

Should You Get An MBA? Some Nice Insights - mollylynn
http://www.infochachkie.com/the-mba-education-and-other-oxymorons-entrepreneur-infochachkie/

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ojbyrne
I have an MBA, and this sentence is probably the most important: "If you have
a non-business undergraduate degree, then an MBA may make sense, even if your
are an entrepreneur." The MBA program was originally designed to be
specifically for engineers, who, in mid-career, were taking on management
roles, and needed appropriate business training to do those jobs well. And if
was supposed to be for people that had been away from school and had work
experience.

Unfortunately the programs seem to be full of business undergrads, who go
straight from their undergrad and (I guess) see it as a way to differentiate
themselves. If your undergrad is not in business, then the accounting and
finance training alone is worth it. And lots of people do the degree part-time
(as I did) so the argument that its a waste of time doesn't hold up. For the
right type of person.

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tomsaffell
> If your undergrad is not in business, then the accounting and finance
> training alone is worth it

I think this is valid, but there is also another option. In my 4th year
engineering (my Masters) I took 3/8 of my courses outside the engineering
school: Accounting & Finance; Operations Research, Entrepreneurship. I am
extremely glad I took Accounting & Finance and Operations Research - I would
highly recommend Accounting and Finance to _any_ undergraduate who thinks they
may work in management at some point in their career. The Entrepreneurship was
very dry, and I can't remember a single thing that I learned there.

The two scenarios I see as valid for doing an MBA:

1\. A lifestyle choice (albeit a very expensive one)

2\. To get an opening into consulting / banking if you don't already have a
background in it (though there are other ways to do this too). Having worked
with many MBA hires in consulting I would say the value of the MBA is putting
oneself in the pond from which consulting companies fish, and much less so
teaching the skills that consultants need.

If I was to go back to academia, it would be for a PhD for sure.

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ojbyrne
Well, I went down that road too (didn't finish it because the life of a post-
doc didn't seem very appealing). In career terms MBA >> PhD, in my opinion.

On your description of courses, well OR was what I did my ABD in, so I'm
biased. I personally loved my Entrepreneurship course. I think its professor -
dependent. Our professor was a bit of an entrepreneur (and entertainer)
himself.

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tomsaffell
> I think its professor dependent

Totally agree. Ours was not an active entrepreneur, though he was a friend.
Additionally, I was involved in running the university entrepreneurship
society, through which I was exposed to many excellent talks by entertaining
entrepreneurs - those made much more of an impression on me.

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anthonyrubin
While I don't doubt that an MBA can increase one's earning potential, I'm
really skeptical about its value to employers. I've worked with over a dozen
MBA holders from all the top schools and I've never been impressed with any of
them.

Some people mention accounting and finance knowledge as one reason to pursue
an MBA. Paying tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for such knowledge
seems wasteful.

I have also read articles in the past indicating that there is no correlation
at all between corporation performance and whether or not top executives have
MBA degrees.

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nazgulnarsil
+1, the in depth treatment of finance is overkill for someone starting a small
business. Most MBA curriculums are intended for the large corporation crowd.
Taking a couple accounting/economics classes in the course of your BS is time
better spent.

~~~
netcan
I am not necessarily advocating an MBA. But this line of argument can probably
be applied equally to many if not most degree courses. Especially applicable
if you're talking about a degree at a 'better' university vs one that might be
cheaper or where you may be eligible for scholarship.

If you want to learn most things there are probably better ways of achieving
it. You can gain most knowledge almost free. But Universities give you a
bundle of people, a framework, deadlines, teachers and the rest that amounts
to something that people don't tend to get elsewhere. It also works without
the highest possible level of motivation. While not glamorous, that's
valuable.

As far as needing the knowledge, it's a judgement call. There are courses out
there with more of a small business focus. It's definitely not a prerequisite,
but taking time & resources & dedicating them to gaining knowledge in this
area can produce value.

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mixmax
Just as a data point: I am a serial entrepreneur, and I have a degree in
economics. I have never, not even once, been asked or have shown this
particular credential. Not even investors have been interested in the fact
that I have a degree.

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bjelkeman-again
I have been asked twice, once was in a job interview, way before I began
starting companies. The other time was two years after a VC started investing
in our operation. But then I am generally quite upfront about my background,
so he probably knew enough already.

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langer
The MBA is an investment opportunity - costing 2 years and ~$100k.

Surely any would-be entrepreneur is better off investing 2 years and $100k in
starting a company?

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lionheart
Depending on how you do it. I'm currently in the first year of a rather well-
ranked MBA program.

Classes are Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6pm to 10pm. The rest of my time
is spent working on starting my company. And this degree is going to cost me
$40k total, all of which is tax-deductible, of course.

I'd say its a pretty good deal.

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rms
Sure, if you don't have anything better to do with your time.

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matthewmeredith
I like the contraian approach here. Too much credence is put in getting
advanced degrees, especially in business.

Get a basic undergrad degree and then get a job in a startup. That is the best
way to 'learn' business.

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simonsays
I like the reference to the hot dog venders...They definitely know way more
than college professors.

