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I was a finance undergrad and found it to be pretty worthless. I don't know if it was location (Texas) or timing (May 2008).
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Nov 25, 2012 19:41
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Harry posted:I was a finance undergrad and found it to be pretty worthless. I don't know if it was location (Texas) or timing (May 2008). Not to sound snippy, but define worthless here. Like I said, I know a lot of people who seem to feel that because they had to be an analyst at a less-than-famous firm that it was worthless, even if it was a stable and decent entry-level job.
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Nov 25, 2012 20:03
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I think by "worthless" he means didn't get him a good job. My opinion is the coursework in finance/business programs, especially at the undergraduate level, is generally useless. We aren't doctors, we don't require years of schooling to be able to practice in the field, and there's a pretty big divide between academic theory and it's application in the real world. The purpose of these programs as others have said is networking and a prestigious job. The only thing I find from school that's useful and that takes time to wrap your head around is accounting. People who come in who need to be explained the difference between capitalizing and expensing or the theory of depreciation infuriate me.
Its Miller Time fucked around with this message at 20:16 on Nov 25, 2012 |
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Nov 25, 2012 20:13
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Its Miller Time posted:I think by "worthless" he means didn't get him a good job. My opinion is the coursework in finance/business programs, especially at the undergraduate level, is generally useless. We aren't doctors, we don't require years of schooling to be able to practice in the field, and there's a pretty big divide between academic theory and it's application in the real world. The purpose of these programs as others have said is networking and a prestigious job. The only thing I find from school that's useful and that takes time to wrap your head around is accounting. People who come in who need to be explained the difference between capitalizing and expensing or the theory of depreciation infuriate me. I think that's probably fair, but aside from engineering it's tough for me to think of a non business-related major that won't get HR generalists thinking they should go ahead and stuff you at the bottom of a pile.
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Nov 25, 2012 20:22
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It was pretty much a checkmark that got me some interviews maybe and then offers of like $13/hr doing something that someone they picked up off the street could probably do. I'm not pretending it will be that way for everyone, but I didn't hear of many people complaining about only getting a 60-70k job out of college with a finance degree.
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Nov 25, 2012 20:37
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As with pretty much any business major besides maybe accounting the coursework is all just a hoop to jump through and 99% is learned on the job for finance majors. I'm an undergrad finance major currently a senior with a six figure job offer signed and am obviously pretty happy with my choice of study. Granted, the name brand and alumni base of my target school is what got me the job not anything I learned in class.
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Nov 25, 2012 23:16
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So my story is I graduated with a music business degree 5 years ago (3.3 GPA to give you an idea on my academic level), after a career change I currently work in wireless (for 4 years, 3 years of management experience) and now that I got a corporate gig I get tuition reimbursement. Which means a good opportunity to go back to school. I already have a job obviously, and I have a pretty fair career path, the main motivation is the opportunity is there and it would likely help me move up further. Hardest part for me is sorting where to look at, and especially balancing between school programs and prestige. To be honest, I personally could care less about going to a "lesser" school if I get good results. What I DO care about and am worried about is getting a degree and finding out it doesn't matter because the school doesn't have a high enough reputation. Also, I pretty much have to do my degree online, how much does that hurt me? Currently I am looking at the university of Scranton (which I really like so far), Temple, St Joes, Indiana university, and a few others (as you may have figured out, I live in Philly). My reimbursement is $7,000 a year, so what is appealing is that for a lot of these schools I can get well over 50% covered if I stretch it over 3 years instead of 2 (and if I happen to find a scholarship, bonus). Also, they seem fine overall to me and what I am looking for, I just don't know if they are fine to future people that I want to hire/promote me. Advice is welcome.
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Dec 1, 2012 05:26
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I'm applying for MBA programs for the upcoming year. I have a 3.45 GPA with a business undergrad from a small liberal-arts school with a fairly good academic reputation. (Think Ithaca or Loyola) My work experience is mostly Military, I served as a Marine. My concern is that my service was enlisted, however I did have billets with up to 30 direct reports and had many team-lead roles, including leading teams in combat. I don't have leadership on the civilian side, I have about two years working with disadvantaged veterans in a case-management role. I am also a URM and fluent in Spanish, and have significant international experience. I'm looking at mostly full-time programs for the networking advantage and internship opportunity. I want to get an MBA as a career-changer and was hoping to move into the energy sector as a project manager or something similar as I have enjoyed all my project management experiences. So my worries are these: Will being enlisted (though as a Senior NCO) put me at a disadvantage, and will my lack of business experience be frowned upon by the adcoms? What can I do to make myself more competitive? Any thoughts? StabbyRipStabStab fucked around with this message at 14:54 on Dec 2, 2012 |
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Dec 2, 2012 01:35
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StabbyRipStabStab posted:My work experience is mostly Military, I served as a Marine. All but the top quintile of MBA programs in the United States will bend over backwards for you because of this sentence. And most of the top quintile will at least clear a few roadblocks from your path. e: To make myself clearer: Go find some MBA rankings, put your finger on the No. 10 school, and realize that pretty much every one of the schools below that (and a few above) would be happy to have you as a student.
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Dec 4, 2012 09:22
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StabbyRipStabStab posted:I'm applying for MBA programs for the upcoming year. I have a 3.45 GPA with a business undergrad from a small liberal-arts school with a fairly good academic reputation. (Think Ithaca or Loyola) My work experience is mostly Military, I served as a Marine. My concern is that my service was enlisted, however I did have billets with up to 30 direct reports and had many team-lead roles, including leading teams in combat. I don't have leadership on the civilian side, I have about two years working with disadvantaged veterans in a case-management role. I am also a URM and fluent in Spanish, and have significant international experience. Senior Marine NCO!? MBA Programs will LOVE that as leadership / work experience. (It translates very well to the post MBA careeer world too.) Your work experience is a plus already. Now for the other parts of the application process: what kind of GMAT do you have? Can you get some cool people to write you recommendations? Can you interview well? While everyone wants someone with military experience in their class, no one wants someone who still thinks they are in the Marine Corps.
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Dec 5, 2012 20:58
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USC will be sending out their interview invitations this friday, and I guess I'm pretty nervous. Do they send out a lot of interview invitations? or are the interviews more of a formality? I think I'll be pretty disappointed to not receive an interview, because more than likely that means I will not receive one for UCLA (tougher requirements/smaller acceptance pool). Anyone have any experience where they've heard of people getting interviewed and not getting accepted?
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Dec 5, 2012 23:05
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Hey all, I'm currently a Financial Analyst at a market-leading Healthcare IT company, and I'm looking for some input. Considering the company I work for has a glass ceiling on advancement (they tout a "flat" internal structure; title advancement is pretty much a no-go), I can't see staying at this position for more than 2-3 years. Thus, I'm starting to consider future opportunities. I've identified three paths for my future, as follows: (1) Stay in the healthcare industry. There are great consulting opportunities and a large base of healthcare organizations that would snatch up someone with my relatively unique experience at my company (i.e. knowledge of contract management, specific cost structure and forecasting, predefined "gives" in the contracting process, etc.). Thing is, there's a one-year non-compete clause that, while most likely not enforceable, I have no incentive to violate. I'd be happy to work on unrelated consulting projects and travel abroad for that year, upon which I could transition back into the industry. (2) Return to school for a non-MBA Masters, most likely in Econ / Finance / Statistics. I've always been drawn to these subjects and would enjoy pursuing more complex topics and potential research. (3) Return to school for an MBA. While I'm not sure I'd enjoy IB (I'd probably never become a banker), I know post-MBA opportunities consist of more than that. Furthermore, it sounds as though the combination of my experience and a decent MBA degree would set me up well for a management position within the healthcare industry. So - any advice here? For context, I'm mid-20s with an undergraduate degree from a top university. To pursue one of the educational options, I'd plan to study for and take a graduate-level exam this year and apply during the next round of fall applications.
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Dec 9, 2012 04:25
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Ruggan posted:Hey all, I'm currently a Financial Analyst at a market-leading Healthcare IT company, and I'm looking for some input. Considering the company I work for has a glass ceiling on advancement (they tout a "flat" internal structure; title advancement is pretty much a no-go), I can't see staying at this position for more than 2-3 years. Thus, I'm starting to consider future opportunities. I've identified three paths for my future, as follows: A couple of thoughts: non-competes are indeed essentially unenforceable, unless the company pays you not to work. You cannot force someone to sign a contract that prevents them from earning a living. (I am not a lawyer, but have seen this from the enforcer side first-hand.) Also, you sound sufficiently junior without knowledge of anything proprietary that I doubt anyone will give a sh*t about whether you go and work for a competitor. As for degrees, all of the options you are thinking about are viable, and can be great career choices, or not very helpful ones. My advice would be to do some more reserach on the kinds of things people with these degrees do after they get them. As an MBA graduate from a "top school" I am probably biased, since that was definitely the right decision for me. But as always, YMMV. GOod luck!
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Dec 9, 2012 19:23
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Just curious: can anyone answer how big of a factor going to name school vs not as well known school is? I've narrowed my MBA currently between Temple and Scranton, obviously one is more well known than the other, but the programs seem similar.
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Dec 9, 2012 19:28
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Duckman2008 posted:Just curious: can anyone answer how big of a factor going to name school vs not as well known school is? I've narrowed my MBA currently between Temple and Scranton, obviously one is more well known than the other, but the programs seem similar. Are you looking to check a box or switch careers? Because if you just need to check a box the name doesn't matter. If you are looking for a career switch the name is everything.
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Dec 10, 2012 03:36
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Thoguh posted:Are you looking to check a box or switch careers? Because if you just need to check a box the name doesn't matter. If you are looking for a career switch the name is everything. Check a box, I just started a job that will give me tuition reimbursement for a MBA. I just didn't want it to be a waste or anything like that.
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Dec 10, 2012 10:53
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I an an Australian and I did my MBA at a regional unversity (4 star MBA) I didn't have an undergraduate degree, but I was working for IBM as a project manager and got a 520 on my GMAT so they let me in on a pathway program. for this they enrolled me in a Grad cert in Management, and if I maintained a distinction advantage they would let me continue into the MBA. I finished the degree while working full time, took me 2.5 years but I graduated. After graduating I requested a review with HR and told them I wanted to get into Account management (I was sick of project management) due to the MBA I had just finished I got bumped into a Service Delivery Managment role, and given access to an education pack to get me into a Delivery executive role. Having said this, a LOT of my classmates haven't been able to get into new roles after completing their MBA's and a lot of them are still in casual roles, unable to secure full time employment even with the degree. A common theme was people thinking that they would get a job just because they had the MBA, this is NOT the case, if you have good experience at the right level, the MBA can help you move up, but if you don't have the experience then the MBA is probably not going to do anything for you. This is just my experience though, and might not happen to you.
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Dec 10, 2012 11:41
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So, still waiting on a response from USC about whether or not I made it in for an interview. Admissions said they were still processing everything, so I'm doing my best to be patient. Does anyone have any experience on whether they will say "No you did not get an interview" if you didn't, and about when I should necessarily expect to hear from admissions?
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Dec 11, 2012 00:13
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Omgbees posted:I an an Australian and I did my MBA at a regional unversity (4 star MBA) Hey Omgbees, I'm curious if you have any comments on American MBAs working in Australia.
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Dec 11, 2012 05:07
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Oakey posted:Hey Omgbees, I'm curious if you have any comments on American MBAs working in Australia. We did have one a while ago as a transfer in, fresh from graduation pretty much. Seemed to know his stuff but was a bit elitist of his degree (Wharton) so copped a lot of garbage whenever he got something wrong* But yeah, he stuck around for a few months then unfortunately got "resource actioned" (fired) when the global recession hit. Was a nice guy though, and would have been well regarded if not for the aggrandisement. * Australians love taking people who have a high opinion of themselves down a peg.
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Dec 11, 2012 09:38
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Omgbees posted:We did have one a while ago as a transfer in, fresh from graduation pretty much. Seemed to know his stuff but was a bit elitist of his degree (Wharton) so copped a lot of garbage whenever he got something wrong* Are you sure he was actually an elitist prick or were you guys just projecting that on him based on his degree? I feel like anyone in a foreign country no matter what the credentials is going to feel pretty humbled by culture shock.
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Dec 11, 2012 17:35
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Noah posted:So, still waiting on a response from USC about whether or not I made it in for an interview. Admissions said they were still processing everything, so I'm doing my best to be patient. Does anyone have any experience on whether they will say "No you did not get an interview" if you didn't, and about when I should necessarily expect to hear from admissions? I don't know if applying to the full time program is any different but when I got into the part time program at USC, there were no interviews involved. I turned in my application, had all my paperwork in order and got a phone call saying I got accepted.
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Dec 12, 2012 00:01
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The fulltime program does have an interview process, and notifications for first round applicants started going out on December 7th (Friday). Admissions said they were still processing on Monday, and that I'm supposed to hear regardless of the answer, but still nada so far. Now I'm just worried that my dumb test scores/transcripts didn't get in, or got lost, or anything that might have caused me to miss the first round cutoff deadline for applications, and that my application is considered 2nd round. But I also don't want to bother admissions when I know they're getting slammed with calls, I imagine. It's just me being impatient, and really looking forward to getting an MBA.
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Dec 12, 2012 00:15
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Noah posted:The fulltime program does have an interview process, and notifications for first round applicants started going out on December 7th (Friday). Admissions said they were still processing on Monday, and that I'm supposed to hear regardless of the answer, but still nada so far. Bother them. Sure they're getting slammed, but it's their job to help people like you. What if the person they're currently being bothered by has lost paperwork, and they help him find his because he called and you don't' get in because you didn't call? It can only help you to call and verify that they have everything they need from you.
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Dec 12, 2012 00:53
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I'll call tomorrow if I haven't heard anything.
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Dec 12, 2012 01:03
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Good luck by the way. The program's been incredible so far.
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Dec 12, 2012 01:40
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Got into Emory, which was second on my list so really pumped! I still am considering Georgetown as well as I think the differences between quality of program is very minor. The main difference is Emory has a really good career office while Georgetown's is supposed to be pretty sub-par. So I'm leaning towards Emory.
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Dec 12, 2012 11:23
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bouncyman posted:Good luck by the way. The program's been incredible so far.
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Dec 12, 2012 11:28
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Received information that the interview invitations are more of a rolling thing, then a deadline. Apparently interview invitations can even be going out as late as May/June, which was pretty surprising to me. Also learned that only if someone is reviewing my application will I hear from them if they have found anything that they need, ie. missing documentation. There's no way for anyone to confirm that they've received everything. Which could mean everything is in, or could mean no one has looked at my application. It's not so much that there is a delay, or that things aren't done yet, what bothers me is that they published deadlines and "important dates." I specifically hustled to get all of my application stuff, essays and recommendations all done and sent in for early decision, that is posted on the website. Everyone I've spoken to at the admissions has been as helpful as they can, and very nice, albeit they do sound stressed, so I feel like I'm being a bother by asking them these questions. I almost feel weird about voicing some frustration on here, because there's probably little that can come out of it. The whole system is very opaque and not really set up for clarity, so I guess I just hear back sooner than later. Probably not gonna call them again, at least not for awhile, because I imagine there are probably people really getting on them about the whole thing and I don't want to add onto somebody's bad day already.
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Dec 13, 2012 00:39
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Small White Dragon posted:What year are you? PM 2015
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Dec 13, 2012 02:57
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darklink28 posted:Got into Emory, which was second on my list so really pumped! I still am considering Georgetown as well as I think the differences between quality of program is very minor. The main difference is Emory has a really good career office while Georgetown's is supposed to be pretty sub-par. So I'm leaning towards Emory. I don't have personal experience with either school, but you are wise to consider their placement office / OCR when making your choice. Those folks can really make or break your overall MBA experience, which, after all, is basically all about getting an awesome job once you graduate.
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Dec 13, 2012 21:33
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I'm applying to two tough programs in April and wondering how I should network between now and then to maximize my chances. Do I make an appointment with admissions and try to make a good impression with someone high up? Should I be hitting up alumni?
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Dec 17, 2012 18:43
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Question: how helpful is an MBA in teaching you how to start and run a new business? Like many people, I frequently have ideas that I think would make a great business. However, being a realistic individual, I also acknowledge that I have zero knowledge of running a business nor any knowledge of how to objectively evaluate how awesome my 'awesome' ideas actually are prior to throwing all my money at it. Would an MBA actually help teach these sorts of skills? Everyone I know who has/is getting an MBA seems to solely use it as a fast-track to management at an existing company, or a high-paying finance postition at an investment bank, or something. From my limited observations, it seems like an MBA is regarded purely as a way to advance faster in an already-established company. Any MBA goons with start-up experience care to weigh in on this? sentientcarbon fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Dec 20, 2012 |
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Dec 19, 2012 23:58
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sentientcarbon posted:Question: how helpful is an MBA in teaching you how to start and run a new business? Like many people, I frequently have ideas that I think would make a great business. However, being a realistic individual, I also acknowledge that I have zero knowledge of running a business nor any knowledge of how to objectively evaluate how awesome my 'awesome' ideas actually are prior to throwing all my money at it. Look into entrepreneurship courses at your local community college like so http://www1.socccd.cc.ca.us/eservices/ClassDetail.asp?sectionID=63075&termid=20131
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Dec 20, 2012 00:30
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Swingline posted:Are you sure he was actually an elitist prick or were you guys just projecting that on him based on his degree? I feel like anyone in a foreign country no matter what the credentials is going to feel pretty humbled by culture shock. Oh yeah, he was an elitist dick. Walked in and made a big deal about he was a big shot for being selected to come over because he had his MBA and none of us knew what we were doing (the other guys had over 15 years at a VP / GM level, I only had 5 years in company) When it came up that I had an MBA he said that it didn't count because it wasn't an American degree, one of the other managers had done a "general managment program" through Harvard and the assign in guy said it wasn't an MBA so didn't count either.
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Dec 20, 2012 07:58
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sentientcarbon posted:Question: how helpful is an MBA in teaching you how to start and run a new business? Like many people, I frequently have ideas that I think would make a great business. However, being a realistic individual, I also acknowledge that I have zero knowledge of running a business nor any knowledge of how to objectively evaluate how awesome my 'awesome' ideas actually are prior to throwing all my money at it. I have done some "consulting" with people to get them from an idea through to financing and implementation, then second round financing and expansion through to sale. A lot of this I DID get from my MBA, but a lot of it is personal interest. Mandalay got it right though, an entrepreneurship course would better suit you to make and develop ideas in a higher degree of detail and develop a pretty decent business plan.
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Dec 20, 2012 08:03
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sentientcarbon posted:Question: how helpful is an MBA in teaching you how to start and run a new business? Like many people, I frequently have ideas that I think would make a great business. However, being a realistic individual, I also acknowledge that I have zero knowledge of running a business nor any knowledge of how to objectively evaluate how awesome my 'awesome' ideas actually are prior to throwing all my money at it. Crick out the book "The Successful Business Plan" by Rhonda Adams as well. Super good book on planning a business.
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Dec 20, 2012 14:57
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Omgbees posted:Oh yeah, he was an elitist dick. wow, superstar in the making acting like that.
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Dec 20, 2012 23:11
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Welp, just got waitlisted by Mendoza/ND. Does anyone know anything about their accepted students' rejection rate, and/or general info about waitlist numbers from there?
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Dec 21, 2012 20:37
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sentientcarbon posted:Question: how helpful is an MBA in teaching you how to start and run a new business? Like many people, I frequently have ideas that I think would make a great business. However, being a realistic individual, I also acknowledge that I have zero knowledge of running a business nor any knowledge of how to objectively evaluate how awesome my 'awesome' ideas actually are prior to throwing all my money at it. I agree with the above posters saying that books and entrepreneurs courses is the best way to go. You'll get very pratical information. IMHO an MBA is more geared toward complex management situations mostly encountered in larger companies: human ressources, labor relations, optimal organisational structures... Stuff like that. Idealy it is taken by experienced people who are looking to get ahead of the pack, aspiring to become the leader.
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Dec 24, 2012 13:40
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