| Topic Name: |
Older MBA's experience compensation envy. |
| Message Name: |
MBAs and value |
| Date Posted: |
09/29/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
It sounds to me that many people have MBA envy. I am a current MBA student in a concentrated, 1 year program. I also have 15 years of work experience in the military. I decided to go back for my advanced degree to enhance my earning power. What I have learned is that an MBA just gets you into the interview (hopefully). Once you are in there, its all up to you selling yourself. What many people don't realize is the opportunity cost involve in getting a MBA. If you go to a full time program, you must give up your current salary (cost=50,000 x 2 = 100,000) pay tution, and give up most of your leisure time. And if you are like me, with a family, you have to juggle those chainsaws. So not only must you be intelligent and hard working, you must also be driven. This is why employers hire MBAs. They understand what a person has to endure to get one! For all of those who say that an MBA isn't worth it, then don't get one. If you are jealous of the pay disparty, go to school and get one! Otherwise, shut up. If you aren't happy with yourself, change your circumstances. |
| Message: |
Example 1:
I start a business with non MBA grads, the company tanks therefore I look for MBA grads
Example 2:
I start a business with top tier school MBA grads, the company succeeds therefore I tend to like MBA grads.
Example 3:
I start a business with vanilla MBA grads, the company tanks, therefore I tend to hate the overpriced MBAs.
Example 4:
I start a business with top tier school MBA grads, the company tanks therefore the CEO tends to hate top tier MBA grads.
Hypothesis:
In Example 1 a CEO might say that he/she needed MBAs. In Example 3, a CEO might say that he/she needed top tier MBAs. In Example 2 the CEO might say that top tier MBAs are worth their weight in gold. In Example 4, the CEO might say that top tier MBAs are useless.
Now, if Example 4 occurs again and again and again, the value of top tier MBAs will drop.
Now, if Example 2 occurs again and again and again, the value of top tier MBAs will drop because a middle tier MBA is enough.
Now if Examples 1 and 3 occur again and again the value of both top tier and middle tier MBAs will increase because of perception.
I would venture to say that if the top tier and middle tier MBAs aren't as good as they're made out to be, there will be a correction in the industry and the MBA salaries will drop. This correction always lags for years because those MBAs have to fail again and again so that their value will decrease.
Bear this in mind. Thought leadership is important but if you can't implement you're up the creek. So there are many components to success. There are no control situations in the market. It's a live system and you can't attribute success or failure to any one part of an organization.
At the end of the day it will be those that implement anticipatory solutions to problems in the economy and fill to expand new markets effectively will be the most successful.
What am I saying? Don't worry about the MBA salaries. The good ones are worth it, the bad ones will be weeded out unless they can talk or explain their way out of it and if they can who's to say they're not winners. I think we're missing the point if we concentrate on this little issue.
There's no way to measure their true value objectively but the market will decide on its own.
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