MBAs: the Whos, the Whys, and the Whats

I have a friend who's husband just finished up his MBA a few months ago.. I asked her if he planned to switch careers (he is an electrical engineer right now) and she said no. Im like why did he get an MBA then? She didnt know...lol! Apparently he is interested in helping churches with their finances and such and possibly couples who want to get out of debt but im not sure that you need an MBA for that..

I have a question about MBA's... is the market of people with MBA's becoming over-saturated? It seems like everyone is getting an MBA lately...

 

Academic inflation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

1. Who isn't a business person? Resource allocation, financial acumen, decision making, interacting with others in organizations, and other business skills are widely applicable.
2. I think the MBA is losing some of its cachet (thus value-added) by becoming more available. It may be gaining in utility as more schools develop the degree in various ways to differentiate their offering.
3. Having practical business experience, I found my BS in business makes a MBA less appealing, unless it has something "big" the BS doesn't. This particularly affects the low-cost MBAs, many of which don't look that advanced over undergrad. A MBA that offers extensive networking (perhaps more than online networking), international or real-world experiences or a very well-known name is more attractive.

Phillip

 

A good friend, an engineer, tells me that the purpose of a MBA is to ruin good engineers by making them into mediocre managers.

Phillip

 

It's all about the magic 3 letters in the end. You either "are an MBA" or you are not. Nobody has ever asked me where I got mine. Good MBA schools teach you a way of thinking, a way of approaching unstructured problems, and the fundamentals of business. They also cure you of any incipient perfectionism you might have had (by making it imposssible to do everything well) and set you up with a solid network for life. So when I am hiring, and I think to myself "I want this person to be an MBA" what I am really saying is I want a well-rounded person who has survived a pressure cooker environment, and who is going to be resilient and not too high-strung. I don't really care how or where they got their MBA (within reason).

 

I contemplated getting an MBA in the pass from AMU but said to myself, "Why?".

I was going to get it because a lot of people I know had it.

 

Really? People ask where I got mine from regularly when it comes up in conversation. It could be that I work with a lot of MBA's and everyone is measuring everyone else up.

 

Well, there's a lot of water under the bridge since my MBA and I'm better known for other achievements now. I do remember being more competitive about it when I was younger.

 

Where I work if you discover that a person is working on an MBA it means 2 things:

They want more power

They want more money

(not necessarily in that order)

 

I've heard that same comment from engineers working for the federal government and in some of the big defense companies. I've also noticed, at least within the recent layoffs at LM specifically, the managers seem to be the ones going more often than the experienced engineers. This might be a lesson in what career path a young engineer/technologist might want to take.

On the other hand, I've always wondered if a MBA may help avoid some common pitfalls in becoming a small business owner. But then again, maybe just hiring a MBA or experienced business operator may be enough to help in an entrepreneurial endeavor. So many options, so little time...

 

I got my MBA to change careers without taking a massive financial hit...I succeeded. That being said to me an MBA is a management degree, no more, no less. As an academic credential it is getting more and more prominent in my workplace but that could be because my particular employer hires a lot of MBAs for the type of work I do.

I have been asked a couple of times where I got it and each time they either nod like they know what I'm talking about or simply ask "where" and I repeat myself. The funny thing is, I'm a huge LSU fan and so most people in my office just assume I'm an LSU alumnus. I've been asked more often if I got my MBA from LSU than the in general "where did you get your MBA" question. Either way it rarely comes up and there are a lot of MBAs running around here so it’s become kind of a “blah” conversation starter, most of the time the only people I hear asking or talking about it are the ones who are thinking of going back to school themselves or who just finished up.

Like Kizmet said, anyone who earns an MBA wants either more money or more power. I’m in the money camp myself.

 

Egad, good article!!!

 

To me, the decision to pursue an MBA is to qualify myself for roles that my technical career experience and non-business undergraduate degree may not by themselves. I'm shifting into management after having been a hands-on IT engineer/architect and I need to know more and more about the business operations to be conversant with my peers and managers. Promotion in title and compensation within my company require a graduate degree. I could just as easily consider an MSIS or MSIT, but I like the challenge of learning something completely new to me...

 

Why did I decide to get a MBA?

1. I wanted to have more than just undergrad degrees.
2. I wanted to get a degree that tuition reimbursement would cover.
3. I wanted to move into higher level managerial positions within my IT field.

Funny outcomes now that I'm 11 courses through a 13 course MBA from UMass.

1. I still want more than just undergrad degrees.
2. I'm trying to get out of my tuition reimbursement plan by not taking it over the last two semesters.
3. I'm pretty much nauseated by business management and am looking to get back to tech over management.

Doesn't mean I won't finish the degree, but it does mean that learning about the subject matter pretty much convinced me that I don't want the lifestyle that goes with the responsibility even if it comes with a nicer paycheck. Maybe I'll apply it as an entrepreneur bar owner or something. ;P

ITJD

 

I've considered undertaking one as my next academic pursuit but am thinking that attending a local school and getting one in the classroom would be the more beneficial experience. Anticipating a move to Houston very soon as well so it would be after residency is established. Don't know what I'm gonna do with myself until then... probably just get wasted and chase tail every night.

 

I'd definitely finish the degree. At this point it's a sunk cost, not taking those last two classes and walking away empty handed doesn't make a lot of sense. I had a buddy that decided half-way through his second year of law school that he had no interest in practicing law but finished the degree because he couldn't see the point of having gotten that far into the program and not finishing.

 

Totally agreed. Oddly, I feel the same way about law.. fascinated by the topic, not at all interested in practice.

Something will stick eventually. I'm hopeful that what does stick is at whatever convergence point exists in my disciplines.

 

Same here. Totally interested in studying law, but no interest in practicing. Went so far as to consider using my Harvard TAP benefit at Suffolk, but decided the Ed.M would be more in line with my career interests, plus I can take law related courses through the Extension school and can take electives in the Ed.M program at HLS, as well as HBS and HKS.