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Getting a Masters in Information Systems or get an MBA?

D

dn7309

Senior member
I'm at a crossroad where I'm looking to get a Masters. Currently in the Military and I don't see myself separating any time soon, but a Masters is required for future promotions.

Most Officers will typically go to diploma mill just to get a Masters in "basket weaving" to check off the box on their promotion package. But I'm not looking to waste my time and money just to get anyone degree for the sake of promotion. I want to get a degree that could be useful just in case my plan changes or the military decides to cut their forces.

I'm currently looking to get either an MSIS or an MBA. Anyone who completed a Masters want to give some information and guidance?
 
what's your bachelors in?

I have a fairly low opinion of MBA's, but IMO an MIS is next to useless.
 
I have a MBA from a decently ranked program. I'm a bit cnyical about it, but it got my my current job so I can't be too cynical.

The real question to ask yourself is what is the purpose of getting an MBA; the goal if you will. You seem to know that, and that goal is to check a box for your promotion board. An MBA is a nice generic management degree that may actually help you as - and this is my guess because I don't know crap about military management - is that as you get promoted you need more general skills than in the lower ranks. I think an MBA would complement that.

If you were in industry, I would suggest get a specific targeted masters such as an accountancy, finance, supply chain, etc.

My guess is that when you separate (unless you go all the way) looking at jobs in the private sector leadership experience + MBA will get your more mileage than an information systems degree.
 
I actually have both degrees, a MS MIS and an MBA. The MS MIS was worthless and didn't help one bit in getting jobs afterwards. The MBA, on the other hand still gets attention. I haven't gone into full-blown job searching mode after getting the MBA, so I don't know how much it will improve my chances with interviews and such, but in general when it is brought up in conversation at my current job, the MBA is definitely worth more.

If you are looking to actually learn new things, I would again recommend the MBA. My BS was also in MIS and the Master's program was just another iteration of everything I learned before except for larger projects and papers; that and I had to do a 60+ page research study. Think of it as a mini-dissertation but in the end it was worth nothing. The MBA was more helpful because you get to go through many scenarios of analysis from case studies and you actually learn a lot from stories and experiences told by fellow MBA candidates in classes. So yeah you got my $.02 on the matter.
 
Mide said:
I actually have both degrees, a MS MIS and an MBA. The MS MIS was worthless and didn't help one bit in getting jobs afterwards. The MBA, on the other hand still gets attention. I haven't gone into full-blown job searching mode after getting the MBA, so I don't know how much it will improve my chances with interviews and such, but in general when it is brought up in conversation at my current job, the MBA is definitely worth more.

If you are looking to actually learn new things, I would again recommend the MBA. My BS was also in MIS and the Master's program was just another iteration of everything I learned before except for larger projects and papers; that and I had to do a 60+ page research study. Think of it as a mini-dissertation but in the end it was worth nothing. The MBA was more helpful because you get to go through many scenarios of analysis from case studies and you actually learn a lot from stories and experiences told by fellow MBA candidates in classes. So yeah you got my $.02 on the matter.
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So what industry are you in and how is it like going through an MBA program vs an MIS program?

I just read Forbes list of highest paid Masters degree and the MIS is ranked in there where as an MBA is not. Being in psychology and done a lot of research, I know better than to just "published" statistics from a commercial website; but these kind of list got me thinking. :hmm:
 
well shit happens 🙂

It probably doesn't matter what your degree is when you do get out and look for a job - as a former Officer anyone will hire you on the spot.

Though I would have more respect for the MIS degree - but I'm not in HR
 
dn7309 said:
So what industry are you in and how is it like going through an MBA program vs an MIS program?

I just read Forbes list of highest paid Masters degree and the MIS is ranked in there where as an MBA is not. Being in psychology and done a lot of research, I know better than to just "published" statistics from a commercial website; but these kind of list got me thinking. :hmm:
Click to expand...

Just taking a stab at it, my guess is that since there are roughly eleventy billion MBA program and graduates, the aggregate average sucks balls. There are probably far fewer MIS programs than MBAs. As such average salaries reflect the amount of crummy online, for-profit, or community college level MBAs out there. If you were to focus on only decent schools - and I'm not talking top ten or twenty, but just 'real' schools - the MBA averages would probably be higher in terms of pay. It's arrogant, in a sense, but I think that's the reality.

However, with all of that sort of classicism and rankings thrown in there, if your goal is to check a box and get promoted, my opinion is to get the cheapest and fastest accredited degree you can.
 
Babbles said:
Just taking a stab at it, my guess is that since there are roughly eleventy billion MBA program and graduates, the aggregate average sucks balls. There are probably far fewer MIS programs than MBAs. As such average salaries reflect the amount of crummy online, for-profit, or community college level MBAs out there. If you were to focus on only decent schools - and I'm not talking top ten or twenty, but just 'real' schools - the MBA averages would probably be higher in terms of pay. It's arrogant, in a sense, but I think that's the reality.

However, with all of that sort of classicism and rankings thrown in there, if your goal is to check a box and get promoted, my opinion is to get the cheapest and fastest accredited degree you can.
Click to expand...

I want a degree as a back up just in case the military career ends early. My next assignment will be in southern California, so I will try to apply to UCLA or University of California, Irvine, worst case scenario, I will be have to go to California State University, Long Beach.

Only applying to public schools since it cheaper and they are easier to qualify for military Tuition Assistance (less hurdle through the verification process).

And seriously, does name of school matter?
 
dn7309 said:
I want a degree as a back up just in case the military career ends early. My next assignment will be in southern California, so I will try to apply to UCLA or University of California, Irvine, worst case scenario, I will be have to go to California State University, Long Beach.

Only applying to public schools since it cheaper and they are easier to qualify for military Tuition Assistance (less hurdle through the verification process).

And seriously, does name of school matter?
Click to expand...

for an MBA? absolutely.

don't bother with CSU LB.
 
dn7309 said:
I'm at a crossroad where I'm looking to get a Masters. Currently in the Military and I don't see myself separating any time soon, but a Masters is required for future promotions.

Most Officers will typically go to diploma mill just to get a Masters in "basket weaving" to check off the box on their promotion package. But I'm not looking to waste my time and money just to get anyone degree for the sake of promotion. I want to get a degree that could be useful just in case my plan changes or the military decides to cut their forces.

I'm currently looking to get either an MSIS or an MBA. Anyone who completed a Masters want to give some information and guidance?
Click to expand...

The military is paying for all or most of it, right? If you have to pay for it out of pocket with no reimbursement, my advice is this -- don't do it or pick a cheap option like WGU.
 
dn7309 said:
I want a degree as a back up just in case the military career ends early. My next assignment will be in southern California, so I will try to apply to UCLA or University of California, Irvine, worst case scenario, I will be have to go to California State University, Long Beach.

Only applying to public schools since it cheaper and they are easier to qualify for military Tuition Assistance (less hurdle through the verification process).

And seriously, does name of school matter?
Click to expand...


Yes 🙁

It's stupid and lame, but many companies get off on it. Some (just about all of the 'big name' ones) will recruit exclusively at certain schools. For example, in the area I got my MBA, McKinsey would recruit from our school but not even bother stopping by the other universities. The reality is, accounting is accounting is accounting. Financial math works the same regardless of where you are. Statistics are universal. However, the experiences and opportunities are different. Not to mention the caliber of your cohorts. I suspect the 'better' programs have better case study instruction. Law schools and business schools seem to get all excited about rankings and names.

UCLA Anderson is a very well thought of and decently ranked MBA program. Cal State Long Beach, not so much.
 
Babbles said:
Yes 🙁

It's stupid and lame, but many companies get off on it. Some (just about all of the 'big name' ones) will recruit exclusively at certain schools. For example, in the area I got my MBA, McKinsey would recruit from our school but not even bother stopping by the other universities. The reality is, accounting is accounting is accounting. Financial math works the same regardless of where you are. Statistics are universal. However, the experiences and opportunities are different. Not to mention the caliber of your cohorts. I suspect the 'better' programs have better case study instruction. Law schools and business schools seem to get all excited about rankings and names.

UCLA Anderson is a very well thought of and decently ranked MBA program. Cal State Long Beach, not so much.
Click to expand...

Where did you got your MBA?
 
School name matters definitely, however; you don't have to be going to a Top 10 in reality if you have a good background.

My brother did B.S. at WGU in Network Design. Now he's carrying a 4.0 average in his third year in a correspondent Harvard Master's Program in Computer Engineering focusing on Data Science. People laugh at WGU, but many places take their degrees seriously.

Harvard has invited him to assist in teaching this year.
 
dn7309 said:
So what industry are you in and how is it like going through an MBA program vs an MIS program?

I just read Forbes list of highest paid Masters degree and the MIS is ranked in there where as an MBA is not. Being in psychology and done a lot of research, I know better than to just "published" statistics from a commercial website; but these kind of list got me thinking. :hmm:
Click to expand...

I would also call bullshit on those statistics. I work in higher education within back-end IT infrastructure so I went the technical route instead of the mgmt one. I would need to get back into the private sector with a larger corporation for my degrees to be utilized.

When I went through the MS MIS program it was, as I said, just like the undergraduate MIS program. I had to take higher level classes relating to programming, databases, systems analysis and design, project mgmt, etc. But instead of having 3 tests and 1 paper as an undergrad, I had 3 tests, 5 papers, and 2 large group projects (Per class). Coursework = more intense just because you have to work your ass off to finish off all of the extra stuff. Does this make you smarter or more prepared for management? I sincerely doubt it.

When I went through the MBA program it consisted of a ton of reading, a bunch of research papers, case analysis, group discussions, and group projects. I guess the main difference was that the MS MIS had you do a lot more busy work all relating to the IT industry while the MBA program was more geared towards strategic analysis and discussions.

The most interesting takeaways happened in the MBA program because everyone worked in different industries and in different areas and you got to hear about how things worked in those different environments. I was one of the few IT people, we had a Pharmacist, an Attorney, a bunch of random managers, a few engineers, a few accountants, etc. I read that this aspect of any MBA program is what's the most important. That is why a lot of those top 10 MBA programs have candidates that work in very large industries and fancy companies. Knowledge gained from hearing about experiences that happened on major projects within Facebook, Cisco, Google, PWC, Mckinsey, KPMG, Intel, GM, GE, etc = gold.
 
dn7309 said:
I'm currently looking to get either an MSIS or an MBA. Anyone who completed a Masters want to give some information and guidance?
Click to expand...

Five easy points.

One
Having an advanced degree will likely provide you with more career options than not having one.

Two
The value of an advanced degree is context sensitive. For example, in an employment context it is worth what a potential employer values it as. Different employers value different degrees differently. (No degree is a silver bullet.)

Three
While I would encourage you to get either degree, I suspect that an MBA would provide you with more flexibility than an MIS degree.

Four
MBA programs are accredited by different external agencies. If you are seeking a recognized program, it might be best to limit your choices to AACSB accredited schools.

Five
In graduate school, the quality of the faculty and your ability to interact with the faculty is generally considered much more important that it is in undergraduate. Consequently, researching the faculty and their publications will likely serve you well.

Its your decision, you can likely be successful with a number of different degrees. So, do your research, make your decision, and get your degree!

Best of luck,
Uno
 
My sister in law got her MBA and she's dumber than a box of nails. After getting it she was all high and pumped on herself, so she went for her Series 7. That was epic 😀
 
unokitty said:
Five easy points.

One
Having an advanced degree will likely provide you with more career options than not having one.

Two
The value of an advanced degree is context sensitive. For example, in an employment context it is worth what a potential employer values it as. Different employers value different degrees differently. (No degree is a silver bullet.)

Three
While I would encourage you to get either degree, I suspect that an MBA would provide you with more flexibility than an MIS degree.

Four
MBA programs are accredited by different external agencies. If you are seeking a recognized program, it might be best to limit your choices to AACSB accredited schools.

Five
In graduate school, the quality of the faculty and your ability to interact with the faculty is generally considered much more important that it is in undergraduate. Consequently, researching the faculty and their publications will likely serve you well.

Its your decision, you can likely be successful with a number of different degrees. So, do your research, make your decision, and get your degree!

Best of luck,
Uno
Click to expand...

This is the best answer I got so far. especially the second bullet point.
 
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