College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

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  lbs197809/04/07 Report as spam
  1

  Think Carefully Before You Jump

  I would strongly suggest a person look at all of the angles before you make this decision. If your company will pay or offer a raise or promotion in an existing position or promotion it is a great idea but I think the old adage of getting more money in wages with more education does not always hold true at least not these days from the people I know who I went through the University of Phoenix program that I was in. Very few of us are much better off at present than before we finished. Yes, we do have the satisfaction of completing a goal that many have not but that does not ease financial woes or help pay back the 48,000 in student loans that i have now!
  
  Best wishes!

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  pwnvds@...09/04/07 Report as spam
  2

  Do your homework

  I agree that you have to think hard about it. Getting another degree is a huge investment these days. You have to do the math -- how much is it going to cost you, including interest, how much of your life are you giving up, what impact will it have on your work, home life, etc. I am finishing up my last term of an MBA program through Regis University in Denver, Colorado. I can attest that it is very hard to maintain a sane home life while working and going to school.
  
  If you are lucky enough to have an employer pay your tuition, than the decision is much easier to make. I racked up $20,000 in debt before my employer began picking up the tab. Fortunately they have also agreed to a decent raise upon graduation, but I'm sure many employers would not do that.
  
  It really depends on what impact you think another degree will have on your career - do your homework, as they say, and see what salaries are paying for people with the degree you are interested in. Is it really much more than you are paid now?
  
  If you go so far as quitting your job, you are giving up a serious amount of money for the degree, and are even less likely to get that back. But if you do it to get into a lucrative career like law or investment banking, and you go to a highly rated school, it could pay back many times what it costs.

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  adam.ferman@...09/04/07 Report as spam
  3

  Maybe it depends on WHERE you go to learn

  Hi guys,
  I want to bring up a point for discussion. Maybe the payoff from added education depends on where you get it ? I imagine that if your MBA was from Kellogg or Harvard the payoff would be substantially better than the University of Phoenix ?
  What do you think ?

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  regaliathai@...09/05/07 Report as spam
  4

  Efficiency and Effectiveness Outweighs Paper Decorations

  That would really depends. I have a friend who does not even hold a Bachelor but is the Regional Finance Director in an American MNC with subordinates graduated from Harvard, Oxford, and etc. So, what do you think?
  
  Education no doubt is intrinsic, and does indeed open the vista for higher office and pay-check, it has however had to be coupled with the aptitude of the person in question. An Ivy League decoration may land a person in an esteemed employment initially but that does not guarantee his or her career path thereafter where performance and capability measured in terms of efficiency and effectiveness outweighs paper decorations.

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  billwardoh09/05/07 Report as spam
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  Get the Wall Decoration

  In an era where HR depts use scanning software to weed out applicants, certification matters more than experience. The more letters behind your name the better.

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  trnoebel@...09/05/07 Report as spam
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  RE: Get the Wall Decoration

  As someone who is actually in HR as a Recruiting Professional I have to disagree with your comments on scanning software.
  
  The scanning software is used, primarily, to maintain an electronic copy of a CV along with the profile of the person expressing interest in our firm. Yes, we can then run an internal search of the CV's on the basis of the role's requirements.
  
  The only time certifications and "letters behind the name" matter is when they are genuine requirements of the role. For example, does the role require a Series 7 license, or if it is a scientific/engineering role, is there a specific board certification required.
  
  Most firms have realized that requiring a degree is rarely supportable against the needs of the role. The critical factors in identifying viable prospects are key skills, competencies and accomplishments. At least, those are the critical factors in companies that look for top talent.
  
  Todd Noebel
  VP, Sr., Recruiting Team Lead
  Wachovia

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  nikki197309/11/07 Report as spam
  7

  RE: Get the Wall Decoration

  Todd,
  
  Can you comment on whether or not emphasis is put on where an individual received his or her education? I am seeing the University of Phoenix on more resumes these days and I haven't noticed anyone turning up their noses at it. A degree is a degree, right? Or am I wrong?

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  regaliathai@...09/05/07 Report as spam
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  Get the Wall Decoration

  I am inclined to agree with Todd on this issue. Inter alia, the three critical factors mentioned, namely key skills, competencies and accomplishments, should be found in and not behind a person?s name.
  
  However, if environment permits and the interest in pursuing a higher education exists, by all means go for it. Learning is a lifelong process and it just does not stop by the letters earned.

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  cnetjake09/06/07 Report as spam
  9

  Where you go

  I am attending St. Mary's College in CA. While it is not Haas or Stanford, the education I am receiving is top notch. This is not a plug for St. Mary's, but more about the where you go aspect. I think the 3 letters after your name are most important. There are a lot of Harvard MBA's out there that can't have a normal conversation (no offense to anyone from harvard)

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  fstanz1@...09/04/07 Report as spam
  10

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  I am actually considering the idea of going back to school after 20 years .After doing a bit of research of what, where, and when, I find absurd the costs involved for such thing as MBA, perhaps I should have enrolled 15 years ago. Still, is very interesting as far as personal growth is concerned. With a management mayor,I would aim for a MBA in marketing.

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  Eroicagirl09/04/07 Report as spam
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  Go back to school only if it is the last resort

  I went back to school after working for four years. After two years, I am done. School is a place to learn and also to think about alot of things. I went in thinking I want to do "this" then came out doing something else. You get distracted alot, even if your employer is paying you and expect you to go back.
  
  Plus, You'll have to get the culture shock that everyone is around mid 20s. If you have a family, the young, single student simply don't include you in the networking parties. I am older, single, so I had to act like I was in the 20s again and that was not my favorite thing to do.
  
  I landed on a good job after school but my pay was comparable to how much I was making before due to geographical difference. But it was worth it since I made a complete career change, which was what I needed.

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  ksardarzaei09/04/07 Report as spam
  12

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  i think every time is the time for school, we are living in a school named life, so we should adjust every learning plan to our life programme track, going back to university is possible but with some considerations,if we take that into consider we will be sucessfull, some of this consiserdations are:
  
  1-where are we living? some time we had to leave our job for going to university ,if we are living in a country with high unemployment rate leaving job might endenger our life,in reverse case are coutries with more highest job opportunities that allow us to go back school and prepare for better job.
  
  2-are going back to university unrail our life: this consideration is related to our home life ,kids& wife,in this way we should be aware that kids& wife are more important ,if going back to university endenger our relationship with our family , we cannot choose university

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  Amrut.Sharma@...09/04/07 Report as spam
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  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  Hey Guys
  
  For me these views and this topic in general couldn't have come at a much better time. I was just contemplating if it would be beneficial in doing a masters in business programme. It depends on what you are doing and what you would ideally want to do . If the gap is huge then I guess a masters programme can bridge that gap.
  
  It is worth every cent ! ceteris paribus !!!

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  gpolli@...09/05/07 Report as spam
  14

  Ceteris Paribus

  Ceteris paribus is, as you know, latin for "all else being equal." This is a useful simplification in economics where we might wish to study the effect of changing one thing and by waving our hands say everything else stays the same. But it really doesn't. That is why economics is a social science. One cannot set up an experiment on the lab bench and study the effect of only one thing. In the real world many things are changing at the same time.
  
  Mathematics has the same concept in analysis, between the the partial and full derivative. The partial derivative describes how a function changes with respect to one specified variable. While the full derivative would describe how a function changes under all factors of interest. Perhaps an example would make this point clear. From the top of a mountain the change in all directions (the derivative) is down (negative). From a saddle point on a mountain range the delta (change, the first partial derivative) into the lower expanse is negative, while the delta up the mountain on the other sides of the saddle is positive. One has to be careful in crunching numbers to distinguish a local or global optimal point from a saddle point. The second derivative can help at this junction.
  
  That's why, with great humor, the student newspaper of The University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business while I was studying there years ago was entitled, "Mutatis Mutandus," latin for "with those things having been changed which need to be changed," or more familiarly, everything changing at once.

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  rob4CEOSpace09/04/07 Report as spam
  15

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  Lately, I have seen many leaving the corporate world and striking out on their own. I guess you can say they got the entrepreneurial bug. It is becoming nearly its own movement. I have seen many business colleges beginning to offer MBAs for the entrepreneur or at least entrepreneurial courses within the degree itself.
  
  One option for the busy CEO or entrepreneur is to consider the one week in residency training program of CEO Space. This is a program that is held five times per year in LA. It is an amazing process that many have defined as MBA level training for the entrepreneur or business person wishing to stay up on the latest trends in the business world. You are given two options. For the busy CEO, you would come to the program on Tuesday and finish on Friday (Four day plan). For the entrepreneur who wishes to get as much out of the program as possible they have bonus classes that start on Sunday and networking and an expo on the following Saturday and Sunday (Eight day plan, at no extra registration cost).
  
  From those to whom I have spoken, there is nothing like it. Many who have their MBA say there is no comparison. The CEO Space program condenses the truly necessary course work into a one week package. It covers the topics in an application format rather than theory. Business owners leave with much greater traction because of the interactive nature of the program. Through the week, you can actually discuss business over meals with the fortune level instructors. You will find like minded, motivated business people working together to help one another accelerate business growth.
  
  As I said before, the program is focused on application not theory. You can leave with a better business plan, a better business team and/or the needed resources to expand your business to whatever level you can envision. Believe me, when you are with like-minded, highly motivated individuals you will greatly expand your vision for what you believed you can do, especially after recognizing all the resources you now have available through this organization. Oh, did I forget to mention, for a one time fee you receive a life time membership. Try to find a better program for a better price. I don???t think you???ll find it.
  Visit www.ceospace.net for further information. Find out for yourself. Or better yet, find out where the closest local club is located and visit them in operation between forums. Many clubs are structured to continue assisting one another even after the forum experience on a continual basis. For many, this is invaluable for their business growth. Bottom line, is the education going to give you a pay back. Check it out, I think for the time and financial commitment given, you cannot beat CEO Space. (www.ceospace.net )
  This is the way to go for the individual who believes in being a life long learner.

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  Susan Steele09/05/07 Report as spam
  16

  Is it time to go back for you MBA? Depends on your goals

  I had a PhD in Science and realised that to keep moving up the career ladder, I needed the skills provided by MBA.
  I finished it last year, got promotion in the middle of doing it and ended up with all the benefits that you read about (i.e. getting a bigger pay rise than the cost of the qualification).
  To me the huge benefit of the MBA was taking problems at work and using theories to solve them. Instead of carrying on doing the same job every day, I stopped, reflected and improved. It was doing this type of work and networking with people from different backgrounds that was the massive benefit and not the actual piece of paper.
  It really paid off for me but I knew why I needed it! I am currently finishing a masters in education and am swearing to stop at this but it gets addictive!I would reccomend carrying on learning to anyone!

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  ema@...09/05/07 Report as spam
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  LOOK AT OVERALL VALUE, NOT JUST PAY-SLIP

  Going back to school particularly after years of work offers quite some attractions outside of additional pay package. With the dynamic nature of our work society these days (x-generation now fast catching up in the corporate world), updating our knowledge in any chosen field would naturally launch you ahead and position you for the next trend/move in given profession.
  
  Also, jack-of-all-trade-master-of-none theory seems no longer fashionable. At certain positions you need to know more than just your field, so years of work in given field may no longer suffice.
  
  Then what about adding value to whatever you are already good at? If you ask me, even if you do a Masters a second time in a particular field you will still pick lots of new ideas which you ordinarily may not have acquired on your work table.
  
  My view is, whatever is efficient or effective today may be outdated tomorrow, and while you may finally pick the development without necessarily another school experience, what you will get will be either a bit late (at about when newer ideas are already mooting on campus), or selective versions of original ideas, or both.
  
  Our professional bodies and the likes do try to update us with recent developments in their fields but trouble is, what they offer are filtered views of the presenter and thus very subjective. The missing parts of the total view may be what could be relevant to your own work/situation.
  
  Executive Masters are available, and can be tailored to fit into your work/family lifestyle. Well, I am currently running a Masters in strategic management/entrepreneurship, though I have been working for a decade even in senior manegarial positions; want to know my self-assessment on the decision? No regrets at all.

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  asgaard09/05/07 Report as spam
  18

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  Going back to school with family, work, and other factors is a big decision, there must be a pay off or why else would one due it. I actually went back last year, and I have three weeks to go before completing my MBA. If anyone is interested, I recommend it, the lessons learned, relationships created, and the added value into yourself is worth it at the end of the ride. The finances are the biggest issue though, if one's employer is willing to pay for the classes, the decision is much easier, the time value of money concepts can be very applicable here with the initial investment into school, and how long to pay it back.

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  jenkinsl809/05/07 Report as spam
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  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  Unless you're going to a top MBA school (and perhaps even then), do not expect
  an MBA to make up for lack of experience. An MBA, unlike an MS degree,
  enhances the work experience you already have, enabling you to advance in your
  career in most cases.
  
  I know many folks who went for an MBA with that expectation and were sadly
  disappointed...

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  regaliathai@...09/07/07 Report as spam
  20

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  Agree. There lies the attitude towards learning. A MBA does not equip it students with SOP or the like that they would just follow and not go wrong. Instead, it provokes critical thinking towards problem solving to meet the challenge of rapid changing and at times ambiguous business environment. A significant part of most MBA courses espouses on intellectual development, inter alia, knowledge, analysis, reasoning, and logic, that are made up of theories, tools, and techniques however, these cognitive competencies have to be complimented with emotional competencies such as self-introspection, self-management, environment awareness, and relationship management in order to achieve optimum result in management and leadrship. The equilibrium is where experience lies that the three letters simply cannot makeup to.

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  dreeve109/05/07 Report as spam
  21

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  I have been researching for 5 years on the benefits of getting an MBA....my biggest obstacle is not having support (financially speaking) from my employer. Many companies have taken reinbursment out of the budget.
  
  dreeve@mcgriff.com

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  Ramallah09/05/07 Report as spam
  22

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  well, great idea, but it depends on where do u want to study, if in a university where paranoid and sadists prevail, then don't

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  pandr1@...09/05/07 Report as spam
  23

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  I just graduated with my MBA. It was hard on me, my family, and my employer but it is over with and I feel like a new man. There is one problem - I don't know what to do with free time. I hope I can turn down the throttle from work - 50 hours/week, school - 15-20 hours/week, family - ?
  You can lose everything but no one can take your education away from you.

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  mostensen09/07/07 Report as spam
  24

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  I am doing the Cornell-Queen's EMBA after practing law for 20 years. I recommend both doing an MBA as an opportunity for learning, and this particular program. The program has changed my thinking, has opened the door to career opportunities, and has provided a new network of colleagues. I believe that there is some correlation between price and quality; and that commonly available rankings in the business press give some guideline to what may be expected.

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  mabashr09/09/07 Report as spam
  25

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  I'd go if someone else would pay my entire tution. I have no desire to spend in excess of 30 grand adverage for tution.

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  JennaMiller09/12/07 Report as spam
  26

  Thanks for your posts!

  Thanks for all of your posts! I wanted to respond to each one -- it sounded much more fun that statistics homework! And I plan to jump in here a lot more often as I settle into a routine with work and school.
  
  The best part of everyone sharing their experiences is how much diversity there is, and I think that really highlights a great point: Everyone has different reasons to want to go back to school. It can be a requirement for your career, it can be a decision borne out of desperation, or it can be because you want to prove you can do it.
  
  The key is to recognize whatever your motivation is and use it to your advantage. Because sooner or later, you're going to need all the advantages you can get!
  
  Jenna Miller

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  dylansoo09/23/07 Report as spam
  27

  RE: College 2.0: Is It Time to Go Back for Your MBA?

  I am currently working on my Master of Arts in International Hotel Management. I have been in the hospitality industry for 10 years but have of course "fallen" into this industry as many others have. After my first five years of working in smaller unknown independant properties, I felt it was time to go back to school. At the time, I was 24, and was scared of the thought of competing with many of the younger students, however as I had industry experience, this helped my confidence as many of the students turned to me for support. I was one of the few lucky ones to continue on and land a nice job at a AAA Five Diamond rated hotel at the Front Desk. Very few of my fellow cohorts were lucky to land Front Office positions and so I held this position with esteem. After finishing up my diploma program I decided to move on to another property and it was there I was able to accelerate my rise through the company thanks to my education. After 3 years there I felt it was time to go back to school. Due to my experience I was able to bypass my undergrad and go directly into the current program. I am also working in a brand new hotel as the Front Office Manager which opened its doors May 1st of this year. In my opinion you can't have education without industry experience and visa versa!

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  rrishch11/08/07 Report as spam
  28

  The Institution DOES Matter (somewhat!)

  I think a good foundation in business education can be obtained in many different schools. At some point you'll explain to someone why you made your choice of school. It would be much more compelling to say "I went to University XYZ because of the specialized curriculum focus, or program delivery method that suited my life requirements" than to say "It was in the top-10 in the business magazine ratings". If your school can deliver on both accounts, all the better.