am planning to do my MBA. am 37 and will complete my MS in 07, so. ques is will I be able to benefit from doing a MBA ?
stock, that is a pretty open ended question and is very tough to judge without knowing a little more about you and your goals. Will you benefit from an MBA? Sure, it does however depend on what level of benefit you seek. A couple of suggestions. 1. Discover why you want an MBA? What are your reasons and what new knowledge / skills / opportunities are you seeing? Corner office, teaching, a deeper understanding of accounting, econ, etc... 2. Set a reasonable, workable budget for your MBA. Work with your department, maybe your company only kicks in $4000 a year, see if you can get more. There might be some tax considerations should you not be able to expense the 'extra' classes. Also look at other funding methods, new legislature notes that you can use IRA to pay for school, essentially tax free. 3. Unless it must be some kind of foot race, go slow. You are working on a Masters now and you probably already have your career in line- don't push it, enjoy the MBA. 4. Understand the time requirements and the extended impact to your life (masters then MBA). This could be adverse to your family, friends, health, etc. 5. Look at some good state schools. By the time you finish your MS-IT you will have even more DL options available to you. I am sure the board will have many, well researched, options for you when the time is right. Advice: find a good quality State school. They are generally better recognized and more cost effective. 6. If it is a traditional campus setting, find someone at your office that wants to do the program with you. I found someone to do the MSNS program with me; it is a lot more enjoyable. I think you push each other even more, share ideas and increase the visibility of your efforts at the office. Note: the MSNS program is online, but live lectures, proctored tests. Well, that’s about all my little brain can come up with at the moment, if I think of anything else I will report back!
Thanks Steve for the detailed and thought provoking reply. An MBA would give me a better knowledge regarding the business envt which I have not been able to gain in my 13 years of working as a software programmer. I am planning to do it from Penn State as I would want some residency also. But you are correct.. It costs and I need to really think if it will help me. Thanks again !!
