To MBA or not to MBA? That is the question.
I have met some very successful people that have given me the advice of not to bother with a MBA degree unless it is absolutely necessary. I have also been told that in the world today, it is MBA or nothing.
Any thoughts or advice on this? Of course the first and obvious question is, for what field/job? I am looking at Project Manager or a similiar area of the work force.
I would also recommend any and all recommendations for large corporations to apply at to further my career in management.
-Ken
DISC = CD
As with any degree, the
As with any degree, the question is what you want to do with it.
Would you get a graduate degree in structural engineering? Behavioral psychology? Particle physics? I'm guessing that the answer to any of those would only be "yes" if it is something that applies to what you are doing or are a step away from doing in your career.
An MBA is a Master of Business Administration, which usually has a heavy emphasis on finance and managerial accounting (which can vary from school to school). The courses are usually geared toward helping you to know how to run a company from a financial standpoint, like where to invest, how to calculate marginal costs, and (maybe) how to determine a strategy for a marketing campaign. Only you can say if that's something that would help you in your current (or very near future) role.
An MBA is a LOT of money (and more reputable schools cost more) and you need to figure out if it would ever pay itself back (I have one myself and would probably have chosen a different graduate degree if I could do it all over).
First ask yourself a few
First ask yourself a few questions. Do you see yourself in a management or leadership role? What would be your ideal job now? In 5 years? 10 years? Do those jobs require or prefer an MBA? Would an MBA help or speed your chances to reach your goal? I got an MBA about two and a half years ago. I was in an EMBA program and lost my job 4 months before I graduated. Was out of work for 5 months and I can absolutely say it made a difference in my job search. It made me stand out and I got interviews for positions I never would have been considered for in the past. Also the job I ended up getting required an advanced degree. And also, when I was looking for a job, my MBA network was key in my job search. I had 39 people in my class sending me job openings. All of them offered to give me recommendations. I reached out to faculty for help in preparing and offering recommendations. The dean of the dean of the business school was one of my professors at the time and he repeatedly offered me help. it all helped me land my current position. There is a lot of competition for jobs and promotions in today's economy. Some companies require an MBA or advanced degree just to help narrow down the applicant pool. The key is picking the right school to meet your needs. And I can give you some advice on that if you would like. K P.S. I must disclose that the school where I earned my MBA is also who ended up hiring me to do marketing and recruiting. Has taken my career in a new direction and I absolutely love it!!! :)
Who's paying? - PM
If (and I realise this is unlikely in the current financial climate) your employer is offering to pay for you to do an MBA and there's not an option for them to pay for something else (the cost of one MBA could pay for a whole heap of other training/educational/learning opportunities) then go ahead. Long term an MBA is likely to be useful for your career and, as K_Lynn said, the starter network you get with your classmates can be useful. If you are self funding or if there is an opportunity to get your employer to fund different training then take a serious look at what specifically the specific course offers and how that fits in with your short to medium term career goals. It might be that the cost of an MBA would be better spent elsewhere.
If you're looking at working as a Project Manager then I feel you might be better served getting some project management training and certification such as PRINCE2 or/and PMP. If you're interested in big transformational projects then maybe CHAMPS2 as well. Additionally probably some specific training around Risk Management (e.g. M_o_R), in my experience Risk Management is a seriously neglected area of project management and so a source of many problems. Some training and certification in Business Analysis would probably also help. Think about what area of work/life you would want to manage projects in and look at getting a firm grounding in that. If you're going to be mostly in the IT arena then learn about IT, if construction learn about construction &c. Whatever area you're working in you will need a good grounding in finance (in particular budgeting) and HR, you don't need to be an expert but you do need to know enough to be able to understand those who are. If you can then working on projects, if possible shadowing a project manager or working in a PMO, is an excellent way to gain the skills and connections.
You may also want to look at the Personal MBA reading list (http://personalmba.com/). Whilst I have doubts about the assertion that reading those books is a viable alternative to getting an MBA (and find the writing style of guy behind the site rather grating), I do believe that reading those books is good preparation and worth the investment of time.
Stephen
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Skype: stephenbooth_uk | DiSC: 6137
"Start with the customer and work backwards, not with the tools and work forwards" - James Womack