I was hoping others on this board might have some insight in how they chose their educational paths that might help me. Here’s my story (sorry for the long post). I'm trying to decide which degree will have more utility: a MS in Technology Management or MBA (either from a RA DL school) or even a JD. I have a RA BS in Business Management. I'm a female manager in a progressive high tech company that is predominately male oriented. My manager and I agree that as I work my way up the ladder, any type of credentials I bring to the table will help solidify my position. So the next step is an advanced degree. I have a long history of working in the legal field and am basically doing the same type of work as an in-house attorney along with other management tasks but I work in a business group now, and no longer in a legal department. I don’t see how the courses in an MBA program would add anything to what I learned at the bachelors level. If I am wrong here, please advise. I’ve always wanted to go to law school, but I don’t want to practice as an attorney and have no intentions of ever doing so, and I don’t have the time to go to school at night. I’ve looked into the CA correspondence schools but am skeptical about how those non-ABA degrees would be accepted in the mainstream—even though I’m in an established career and position. A MS in Technology Management might be the ticket and I’d probably learn some new things in such a program, but my love has always been the law. My company would support and finance whatever decision I make, even DETC accredited Concord Law School. Any thoughts or wisdom are welcome on what degree would be most accepted and worthwhile in this type of situation!
I have gone through a lot of the same thinking (but a while back), I did get an MBA and I even started law school (at night). 20/20 hindsight (and current thinking) would have lead me to doing a degree in Project managament as an area of concentration in an MBA program, take a look at PMI Grad Schools for some possibles.
What do you want to do ???, what is your passion. Don't get into the degree myth. Look at the JD if you want to get into law, look at a MBA if you want to compete for that management position, get yours from a teir I school. If you want to become more of a tech pro, get one from a teir I school. As a HR Director, the important thing is to have a career path - I see so many folks that spend allot of time storming. As a general rule I till my employees the following; 1. Have a careerpath (it's okey to change it if things change) 2. Every year on 1-1-000 chart your goals, assess last years goals 3. Get as much education before you reach the age of 34 4. A bachelors is a must, A Masters - maybe, --- get a job that pays the advanced education. 5. Follow your plan Lifes 101 example: I had a employee who had a BS in Management, he moved into the safety field, got promoted, got another promotion, and another. He earn a MBA, and a JD..... and was laid off from the company which he had over 15 years with the company. (He was a Director of Safety, Health & Env.) His problem was that any high level Safety position wanted a MS in safety, and any business position wanted some years of work experience relating to business. He told be last week that he wanted to teach in the safety field and was looking at getting a Masters and then a Ph.D is safety, he is in his mid 50's What is wong with this ???? - don't let it happen to you....
Am I the only one who sees something wrong with a guy in his 50's with a JD needing to go back to school for a Masters and a PhD to teach safety? Why doesn't he practice law? And, what is wrong with going to school when you are in your 50's. I was well over 50 when I started my PhD and I am contemplating another as soon as I can work out the details. A PhD with a Theology concentration. Learning is for Life, or so Jerry Falwell said at the Liberty University School of LifeLong Learning (LUSLL), now there was a name for you!
I hope Howard is right, because it is after 50 for me eek: ) and I am looking at starting a PhD. Why so late? Because I finally decided what I want to do when (if ever) I grow up.
Mike, Becoming an adult is acceptable - growing up N E V E R !!!!!! Why should kids have all the fun????? But never decide what you want to be - only what you want to engage in for the immediate future - I have, at last count, had 5 different careers, 2 with retirements and I am moving on. So, learn, enjoy, and if you cannot remain a child at least remain childlike.
elrich Thanks for responding everyone. You've given me food for thought. At least I'm only in my early 40's and thinking about school!!! I have no intention of ever practicing law and will most likely stay in a business management role. So in one sense, a business / or technology management degree might have more utility currently and if I ever got laid off or left my job. However, my speciality is deal making, i.e. I draft and negotiate high technology contracts. That's why such a cross over between law and business. Thanks.
Hi Elrich, If you decide to remain in business studies, have no time to go at night school, no money and time to listen to someone reading loudly what you are able to read and understand yourself, looking for a respectable university and presently one of the largest business school in the world, have a look on Heriott-Watt University Edinburgh Business School-distance learning MBA. It is a royal chartered university. I have completed in 3 years, studying 20 hrs /week. They are 9 exams, every 6 months , which can be taken near of your house. I have passed 6 in Lima( Peru) and 3 in Nairobi(Kenya), all with British Council. www.hw.ebs.ac.uk You also can split in certificate -diploma- master ( 3-6-9 exams) each course cost 1000$, no residency, or tutor. There is a nice website where students share their comments. For more info, feel free to reply, All the best
I may very well be wrong here; in fact I almost certainly am. But here is my minority/ecentric opinion: I really like a single subject area MS on a resume--one in a traditional discipline, like say, instead of management, math or statistics; instead of business, economics. I don't see how the world can absorb one more MBA--or JD--for that matter. Now a Ph.D. in technology management with a concentration in applied statistics might be another beast entirely-or, God forbid, a Ph.D in ...Philosophy? Good luck in whatever you do Craig
Hi Craig, I do not think you are wrong, by focusing in a specific subject. But , nowadays, many DL courses are for so-called "postgrade", means more generic than specific. MBA is for specialised people, either in economics, accounting, marketing, production, who aspire to more management role. Without a proper academic and practice knowledge of other core competencies , they still face the risk to be "attacked" by specialists, or confronted to concealed information ( as we all do sometimes when confronted to some "arrivists" who are Jack in all trade, but master of none...) If you still look for DL, have a look at Open University website, www.open.ac.uk Yahoo.com research is not bad at all. Good luck, Stan
Thanks for all your replies and ideas. I really don't want a generic MBA (yes, I agree they are dime a dozen) and the issue regarding a non-ABA JD leave me with a lot of doubts about how one of those would be received and considering that I don't really want to practice law. I think I would get the most utility out of a MS in Technology Management, possibly from Rensselear Polytech. They are Top Tier school and have a DL program. Second choice, UMUC.
Bravo! A really good choice I think. Try to get a lot of statistcs; it is a big sell skill in the tecnology management market place, I understand. Best of Luck, Craig
It's good to hear other voices chiming in with support for pursuing advanced degrees beyond the age of 34! I started my Ph.D. program (in computer science) at Columbia Univ. around the age of 40. Having just received my M.S. diploma -- Columbia awards no less than *two* masters degrees along the way to the Ph.D. -- I'm psyched to have my first graduate degree in the rear-view mirror. Kudos, too, for choosing a "specific," "academic" degree! I'd be the first to say that I have good friends and former bosses who earned, say, MBAs at top schools. Mere *admittance* to a top MBA / Law program is (for some) the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval of one's intellectual potential -- you find top firms recruiting students before their first term is over at these schools. OTOH, apart from that observation, I often failed to see the MBA as significantly advancing in-depth understanding in many. It tends to be -- it seems to me -- a generalist degree that gives students exposure to several of the many disciplines that tend to expose themselves in the business world. I, too, was tempted by the big-bucks promise of an MBA from a top school -- and my GMAT would have likely gotten me into many top schools -- but when push came to shove, I wanted a more academic degree. And, a fully-funded Ph.D. berth seemed, and seems, financially less of a burden than paying your way through an MBA program that considers you lucky to be there. ;-)
I too am in my 50s and am considering a DL PhD. It took me 24 years after my BA to finally get my MA. I passed enough legitimate credits to have earned 3 MAs, which is what finally got me off my posterior to earn the "official" MA. (English-Middlebury's Bread Loaf School of English-summers as a commuter). The Union Institute's new digs not too far from where I live also has given me a boost to explore a PhD. Besides...if I don't do it, I'll be 60 before too long with nothing to show for it. Ragoo
