to come up with a way for the company to pay for it too (perhaps guaranteed to stay with the company for X number of years after completion).

Edit: I believe Emory has a good EMBA program.
 

rsd

Platinum Member
Dec 30, 2003
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What is an "Executive" MBA? I'm doing my MBA part time (being reimbursed through work) while working full-time. In terms of requirements to get into a part-time MBA program, it obviously depends on the school but I think you should have at least a couple of years of work experience and GMAT of ~600 or more (again depends on the school, but I recall seeing that a majority of scores for my program were between 580ish-700).
 

imported_griffis

Senior member
Sep 14, 2005
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I think you are right RSD, the ones I have been looking at run about that for the GMAT score I forget what the GRE score requirement is though. Anyways, an executive MBA let's you acquire an MBA customized to your career path, meaning taking like one class a month on the weekend. It usually requires X number of years as a professional to get it. But, alot of them differ. Thats why I was curious. Hopefully work may pay for mine so that is a consideration
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
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I'm 2 classes short of my MBA. They just now brought back the EMBA program at my college or I would have done it. They got rid of it because they didn't have enough guaranteed participation to keep it up.

EMBA is basically an MBA, but the programs I've seen keep the students close together...basically, you start and finish it with the same classmates. The curriculum is set to go in a certain order to meet accredidation requirements and one of the final projects in the one here is a 2 week business trip to Europe where you get to see an international business first hand. It gives you world perspective and experience.

Price tag on an EMBA is a lot more than an MBA though....so if you can get your job to pay for it, give it a try. Just beware that it takes 2 years or so...
 

UTmtnbiker

Diamond Member
Nov 17, 2000
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I just finished the EMBA program.

To address some of the posts above and to talk about positives and negatives;

In regards to networking - the EMBA is about 100x better than either the day time or P(rofessional)MBA. The reason I say this is because let's face it, the people in the EMBA are generally established in their careers. I can't speak for all EMBA's, but mine had very high level people, including S(enior) VP's, CEO's, and and business owners. The amount of networking I have had has been invaluable. In addition, because of these "high" level people, many of the guest speakers we got to come in talk to us were very high level. As an example, we had the CEO's of JetBlue and Overstock.com, congressmen from both the House of Representatives and Senate. It's great in these small settings where you have lunch with these movers and shakers, and get to pick their brain, ask intelligent questions, etc.

Stronger ties - since most EMBA's are structured programs you go through the entire program with your class of 50 or 60 people. These are ties that bind. I still regularly do things with my classmates. We usually have lunch at least once a month and have parties about once every 2 to 3 months. My friends in the regular program hardly talk to most of their classmates due to only seeing them on a sporadic class basis.

Leadership - because this is an executive program, our courses were focused more on leadership, which is great if this is the path you want to go down. I received a promotion after my MBA and now manage 4 departments. These leadership skills have been invaluable in helping me succeed at work.

Negatives:

Academic rigor - because of the wide range of people (and ages) going to an EMBA, I didn't think academically it was as rigorous as it could be. That's fine in general because I think an MBA is to network and rub elbows, and I did get a lot of the program having an engineering background but if you're there to really understand how to create a balance sheet, or how to do business stats, this isn't the program for you. You'll learn how to do all of the basics, but that's it.

Leadership - if you're going to get an MBA but don't necessarily want to go in to a managerial role then you'll find that an EMBA will unduly focus on leadership and touchy feely issues. This may drive you crazy as it did many of my classmates.

Expense - it's an expensive program. If you can't find a sponsor, it's gonna cost you a lot of money. My program was $38k, and my company paid for 1/2 and I thought that was tough for me to stomach. Others in my class footed the entire bill themselves. Others had it paid for completely by their company. I just heard that the tuition price went up to $42k for the year behind us, so it's not cheap.

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.
 

imported_griffis

Senior member
Sep 14, 2005
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Yeh, the answers here are generally what I have heard, just wanted to see what others that have done it felt about it. I have heard that the networking portion of it is invaluable as well so it's good to hear that again. Any other people have ideas or advice?
 

UTmtnbiker

Diamond Member
Nov 17, 2000
4,129
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81
BTW, the international business trip rocks. We went to Zurich, Switzerland; Milan, Italy; and Rome, Italy over 2 weeks. The school varies geographical location. We were the 2nd year in a row to go to Europe, so I imagine the next one will be to Asia or S. America.

In addition to seeing some pretty interesting companies (Beretta, San Pelligrino, Fendi, Huntsman Chemicals, Zurich Financial, etc), we got to party hard. It was basically a 2 week, rolling drunkfest every night. If you can't stay friends with people you're getting drunk with for 2 weeks straight, you're just an a$$.
 

imported_griffis

Senior member
Sep 14, 2005
592
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71
23 years old with 2 years experience and currently about to move into a more project team environment that will allow me to get more managerial experience, more so a consulting position. Looking at going back to school to get my MBA in about 2 years, just wanted to see how the current educational market is.
 

IceBergSLiM

Lifer
Jul 11, 2000
29,932
3
81
Originally posted by: griffis
23 years old with 2 years experience and currently about to move into a more project team environment that will allow me to get more managerial experience, more so a consulting position. Looking at going back to school to get my MBA in about 2 years, just wanted to see how the current educational market is.

an MBA without work experience is just a piece of paper IMO.

should for like when your 27ish thats a good age where you can really bring something to the table and make the most of the experience
 

halik

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
25,696
1
81
Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
Originally posted by: griffis
23 years old with 2 years experience and currently about to move into a more project team environment that will allow me to get more managerial experience, more so a consulting position. Looking at going back to school to get my MBA in about 2 years, just wanted to see how the current educational market is.

an MBA without work experience is just a piece of paper IMO.

should for like when your 27ish thats a good age where you can really bring something to the table and make the most of the experience


Yeah average for the top 10 programs is 28-29ish
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
If you don't get your MBA from a top 10 or 20 school, then you better be doing it for the education. The benefits of those 3 letters next to your name alone will never pay for themselves. If you apply what you learn to advance your career, then an MBA from any school should suffice. A part-time or executive program is a good way to get that type of education as you keep working and can immediately apply and benefit from the schooling.
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: UTmtnbiker
BTW, the international business trip rocks. We went to Zurich, Switzerland; Milan, Italy; and Rome, Italy over 2 weeks. The school varies geographical location. We were the 2nd year in a row to go to Europe, so I imagine the next one will be to Asia or S. America.

In addition to seeing some pretty interesting companies (Beretta, San Pelligrino, Fendi, Huntsman Chemicals, Zurich Financial, etc), we got to party hard. It was basically a 2 week, rolling drunkfest every night. If you can't stay friends with people you're getting drunk with for 2 weeks straight, you're just an a$$.
I had a 10 day trip to Germany and Italy as part of my program too. That a total blast. Nothing like sitting in the Deusche Bank boardroom at their world HQ and lighting up a cigarette just for the fvck of it (The room was stocked with cigarettes and ashtrays when we entered...)

 

rsd

Platinum Member
Dec 30, 2003
2,293
0
76
Originally posted by: UTmtnbiker
I just finished the EMBA program.

To address some of the posts above and to talk about positives and negatives;

In regards to networking - the EMBA is about 100x better than either the day time or P(rofessional)MBA. The reason I say this is because let's face it, the people in the EMBA are generally established in their careers. I can't speak for all EMBA's, but mine had very high level people, including S(enior) VP's, CEO's, and and business owners. The amount of networking I have had has been invaluable. In addition, because of these "high" level people, many of the guest speakers we got to come in talk to us were very high level. As an example, we had the CEO's of JetBlue and Overstock.com, congressmen from both the House of Representatives and Senate. It's great in these small settings where you have lunch with these movers and shakers, and get to pick their brain, ask intelligent questions, etc.

Stronger ties - since most EMBA's are structured programs you go through the entire program with your class of 50 or 60 people. These are ties that bind. I still regularly do things with my classmates. We usually have lunch at least once a month and have parties about once every 2 to 3 months. My friends in the regular program hardly talk to most of their classmates due to only seeing them on a sporadic class basis.

Leadership - because this is an executive program, our courses were focused more on leadership, which is great if this is the path you want to go down. I received a promotion after my MBA and now manage 4 departments. These leadership skills have been invaluable in helping me succeed at work.

Negatives:

Academic rigor - because of the wide range of people (and ages) going to an EMBA, I didn't think academically it was as rigorous as it could be. That's fine in general because I think an MBA is to network and rub elbows, and I did get a lot of the program having an engineering background but if you're there to really understand how to create a balance sheet, or how to do business stats, this isn't the program for you. You'll learn how to do all of the basics, but that's it.

Leadership - if you're going to get an MBA but don't necessarily want to go in to a managerial role then you'll find that an EMBA will unduly focus on leadership and touchy feely issues. This may drive you crazy as it did many of my classmates.

Expense - it's an expensive program. If you can't find a sponsor, it's gonna cost you a lot of money. My program was $38k, and my company paid for 1/2 and I thought that was tough for me to stomach. Others in my class footed the entire bill themselves. Others had it paid for completely by their company. I just heard that the tuition price went up to $42k for the year behind us, so it's not cheap.

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

Good Info!
I'm actually sort of surprised at the price, because for my MBA program it basically comes out to $60k (60 credits needed at ~$1k per), whether you are evening or full-time. It's a top 30 school I think (but #1 for Entrepreneurial...not that I'm interested in that).

One thing that I agree about is the networking. I know people who are full-time at my school and that is much more prevalent than for us evening students.
 

fisheerman

Senior member
Oct 25, 2006
733
0
0
Originally posted by: griffis
Hey all, I was curious to see if anyone here has an executive MBA or a MBA they acquired while working their professional career. If so, what are some of the standard requirements to get in to a an Executive MBA program or other MBA programs. Georgia residents would be helpful since thats where I live.

A waste of time unless you are going to own your own business $$$$$:cool: or are looking to become another cogg in the big executive machine (boooohhhhh):(...........

sorry had to add that no offense:D

-fish

 

UTmtnbiker

Diamond Member
Nov 17, 2000
4,129
4
81
I would disagree with this statement. I think an MBA, regardless of what school (okay, maybe not U of Phoenix, but any AACSB ccredited school) is beneficial, especially to those already in a career. Maybe if you just received your BA/BS and you go straight in to MBA school, you'll want to look for a top 10 B-school.

But anecdotally speaking, an MBA will open many doors for you if you're already established in a job with a good company. Think of it as another feather to put in your cap when you go to your boss for a promotion or come raise time. In reality, I think it depends on what you want to do with your MBA. If you've got dreams of working for McKinsey or a big consulting firm, yeah, you're going to want top 10. If you're looking to improve your salary earning potential with your current company and possibly making a career shift in a different direction, I think any accredited MBA will do.

Originally posted by: Mwilding
If you don't get your MBA from a top 10 or 20 school, then you better be doing it for the education. The benefits of those 3 letters next to your name alone will never pay for themselves. If you apply what you learn to advance your career, then an MBA from any school should suffice. A part-time or executive program is a good way to get that type of education as you keep working and can immediately apply and benefit from the schooling.

 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: UTmtnbiker
I would disagree with this statement. I think an MBA, regardless of what school (okay, maybe not U of Phoenix, but any AACSB ccredited school) is beneficial, especially to those already in a career. Maybe if you just received your BA/BS and you go straight in to MBA school, you'll want to look for a top 10 B-school.

But anecdotally speaking, an MBA will open many doors for you if you're already established in a job with a good company. Think of it as another feather to put in your cap when you go to your boss for a promotion or come raise time. In reality, I think it depends on what you want to do with your MBA. If you've got dreams of working for McKinsey or a big consulting firm, yeah, you're going to want top 10. If you're looking to improve your salary earning potential with your current company and possibly making a career shift in a different direction, I think any accredited MBA will do.

Originally posted by: Mwilding
If you don't get your MBA from a top 10 or 20 school, then you better be doing it for the education. The benefits of those 3 letters next to your name alone will never pay for themselves. If you apply what you learn to advance your career, then an MBA from any school should suffice. A part-time or executive program is a good way to get that type of education as you keep working and can immediately apply and benefit from the schooling.
My point was that when you walk out of Wharton with your MBA, you are a big swinging dick right away and can leverage it into a big job right away. If you have an MBA from NJIT, like me, you have to apply what you learned to advance yourself (ideally within your own company) you will definitely benefit, but not in the same way.
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,392
1,780
126
Originally posted by: Mwilding
If you don't get your MBA from a top 10 or 20 school, then you better be doing it for the education. The benefits of those 3 letters next to your name alone will never pay for themselves. If you apply what you learn to advance your career, then an MBA from any school should suffice. A part-time or executive program is a good way to get that type of education as you keep working and can immediately apply and benefit from the schooling.

It depends on where you work. One of the classes I took in compensation managment stresses that hiring certain levels of pay requires a master's degree in something. Non-math or engineering degrees were never about anything other than getting your foot in the door anyhow. Sure you learn skills, but on the job training accounts for most of what's required of administrative positions.
 

UTmtnbiker

Diamond Member
Nov 17, 2000
4,129
4
81
You're absolutely right. Apparently, reading comprehension isn't my strong point. :)

Originally posted by: Mwilding
Originally posted by: UTmtnbiker
I would disagree with this statement. I think an MBA, regardless of what school (okay, maybe not U of Phoenix, but any AACSB ccredited school) is beneficial, especially to those already in a career. Maybe if you just received your BA/BS and you go straight in to MBA school, you'll want to look for a top 10 B-school.

But anecdotally speaking, an MBA will open many doors for you if you're already established in a job with a good company. Think of it as another feather to put in your cap when you go to your boss for a promotion or come raise time. In reality, I think it depends on what you want to do with your MBA. If you've got dreams of working for McKinsey or a big consulting firm, yeah, you're going to want top 10. If you're looking to improve your salary earning potential with your current company and possibly making a career shift in a different direction, I think any accredited MBA will do.

Originally posted by: Mwilding
If you don't get your MBA from a top 10 or 20 school, then you better be doing it for the education. The benefits of those 3 letters next to your name alone will never pay for themselves. If you apply what you learn to advance your career, then an MBA from any school should suffice. A part-time or executive program is a good way to get that type of education as you keep working and can immediately apply and benefit from the schooling.
My point was that when you walk out of Wharton with your MBA, you are a big swinging dick right away and can leverage it into a big job right away. If you have an MBA from NJIT, like me, you have to apply what you learned to advance yourself (ideally within your own company) you will definitely benefit, but not in the same way.

 

UTmtnbiker

Diamond Member
Nov 17, 2000
4,129
4
81
I would also say take rankings with a grain of salt. B-schools play all of the ranking games. For example, I graduated from what the Financial Times of London calls the thirtysomething best EMBA program in the world. However, would I rank it that high? Probably not, but the B-school decided they wanted to move up in the rankings so they focused on all of the metrics that the FT looked at and boned up there. Did it do me a lick of good? Not really.

Top 10 is going to be top 10, no matter how you shake it. I think we can all name a bunch of them...Wharton, Sloan, etc. But outside of that does it really matter? It's a lot like law school. My brother-in-law graduated from Stanford law about 10 years ago. He can pretty much write his own ticket on where he wants to go. But the advice he gave to me was that if I wanted to stay in a place like Utah, a degree from Stanford law would be great in the sense that it's Stanford, but a degree from the University of Utah or BYU may be just as good because it's a regional school and you'd be practicing law in the area you got a degree. Same with an MBA. If there's a certain regional area you want to end up at, that's where I'd go get my degree. Regionality has just as much to do with the perception of a "good" degree as the name of the school.