Ask HN: MS in CS vs MBA in Technology for Working Software Professionals?

[suyash]

I'm a software engineer working for about 2 years and have been thinking of getting an advance degree part time. I was wondering what would be more helpful for my career in the long term if I want to rise up the chain of the company hierarchy.

Thanks, SJ

[madoublet]

I was in your shoes a few years ago, and I ended up going with an MBA. I could give you a boilerplate response like "you need to align your education with your goals" but the truth is that if you are struggling to choose between these two areas, then you probably aren't too sure what your long term goals are. If that is the case, I would probably recommend going with an MBA. A lot of people will tell you that MBAs are a dime a dozen, the subject matter is trivial, and you are just setting yourself up for middle management. But, I don't think any of those apply. MBAs with a technical undergraduate are not at all common. And most technical people would benefit greatly from taking MBA courses. For me, prior to getting an MBA, I had a really hard time communicating with non-technical people. And, I saw everything from a specific perspective. Taking communications, accounting, negotiations, and other business courses opened my eyes to how people on the business side of the fence think. And, this gave me a much better sense of how to communicate with them. In the end, I ended up choosing to not go into management and head down the User Experience career path.

[glimcat]

It depends on what you want for your career.

Either on a resume is just saying, "Hey look, I have a bit more education than the next guy in the pile!" - and little else. It can be a marginal advantage there, but the effect is often negligible compared to networking.

What's more important is acquiring skills and experience. Do you want to learn more advanced CS theory, or do you want to start learning business theory? Keep in mind that you can choose one and still take classes from the other.

Also keep in mind that an MBA is really intended for corporate middle management. If that's the job you want, go for it. If you're more interested in startupville like much of the population of HN, then pursuing practical experience with product launches and building a business may be a more efficient use of your time.

[suyash → glimcat]

Thanks glimcat..that was pretty helpful

[suyash]

I suppose this applied to a lot of engineers out there and answers from HN community would be really helpful.