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shrike82 posted:The opportunity cost of going for a "cheap" MBA is that you're potentially wasting one of the few opportunities out there for a lateral career move. Has anyone done two MBAs? I was thinking of doing the MBA at Western Governors online, because: (1) it's $10k (2) it'll be good to have on my resume and is relevant to my current work (3) if I do a $$$ MBA I want it to be face-to-face because of the networking, and when I'm ready to pivot (4) I'm confident I know the material since I took a number of undergrad Berkeley Haas courses BUT I don't want to deprive myself of a future MBA opportunity at a B&M school. I suppose I could tell the adcom that "hey the online experience really sucked may I have a do-over".
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Jan 30, 2013 20:04
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Mandalay posted:Has anyone done two MBAs? Since when does online anything look good on a resume? You don't learn poo poo in a MBA its all about networking and prestige aka the opposite of online colleges.
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Jan 30, 2013 22:22
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Swingline posted:Since when does online anything look good on a resume? You don't learn poo poo in a MBA its all about networking and prestige aka the opposite of online colleges. Because I'm business director of this company, dealing with JDs and PhDs, I'd feel better about my name with MBA at the back of it 
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Jan 31, 2013 01:33
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Another question for those who have graduated with MBAs and are leading successful careers in business: how's your life like? Do you have a good work-life balance? Are you married to your blackberry?
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Jan 31, 2013 01:52
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Can anyone answer this but why do brands hate consultants? I am consulting now after my MSc and after interviewing at a few brands it seems like a lot of brands are not wanting anyone with consulting or ad agency. When did this consulting/agency vs brand thing really happen? e: Not sure if right thread but it may be good to know for MBA candidates that are looking for first job after school.
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Jan 31, 2013 05:56
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Mandalay posted:Because I'm business director of this company, dealing with JDs and PhDs, I'd feel better about my name with MBA at the back of it Most MBAs I know don't actually include MBA in their title. You sure about this?
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Jan 31, 2013 07:02
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Radio Talmudist posted:Another question for those who have graduated with MBAs and are leading successful careers in business: how's your life like? Do you have a good work-life balance? Are you married to your blackberry? I have always said the difference between a 4 star MBA and a 5 star MBA is the ability to delegate. My work life balance is great, I can take leave from work and my work can be split up and done in my absence. And blackberry? Nah, Email can get you if you don't manage your time properly. But most of the time your at work / life balance is up to you.
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Feb 1, 2013 00:22
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Enigma89 posted:Can anyone answer this but why do brands hate consultants? I am consulting now after my MSc and after interviewing at a few brands it seems like a lot of brands are not wanting anyone with consulting or ad agency. When did this consulting/agency vs brand thing really happen? I am a lowly analyst but my more experienced coworkers have talked about resumes while I'm around and its more a fear that someone coming in from consulting will be very ego-driven and selfish even if they're very technically proficient and good at their work. It also seems like a lot of low level "consulting" jobs are really doing very basic things with a lot of fancy BS around them. so its the dunning-kruger effect running wild because you get people that think they're the poo poo that dont actually know all that much. However, we dont have a blanket rule about it and a lot of our people actually do have that background, but I guess it was just really obvious in interviews they weren't jerks. I don't work for a fortune X company and like I said I'm bottom of the org chart so everything I just said might be wrong.
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Feb 1, 2013 16:03
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Do you guys feel it would be useful for me to email a few B. school professors and ask to sit in one or two classes so I can see how a typical MBA course is like?
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Feb 1, 2013 20:13
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Radio Talmudist posted:Do you guys feel it would be useful for me to email a few B. school professors and ask to sit in one or two classes so I can see how a typical MBA course is like? https://www.google.com/search?q=mba+observe+class&oq=mba+observe+class
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Feb 1, 2013 20:32
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I feel vindicated, because a few family members I shared this idea with laughed at me and said that one or two classes would never be enough to give me any real sense of what an MBA program is like...which is probably true, but I just wanted to get a taste of graduate study in management.
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Feb 1, 2013 21:13
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Enigma didnt you attend a Euromed program ? If its the case I'm sorry to rain on your parade but I really have doubts regarding the schools international and even domestic brand name. If you were able to find a job in the US based on the fact that your foreign masters was unkwnown to the HR people and sounded exotic, good for you but I would REALLY not recommend Euromed to a foreign student who wishes to work in France afterwards. When you say top 10 program what you forget to say is that there arent 150+ b-schools in France but more like 30 and outside of the top 5 (HEC, Essec, ESCP, Edhec, EM Lyon), they are more or less the same with regards to job prospects and salaries afterwards (ie: not that good) Plus, wages are really low in France compared to the US. 35k euros a year is considered a good starting salary for a fresh grad out of B-school in France (outside of top schools). So, yes tuition is low, but thats only because there is a correlation between tuition and starting salaries. Macnigore fucked around with this message at 15:19 on Feb 2, 2013 |
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Feb 1, 2013 21:29
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From what I saw of MBA students' homework and projects when I was working in a business school computer lab as an undergraduate, it seemed to be pretty much the same difficulty as my MLS, and a surprising amount of the same subject matter. (Well, library managers are generally librarians...)
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Feb 2, 2013 05:26
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VideoTapir posted:From what I saw of MBA students' homework and projects when I was working in a business school computer lab as an undergraduate, it seemed to be pretty much the same difficulty as my MLS, and a surprising amount of the same subject matter. (Well, library managers are generally librarians...) 
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Feb 2, 2013 10:08
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Xguard86 posted:I am a lowly analyst but my more experienced coworkers have talked about resumes while I'm around and its more a fear that someone coming in from consulting will be very ego-driven and selfish even if they're very technically proficient and good at their work. I'm in consulting. I probably spend 80% of my time in internal meetings with my team figuring out ways to manipulate the client. No one around me has any actual skill besides Powerpoint and running/gaming meetings. Also we spend a lot of time making fun of how 'stupid' the client is (who are mostly engineer types and IMHO do some pretty cool things - they just hate sitting in meetings).
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Feb 2, 2013 15:44
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Rotten Dog Jizz posted:I'm in consulting. I probably spend 80% of my time in internal meetings with my team figuring out ways to manipulate the client. No one around me has any actual skill besides Powerpoint and running/gaming meetings. Also we spend a lot of time making fun of how 'stupid' the client is (who are mostly engineer types and IMHO do some pretty cool things - they just hate sitting in meetings). If you're not trolling, I hope you keep recordings of some of these meetings as blackmail/bridge burning material.
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Feb 2, 2013 16:01
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I'm not trolling. I thought my post was management consulting in a nutshell, but I'll grant that my current project is a little..interesting. I have to say that I am becoming burnt out on consulting and am having difficulty concentrating due to the insane hours and stress of it all. Thought I'd read this thread for examples for whom this line of work is actually enjoyable. If I had taken videos this past week it would've involved watching a grown man break down and cry during a meeting and several hours a day wasted by 25 year olds experimenting with new project management gimmicks.
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Feb 2, 2013 21:46
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Rotten Dog Jizz posted:I'm not trolling. I thought my post was management consulting in a nutshell, but I'll grant that my current project is a little..interesting. I have to say that I am becoming burnt out on consulting and am having difficulty concentrating due to the insane hours and stress of it all. Thought I'd read this thread for examples for whom this line of work is actually enjoyable. I think that a lot of the "manipulation" is simply trying to find the best way to communicate that you are trying to do to the client in a way that will get them to agree with what you are saying. Playing the politician isn't always a nice thing to do, but sometimes you need to have that emotional dissidence to get something that needs to be done, done.
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Feb 3, 2013 05:04
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Does anybody know a good website/rss feed to get old lectures from MBA programs, preferable in audio rather than video? I listen to a lot of podcasts but I'm kind of getting tired of my normal routine.
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Feb 8, 2013 01:02
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Has anyone here ever pursued an MPA instead of an MBA? I know both explore similar areas in terms of management, finance and the economy, but do the similarities end once you focus on the public interest with the former degree and profit with the latter? I apologize if this is the wrong place/thread to inquire about MPA programs.
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Feb 16, 2013 00:20
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Any interesting career paths post MBA that doesn't go through management consulting or banking AKA having no life for 2 years?
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Feb 16, 2013 06:33
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rouliroul posted:Any interesting career paths post MBA that doesn't go through management consulting or banking AKA having no life for 2 years? Social enterprise, general management, entrepreneurialism, etc.
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Feb 16, 2013 08:05
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To answer my own question from a while back, it appears that some schools will weight the GRE equally with the GMAT, both in admissions and scholarship. I got into my second choice with 75% of the tuition covered and will only pay 10k out of pocket in tuition (fees and living extra of course). I have a 2.8 cumulative GPA in history and linguistics and a background in ESL, ergo not the most traditional background, but my GRE was a 750 GMAT equivalent, at least according to ETS. Granted the program is in the 30s in ranking, but it recruits well in my region and the median income is well worth the investment of time and money. Radio Talmudist posted:Has anyone here ever pursued an MPA instead of an MBA? I know both explore similar areas in terms of management, finance and the economy, but do the similarities end once you focus on the public interest with the former degree and profit with the latter? I apologize if this is the wrong place/thread to inquire about MPA programs. I was looking very hard at the MPA/MPP before I changed my mind to get the MBA, hence my taking the GRE. I'm just going into the program so I can't really can't say, but what swayed me was the long term flexibility of the MBA. Given my low debt load I'm definitely going to end up in the public sector a lot quicker than I planned initially, if possible. Three of the current students I talked to while interviewing had similar plans. I can't give you much of a nuts and bolts answer about the similarities b/c I'm pretty clueless myself at the moment, but it seems like a lot of MBAs want to go to the public sector and view it as a feasible path.
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Feb 16, 2013 16:59
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Radio Talmudist posted:Has anyone here ever pursued an MPA instead of an MBA? I know both explore similar areas in terms of management, finance and the economy, but do the similarities end once you focus on the public interest with the former degree and profit with the latter? I apologize if this is the wrong place/thread to inquire about MPA programs. In AUS we use the MPA as a way to get an accounting job that can result in a CPA / CA qualification, other than that it's has a few courses in common with the MBA, just with a massive focus on Accounting.
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Feb 17, 2013 04:07
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MPA means a Masters of Public Administration, right?
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Feb 17, 2013 05:04
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Yes, sorry for not clarifying that!
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Feb 18, 2013 01:59
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I know this is an MBA thread, but I'm thinking about going back for a Masters in Financial Engineering or similar program... I'm finishing up my MBA at UT-Austin this summer, and I feel like (a) it hasn't opened up any new doors for me and (b) I'm only now starting to really understand precisely what I'd like to be doing in my next career. I'm looking into Financial Engineering programs as a way to get into financial investment firms (risk management, hedge funds, options/commodities trading)- my undergrad was in mathematics and career so-far has been data/tech oriented, so I feel I can flesh-out and brush-up on the various pre-requisites a lot of these programs require (strong understanding of calculus, stats and C++ programming). Has anyone applied or gone through any Masters programs in Financial Engineering/Financial Mathematics/etc? Any suggestions or warnings?
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Feb 18, 2013 18:06
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So does anyone know if it would be brusque for me to call or email an admissions department and inquire into the job placement rates of their graduates? Is this a reasonable question to ask, or too direct? If I can't ask an admissions department this kind of question, where can I find this info?
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Feb 20, 2013 18:47
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https://www.google.com/search?q=economist+darden+placement+3+months+after+graduation et al
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Feb 20, 2013 19:51
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http://poetsandquants.com/2012/03/19/top-ranked-b-schools-with-the-worst-placement-records/ Yikes. 60% of Baruch MBAs unemployed by graduation. I wonder how much of that is the fault of the school's career office?
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Feb 20, 2013 23:57
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I'm not sure if this is the right thread so I apologize if I'm posting in the wrong place. But I somehow just got placed working for a small private wealth management firm where I'll be starting sometime in the fall despite not majoring in business in college, and my future boss has expressed interest in me taking the CFA, and said the company would cover my prep costs. So I was wondering if any of you guys might be able to offer some advice on studying, especially for someone with minimal finance-related education (took a few econ courses and an intro to corporate finance class in undergrad).
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Feb 26, 2013 05:01
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I believe there are some guys in PWM over in the ibanking thread.
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Feb 26, 2013 07:03
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pizzaman5000 posted:MPA means a Masters of Public Administration, right? Oh wow, here it is a Masters of Professional Accounting
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Feb 26, 2013 07:09
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I unfortunately did not get into UCLA or USC (sorry LA goons, I will not be joining your booze soaked ranks) however, I did secure a job at my alma mater, which also has a fairly reputable part-time night MBA program that I think I can knock out in 5 semesters. Also, the fee waiver from my current job will pay for my first two class (6 units) a semester, of a 48 unit program. I still have to go through the application process, but from all accounts from speaking with their admissions reps and reviewing their class profiles I am highly qualified for the program. Doing a quick excel breakdown of tuition, salary, and expenses, I should actually be able to acquire an MBA with no loans/debt, and still have 5-10k in the bank after all is said and done. Pretty jazzed about those prospects.
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Mar 2, 2013 01:24
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So I'm going to be attending an evening MBA program (employer funded!  ) in the Phoenix area, so probably University of Arizona or Arizona State.I did my undergraduate in business at UofA very recently. Is it too academically incestuous to do an MBA with UofA? I know that's frowned upon in other graduate degrees. The two schools are ranked very similar, if that matters.
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Mar 11, 2013 19:33
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If you don't have a preference I'd probably default to ASU just so you have a little variety. Plus you probably already know a lot of the professors at U of A, so it would open up your network more to switch it up.
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Mar 11, 2013 22:35
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To be honest, after reading through this thread, I've found it kind of strange that there seems to be some decent encouragement from the goon hive-mind for people seeking a non-top MBA. I've found that goons tend to give decent advice in BFC, but this is one area where I definitely disagree. From what I've seen in industry, an MBA that's outside of the top 20 full time programs isn't worth the paper that it's printed on. Personally, I think that beyond the top 10 or 15, ROI starts to become very questionable. If you're looking at something ranked below there, it's probably better to NOT have an MBA at all because at least then you retain the option to get a top MBA later on. Yeah, yeah, I know "some employers won't advance you without checking the box." Well then why not switch employers to someone with a less retarded policy instead of blowing your load on the last chance you'll ever get to switch careers radically? Same thing goes if your employer is doing you the "favor" of paying for you to do a local part time program. It just seems shocking to me that people are willing to pay over $100K, give up two years of income and experience, and lose their rebranding option because they want an MBA from Bumblefuck State U that's going to open doors to the exact same positions they could apply for without the MBA. You don't learn anything in an MBA program that you can't teach yourself from some books and work experience. The value lies in the network (which is only worth paying for at top schools), the on-campus recruiting (ditto), and, unfortunately, public perception. Not trying to offend anyone, but guys, seriously. Look at the realities of higher education in the US. Don't overpay for a meaningless piece of paper. Look at industry/functional placement statistics before committing, and make sure the school that you are looking at aligns with your goals. I hate to be a rankings whore, but unfortunately for MBAs, it matters much more than other graduate degrees. For the record, if where you want to go isn't on the top half of the below list, think long and hard about if it's worth it. If it's not on the list at all, think even longer and harder: 1. Harvard Business School Boston, MA 2. Stanford GSB Stanford, CA 3. Chicago (Booth) Chicago, IL 4. UPenn (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA 5. Northwestern (Kellogg) Evanston, IL 6. MIT (Sloan) Cambridge, MA 7. Columbia New York, NY 8. Dartmouth (Tuck) Hanover, NH 9. UC-Berkeley (Haas) Berkeley, CA 10. Duke (Fuqua) Durham, NC 11. Cornell (Johnson) Ithaca, NY 12. Virginia (Darden) Charlottesville, VA 13. Michigan (Ross) Ann Arbor, MI 14. New York (Stern) New York, NY 15. Yale New Haven, CT 16. Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) Pittsburgh, PA 17. UCLA (Anderson) Los Angeles, CA 18. Texas (McCombs) Austin, TX 19. UNC (Kenan-Flagler) Chapel Hill, NC 20. Emory (Goizueta) Atlanta, GA
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Mar 11, 2013 22:53
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If your employer is paying for your MBA, it doesn't really matter where you get it since the investment will ultimately be so small. So long as you go to best school that is within your company's budget, it doesn't matter. Otherwise, I agree with you. Harvard over Stanford? I disagree.
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Mar 12, 2013 01:02
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COUNTIN THE BILLIES posted:If your employer is paying for your MBA, it doesn't really matter where you get it since the investment will ultimately be so small. So long as you go to best school that is within your company's budget, it doesn't matter. Well, your investment will never be small if you're doing a full time program because you will also not be earning your normal income or gathering valuable years of experience. That opportunity cost is usually much more than the cost of tuition at any school, even the most expensive ones. The opportunity cost of spending all your free time on a part time program is also not small. Value your free time, people! Additionally, if you go to some school that your employer is willing to pay for because it's local and "good enough" for them, you lose the option to pursue a top-tier MBA in the future. That option has value. The local MBA that your employer may have earmarked as "good enough" may indeed be good enough for them, but may get you laughed at (maybe not literally, but you get the point) when you are looking for a job with another employer. As for Harvard over Stanford, I'm part of the douche-y finance/consulting crew so I have no real interest in eating organic yogurt while founding the next simultaneous dry cleaning and pizza delivery app 
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Mar 12, 2013 01:21
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Pissingintowind posted:doom and gloom My future program has an 84% 3 month employment number (100% response rate, according to USnews) and a median income of 87k with a minimum of 60k. Which I'm getting for 10k plus living expenses (which I'd incur anyway of course). I don't make anything close to 87k now. The only way I can see this MBA not being worth it is if these numbers are cooked, which I have assumed is not the case after checking. If they're severely cooked then I am potentially screwed, but I find it hard to believe that they are to such a large degree so as to make my taking two years off work to get the MBA not worth it. Anecdotes like mine are of course just that, but a blanket statement like the one above simply doesn't apply to a good amount of potential MBA students, and that should be pointed out.
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Mar 12, 2013 01:25
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