demand for MBA's is on the rise

According to an article in Businessweek
the market for MBA graduates will look favorably in 2006 and beyond.

 

So will an online MBA from a top school will help ?

 

Interesting read. I'm amazed at the starting salaries for MBA's from top schools. I'm sure the money comes at a price though like 80 hour work weeks.

 

MPA? MBA?

I think the outlook for MBA's will always be good until doctoral degrees are required for a decent job (that day could be coming).

cumpa,

I noticed you have a MPA, what do you think about going that route rather than a MBA?

I'm thinking of going to grad school for one or the other, but I am having a hard time making up my mind.

I fear the 80 hour work weeks you mention, and I would think that would happen rarely in the Public sector, if at all. I also like the idea of a more laid back work enviroment. Lower pay, yes, but lower stress too.

Thoughts?

 

Re: MPA? MBA?

Some people may disagree with me strongly, but in the public sector, an MBA would qualify you for working in the capacity an MPA would be considered for, but an MPA would not be looked upon as seriously as and MBA would in the private sector. Save yourself some grief and just get an MBA.

 

Re: Re: MPA? MBA?

I do disagree with you. It depends on what you want to do but if your goal is to be an executive at the local or state government level such as city manager,chief of police etc I think an MPA is preferred over an MBA. For city manager positions specifically an MPA is usually the requirement. Some other positions such as HR director, Finance director etc might have more flexibility where an MBA would work. It all depends on what your career goals are.

 

Re: Re: Re: MPA? MBA?

Told you someone would disagree.

 

WSJ Letter to the editor - MBAs

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113626287704836255.html?mod=todays_us_opinion

 

Re: WSJ Letter to the editor - MBAs

unfortunately, you need a password to read the article :-(

 

I beg to differ but there are already too many MBAs out there and the fact that every business faculty of a university or college is jumping onto the bandwagon is cheapening the degree. Infact with some antipodean universities allowing non-graduates to pursue the MBA only makes the situation worse.

 

Hence the reason why I tacked on the MSM to my MBA

 

Proabably a good idea. I thought about doing the same thing, but since I'm already going to do an MBA and an MSCJ, I decided against a 3rd MS.

I do disagree that an MBA is cheap however..........It isn't the dynamo degree it was in the 90's, but that has as much to do with the corruption and failures of MBA grads in business as it does with market saturation.

Edited to add, have you guys ever seen anyone with an MBA/MPA?

 

I see an MBA glut in my field (accounting) as the accounting professional organizations seek to "elevate" the field by requiring 150 college credits to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. So most accounting graduates are getting an MBA right from the start. At the same time, they have made the CPA exam laughably easy to pass. So, it's credential overkill IMO.

In healthcare, a similar phenomenon is the Doctor of Physical Therapy, as PT's try to establish themselves equal to other doctoral care providers.

 

Yes, with the AICPA push towards the 150 hr requirement and most state accountancy boards following this requirement, your choices are really pursue an MS in accounting or MBA. I chose to pursue an MBA to give me more utility, whether this utility is real or perceived remains to be seen. I do not believe the glut of MBA's is due to CPA licensing requirements, but I do believe these requirements will lead to more CPA's pursuing MBA's.

William

 

Is there really a glut of MBA's in accounting? or is it rather that in order to suceed in the field of accountancy you now need a master's degree? I know as less than 10 years ago a Bachlor's would surfice but since the requirements for the CPA have been raised and the CPA is a highly desired by both accountants and industry it seems natural IMHO that more accounting professionals would be obtaining thier masters initally.

 

you may be correct with your observation. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with a large supply if the demand exceeds the supply. This seems to be the case with the MBA which is also indicated in the article above. An MBA will give you more employment opportunities than many other Master level degrees.


Dennis

 

"Is there really a glut of MBA's in accounting? or is it rather that in order to suceed in the field of accountancy you now need a master's degree?"

I think the 150 hour requirement is unnecessary and not needed to be a good Accountant. What has changed? GAAP is still GAAP, and until you get to the very pedantic nuances of reporting, it hasn't changed at all. The focus has always been applying the conceptual framework to new situations. I think the AICPA was opportunistic and rolled out the 150 hour requirement as a "solution" to accounting scandals and to "upgrade" the profession.


"I know as less than 10 years ago a Bachlor's would surfice but since the requirements for the CPA have been raised and the CPA is a highly desired by both accountants and industry it seems natural IMHO that more accounting professionals would be obtaining thier masters initally."

I agree with parts of this, but disagree with the general idea that a new 2005 MBA/CPA is better trained than a new 1990 BS/CPA was.

They raised the sitting requirements, but gutted the difficulty of the certification (It once had a lower pass rate than the Bar Exam). So, in effect, they replaced a rigorous competency-based evaluation with an additional 22 credits of filling a seat. I'm obviously a believer in the former.


For Non-Accountants:

Old CPA exam
Bachelors Degree Required
4 sections over 18 hours in a 2-day sitting. Needed to take all 4 parts, pass 2 parts, meet a minimum score on the other 2 to carry over anything.
3 years of work experience (in my state)

New CPA exam
150 Credit hours required
1 section at time if desired, 2.5 - 4.5 hours per section.
1 year of work experience (in my state)

 

Ron,
I agree 99%, I suppose brevity had gotten the best of my last post. The meaning behind my original post was that with the AICPA requiring 150 hours and the fact that the CPA is a highly desired credential it should not be shocking that people just entering the profession are obtaining master degrees before entering the profession with the current requirements. Are these people better prepared than people 10 years ago who only had a Bachelor's degree? That is debatable.
My only contention is,does this make it a "glut"? I say just because people are doing what it takes to become a CPA doesn't equate to a "glut". A glut simply means that there are too many in the profession, yet when I look at the Occupational outlook for accounting it shows that the field is forecast to continue to expand(in other words demand is going to increase). If there were truly a "glut" then this should not be the case.

 

Good point. Let me see if I can find the article I read. It stated that 50% of Accounting undergraduates got a Masters almost immediately and had some projections.