Obviously, the question (title) is different for everyone, and relies upon many personal factors. However, in a general sense, can some of you respond to the following question I have? I love business in general, including administration and management. I love managing projects, from small to large. I love the IT field. I have been involved in all the above for a number of years. Now that it's time to go after my dream and obtain a degree, what would seem to have the most 'worth' in our business world today? A BA in Business? BS in Business or IT? Project Management? Business IT Management? I like all the above pretty equally, so I'm torn as to what would be the best. As long as the satisfaction is there in any of the fields, money then becomes an important next factor. Which has more potential? Which could take me into higher Executive management of larger corporations and, thereby, offer higher salaries in the long run? (Perhaps this changes the question of which would lead to an MBA in the most 'normal' way, assuming an MBA is one of the upper degrees a person can have to get them the places I am asking about?)
My 2 cents - with your experience, I don't believe you can go "wrong" with any of those degrees - and any of those will open the MBA door pretty easily. Go with the one that's the best fit for your skills and experience. Shawn
taking away school ranking, etc...outside of an accounting or engineering degree I believe a BS in business from a tier 1 school has a lot of utility. If I were recommending any particular major or concentration it would be management (although you could do MIS or CIS). With a solid business degree you can branch into many different career fields and masters. The BS/BA should include the common business core and calculus. You do not want to have to go back and pick up any prerequisites should you do an MBA. In my case I took the basic classes in economics, math etc... not realizing that there is a specific sequence; Micro and Macro economics, Accounting I and II, etc..., so I ended up with a 45 credit MBA due to prerequisites. The problem was that if I had been better advised I could have saved myself the trouble and picked up the prereqs as electives in my BA or completed a business minor. Look at MBA programs and work backwards. Many folks will tell you that an MBA is redundant if you have a business undergrad but without it you will have prereqs. The industry standard for Project Management is the PMP so unless you plan on teaching PM or just looking for some reinforcement a masters in PM does not have the utility of the MBA. Interesting read here: CEO Schools
Good advice by the redneck... if an MBA or related degree is in the plans - good planning will save you time and money, since those grad credits cost a tad bit more than undergrad credits! Shawn
and the bar is higher for a grad credit than an undergrad credit. For example a "C" or even a (gasp) "D" can be covered up in the larger number of undergrad credits, although a "D" in a core subject might not be accepted in grad school. Still, I would rather have to shoot for the "C" in an undergrad class than the "B" at grad school ( I had to pass all the prereqs with at least a "B"). You just don't have enough classes to bring the GPA up much in a grad program, more importantly many will ask you to leave if you get "C" grades.
