Interesting Article - MBA

[Guest]

Are MBA's overrated?

Personally I couldn't agree more, there are the few odd people who actually do an MBA for the knowledge but it seems like everyone else takes this course just to have the title and without practicle experience it seems to dilute the value that an MBA should be worth.

Interest to here people's thoughts.

[alee228]

I have thought about doing an MBA, and I think the article makes a number of good points.

1. There are 2 good things you get from an MBA. Firstly, you get the right to tell people that you have an MBA (the signalling effect). MBAs cost money, effort and time to acquire. This is a costly signal, and allows employers to more easily determine who they should hire. That is, MBA from Harvard = strong signalling effect to employers. Secondly, you learn to think in a different way and acquire some of the concepts and ideas that you need in management.
2. The big thing that an MBA does not give you is experience. You can't become Richard Branson, Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or any other noteworthy person by reading a well-written text book.
3. MBAs are the new Arts degree. One of the first rules of strategy is that differentiation creates value and allows you to charge a higher price for your goods/services. If everyone has an MBA (which is increasingly the case) then the qualification becomes commoditised, and you will need to distinguish yourself in the marketplace in some other way.
4. Engineering degrees are very valuable, and probably more valuable than an MBA. You learn how to solve problems, think analytically, and create real things that have value.

I would be interested to hear other people's thoughts.

[Guest]

You're there for the network.

You're there to enjoy academia again.

But are you there for learning? At some point you learn to empower yourself, and not have an institution try to pamper you with a "certification"

But hey, if you failed entering your dream consulting firm the first time, it's another entry point from aspiring consultants. At least you've got the chance to redeem ourself.

[Guest]

Hi,

I just thought I'd resurrect this old topic with some thoughts.

I think the posters above are correct on some counts. There are thousands of students on the MBA production line these days and it tends to devalue them. Also, almost every uni now offers them.
It's a bit like buying coffee. Now I can buy coffee everywhere, including my petrol station (although it tastes crap).

I'm currently doing my MBA part time in Australia and I've found there are 2 types of students:
1) Those that want the knowledge
2) Those that just want high marks but don't seem to care about actually learning

For myself, I'm a number 1) I want the knowledge because I don't have a business background (I'm from IT). But going along with that knowledge will hopefully come decent marks!

Someone also mentioned the networking aspect above. During my course, I recently met someone who was able to recommend me to their company - and it's landed me a new job with a large company as a consultant. So that's been a nice side-benefit.

I think there are too many people who think that an MBA is going to make them instantly employable and change their careers, but it just isn't. You really have to work on developing your career all the time, without resorting to waiting for your degree. When you get it, you'll be a stronger candidate, but only when you have your MBA along with your own experience.

That said, it's nice to mix with other like-minded motivated people - it has a different feel to an undergraduate degree. People generally want to be there and are quite smart, but there are DEFINITELY exceptions.

Cheers,
Ben

[alee228]

Hi Ben,

Welcome to the Consulting Forum!

How are you enjoying your part time MBA? Are you finding it worthwhile?

Do you find it easy to balance your study with work? Is there any time left for friends/family/eating/sleeping?

Cheers,
Tom

[Guest]

Hey Tom,

I am really enjoying the MBA - I'd say the best bits are the networking and the fact that during our projects, you generally do real work for real businesses e.g. create a strategic marketing plan for a company.

I've never considered myself as being a good networker, but it's fairly easy in that environment because you're making friends with people who you're studying with, who work in various industries.

Re: work-life balance - it's generally pretty good - I'm taking the slow route at the moment, which is 4 units a year. So it keeps me busy most weeknights but I still get to relax a bit on the weekend.
Luckily no kids just yet...I'll try to finish before they come into the picture!

Cheers,
Ben

[Guest]

Hi,
My friend was considering doing MBA. I will ask him to go through this first. Thanks!

[Guest]

Hi All

Haven't really been on this forum much but will put in my two cents. I have an engineering degree (or two) and while I think engineering does indeed help with critical thinking and signals numerical ability I am seriously considering an MBA.

However not all MBAs are created equal and if I were ever to do an MBA, there are only about three schools in Australia where I would do it. My reasons are not definitive and may not apply to all, but this is my reasoning:

I can think of four main benefits to doing an MBA:

1. The knowledge - is probably the least compelling reason, in an MBA you learn a little about a lot of things. Most of which you can pick up on your own through reading articles, books and at work. To illustrate my point - my ex flatmate who did a PhD in economics now lectures an MBA course. He tells me he's essentially teaching first year economics to people who studied other disciplines. What I have also noted is that the course content does not vary greatly between MBAs so if this is your primary driver – feel free to go for a value MBA and save yourself some serious dough.

2. The Network - MBA networks in the top schools are very, very strong. They become almost a fraternity unto themselves and it is quite common to see hiring biases in top firms depending on where the key partners come from. Call it brand snobbery and it is very similar to the public/private school biases, it shouldn't happen but sadly it does.

3. The Peers - related to point 2 but subtly different. In an MBA you learn the most from your peers not your teacher. My best mate recently graduated from INSEAD and is now working with Booz. He said the best lecturers didn't do much lecturing at all. They would set the scenarios, let the groups prepare their cases then debate against each other and served to facilitate and play devil’s advocate more than anything else. Now as they say, Iron sharpens iron. Go to a good school and you are discussing and debating your learnings with seasoned consultants and bankers. Go to a poor school and your peers are more likely to be first year students out of University, unable to land a job and therefore doing an MBA. You are unlikely to pick their brain for anything at all as they have no real world work experience and even more so if they cannot communicate fluently in English.

4. The signalling - where your MBA comes from probably matters a lot more than you think. In top notch schools like HBS, INSEAD etc. MBBB interviewers come to you before you graduate. While entry is by no means guaranteed, at least you greatly increase your chances of getting to the interview stage. Going to a poorer school, you will end up applying as an external along with (likely) 1,000s of other applicants with little to differentiate you at all.

MBA schools unfortunately are a bit of a self-perpetuation. Good schools are able to charge more and attract the best students which then perform well which increases the standard of the school (sample bias anyone?) which then in turn allows them to attract more good students again. That is why it is pretty hard to ‘become’ a good MBA school. The syllabus is not the problem, it is the prestige and ability to attract new good students.

Just my 2 bobs.

[Guest]

PS: If all you want is business/financial knowledge, you do have other options, I am doing an grad dip in finance at the moment to complement my engineering degree. Much shorter and cheaper too.