is an MBA worth it?
- Thread starter LKD
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Have a university degree and I started an MBA by correspondence (less expensive) after about 10 years of regular employment, and took 6 courses on subjects that I thought would help me run a business (management accounting, business law, HR management, financial accounting etc) then quit...have been working for myself (on ad-hoc projects for over 10 years now) and work 3 days a week under contract (with benefits) - best of both worlds at the moment.
When I ran my own business, I tacked one through Queen's distance learning programme. It was way more work and and a much greater time commitment than I ever imagined. It also required a fair bit of time there in the summer... Not the most fun vacation.
I ran a smaller business ($5 million sales) so it wasn't ever going to be especially useful. I did it more for a personal challenge. I am a reasonably bright guy, but I struggled with it and ultimately decided it wasn't worth the expense and time, and withdrew from the programme. I could have completed it, but it I just couldn't justify it. It was taking too much time away from managing my company. And it wasn't much fun. But there were some hotties in the programme though!
At one point, I did hire an MBA as a Business Development guy. He did have a unique analytical way of going about things, but in the end, he got bored and moved to a large NFP operation.
If you expect to be working in a larger organization it probably has value, but don't underestimate the work involved. There's a reason that not everyone has one!
I ran a smaller business ($5 million sales) so it wasn't ever going to be especially useful. I did it more for a personal challenge. I am a reasonably bright guy, but I struggled with it and ultimately decided it wasn't worth the expense and time, and withdrew from the programme. I could have completed it, but it I just couldn't justify it. It was taking too much time away from managing my company. And it wasn't much fun. But there were some hotties in the programme though!
At one point, I did hire an MBA as a Business Development guy. He did have a unique analytical way of going about things, but in the end, he got bored and moved to a large NFP operation.
If you expect to be working in a larger organization it probably has value, but don't underestimate the work involved. There's a reason that not everyone has one!
Do you think it has more value for someone in their early twenties than someone already established?
I find that, generally, 20 somethings bring very little to the classroom and consequently don't get very much out of it either. This is just an opinion formed from teaching the same courses at downtown campuses (which tend to be attended by part-time older students who have decent work experience) and at the parent campuses in the 'burbs (which are attended by the full-time, younger students.)
If you look at the profiles of the students who take the various Queens course they are older than early twenties. Many require you have 5-10 years business and management experience.
I think that an education is always an asset in furthering your professional career. If you have the time and money do it. You will have the degree to fall back on if you need to get a job. I finished my masters in economics and run my own business and employee over 100. Did my degree help me run my business? To some extent yes. Was it worth getting the degree? Absolutely. The biggest assets in growing and running your own successful business are not found in text books.
This thread is no good without pictures! Saying that,like all education it's how you apply it to your daily life.You want to start a business,ask us if an MBA will help you and you don't tell us what type of business you want to start? Yet you get 30 posts giving you our 2 cents worth.
I think like TeasePlease implies, the part of the programme I found most useful and interesting was the interaction with other candidates. I was mid-30s when I was doing this, and I'd guess I was about the median age if not on the younger side. A lot of the programme involves case studies, so people with a little experience under their belts have more to contribute in the discussions. There was a disproportionate number of civil servants there, perhaps because of the proximity to Ottawa. Schulich might be different...
My kid has been pondering starting one (he holds an Hon. B.Comm, Dean's Honour List) but has been mostly travelling the world and working here and there so far. I have suggested that he get a real job and a career going before he starts. The other advantage of this, is that if your employer believes that there is value in the degree, they might very well pay for, or at least help, with tuition and time off.
As others have mentioned, it would help to know what sort of business you want to operate... It really can be a "chore" so the decision to start shouldn't be taken lightly. The "personal satisfaction" factor shouldn't be understated...
My kid has been pondering starting one (he holds an Hon. B.Comm, Dean's Honour List) but has been mostly travelling the world and working here and there so far. I have suggested that he get a real job and a career going before he starts. The other advantage of this, is that if your employer believes that there is value in the degree, they might very well pay for, or at least help, with tuition and time off.
As others have mentioned, it would help to know what sort of business you want to operate... It really can be a "chore" so the decision to start shouldn't be taken lightly. The "personal satisfaction" factor shouldn't be understated...
My opinion is that no-one would ever look at an MBA and say that was a bad life decision. The connections/network you can make throughout a program/degree like that is potentially more valuable than the degree itself.
Who you know could be more applicable to your business. Think of it long term....your payback won't come the day after convocation but potentially years down the road....
Who you know could be more applicable to your business. Think of it long term....your payback won't come the day after convocation but potentially years down the road....
True Dat. Even though I didn't stick it out, I stayed in touch with many of the people in the programme and a couple were influential in my landing new clients over the years...
Well not exactly. Of the 234 billionaires that Forbes tracks, only 2 are high school drop outs. 41 did not finish an undergrad degree. About 100 have post grad degrees mostly M.B.A.s and J.D.s. Seems 82% of them are at least graduates and 41% have post grad degrees.
Millionaires vs education was examined by Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research seems 80% of them went to college.
