MBA value for soldiers

Hello friends,
I am an enlisted soldier who's about to receive my commission from OCS at Ft Benning. Reading through some threads here, I get the impression that there are some current and former military officers here.
With your experience, and with the broader opinion of the board members, do you see any value for officers (or even enlisted soldiers) in studying for an MBA? can the degree that is mostly for corporate workers help in a military environment?

I'm hoping to serve at least another 10 years in the military. So my choice for now is between AMU's Master's in national security studies or an online MBA (to be determined later).

Any opinion is appreciated.

 

First off, thank you for your service to the country.

I don't think an MBA could ever be considered a negative for a military officer. Colin Powell did pretty well for himself with an undergrad Geology degree from City College of New York and an MBA from George Washington University;

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/pow0bio-1

What is your MOS?

 

Well, MBA specialized in Management is a big key element for the Military Commissioned Officers. The idea of managing employees is the same as managing troops. I am not sure about the U.S Army, but in the Marine Corps's leadership considers a big deal. If you are an Infantry Officer, then you should go for MBA in Management; otherwise just choose the major that apply to your specialty.

Good Luck....

Semper Fidelis,
Sgt H. T. Gorman, USMCR

 

If you're a career soldier, then you would probably be richly rewarded intrinisically by getting AMU's Masters in national securities. Additionally, since it is taught be current or former military officers who are or were in key positions in the government, they would be passing-on invaluable institutional knowledge to you. Conversely, if you are looking forward to getting out of the military and entering the corporate world, then an MBA might be a better choice. I would go for AMU.

 

SoldierInGA,

The MBA is probably the best master’s degree a military officer can have, outside of any specialized master’s degree like engineering or science for officers in those specific career fields.

The Air Force sponsored my MBA (through the Air Force Institute of Technology) when I was active duty Air Force. Today the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force send their officers in business-related career fields to the Naval Postgraduate School (www.nps.edu) in Monterey California for the in-residence MBA program. The NPS also has an EMBA, and MS in Management program offered through distance learning. You will never go wrong with an MBA degree.

 

For promotional purposes, it's immaterial what kind of Masters degree you get in the Army. One Masters is as good as another. With that in mind, you might as well get a degree that has an intrinsic value for you because you are the one who is going to have to do the curriculum. My dad got a Masters in education and he still made it to lieutenant general (3 stars). The Masters degree is simply a check mark on a resume (showing that you do or don't have a Masters degree). Good luck in your decision and may the force be with you.

 

Many people don't know the past history and link between the MBA and the military.

Although the MBA has been around since the late 1880's, it wasn't a very popular degree and floundered at the few schools that offered it. When the US entered WWII, the War Department saw they were lacking officers that were capable of supplying, administering and running a large-scale war. Together with the Ford Foundation and few other groups they developed a curriculum with was made up of Organizational Behavior, Finance, Accounting, Statistics, Project Management, Leadership, etc.

After WWII, large US MNCs had the need for managers with this same training, so more universities started offering the MBA based on the curriculum developed by the War Department and the Ford Foundation.

So there is a value (and a history) of an MBA for soldiers.

 

Some career fields in the Army (as well as the other services) do specifically require a bachelors degree in business for entry into the career field, and a masters in business for promotion within the career field. The Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) (of 1990 I think) mandates the educational requirements for all DoD military and civilians working in the acquisition-related career fields like business management, program management, contract management, financial management and others.

 

Cool! Thanks for that little lesson on the history of the MBA! Doubly appreciated!

 

Thanks for all the replies.
I will be commissioned as an Infantry officer (is there any other branch? )

Although the Army has many opportunities for graduate education, looking at the online options is for my personal betterement.
I will look into the Management option for the MBA, then ultimately the AMU's degree.

 

Thank you for your service - and best of luck in your educational pursuits. An MBA will serve you well in the infantry.