| Topic Name: |
MBA Dilemma for "Experienced" Professionals |
| Message Name: |
Re: Depends on what you want out of it. |
| Date Posted: |
06/17/2001 |
| In Reply To: |
Once again, thanks for your veiws and comments.
I wonder if you could elaborate on some of the "ups and downs" that you mentioned? In what way were these related to the MBA (rank, nature of program, the fact that you undertook one late in your career, etc)? Did you take it PT or FT? Also, you say that the MBA was not a "golden ticket". How did it improve your postion financially (if at all) and would it have been a "golden ticket" (or near enough) had you obtained it from a "highly ranked" school?
All the best |
| Message: |
In answer to your questions:
The ups and downs I mentioned were in no way related to the MBA. They are the kind of ups and downs that happen in lots of careers. I only mentioned it to illustrate that my success has not been the result of some run of luck.
I took my program part time, but it was a full-fledged program, all fully qualified instructor-led classroom courses, lots of writing requirements, no courses waived for work experience, etc.
As I mentioned before, the degree improved my position financially by giving me a broader view of business and improving my confidence, thereby enabling me to be more effective in my work. As I got recognized for better performance and capability, I got ahead. The degree was not the only factor in that, but it was a part of the whole picture.
I can't imagine that getting a degree from a more highly ranked school would have made a difference in my case. As I mentioned before, I think that is more of a factor with traditional age students.
In fact, I think I there is a possible hazard in some highly ranked programs for mid career students. A lot of the highly ranked programs are taught by career academicians who have done a lot of publishing, but have never managed a business. That's fine if you are teaching business theory to youngsters. People who have been out in the trenches for a decade or two get more out of learning from the adjuct professors in the part time programs. A good adjunct professor will "teach it like it is in the real world."
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