So you wanna be a ghost?! [MBA Megathread]

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > So you wanna be a ghost?! [MBA Megathread]

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

locdogg posted:

Entrepreneurial endeavors would benefit greatly from an MBA. It's a generalist degree and allows for a broad scope of knowledge that would be useful to anyone involved in business. The days of the man in the grey flannel suit are long dead, and while it sounds like you know people who have been very fortunate in their pursuits, I assure you that having an MBA in no way precludes you from non-traditional career paths.

MBA's are quite expensive. Think of what a business you can set up with 100,000?

# ¿ Oct 10, 2008 22:37

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# ¿ May 1, 2024 20:13

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Thoguh posted:

MBAs are free if your employer pays for it, which just about any medium or large sized company will do.

If your employer is going to pay for you to get a degree than by all means do it.

But to personally get a MBA out of pocket? I don't think it's worth it at all. Business degrees are a dime a dozen these days, and every school that grants degrees will have a business program due to demand. Unless you're doing it at state flagship or ivy league, it's hardly worth the investment. (note too that corporations look at b-schools at a global scale, so HEC and INSEAD is usually a plus)

Again, if your employer is paying that's another scenario because you're going to get a raise after you finish your degree.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2008 05:00

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

locdogg posted:

Online MBA from where vs. full time from where? If it's a matter of online u. of phoenix vs. sitting in the u. of phoenix classrooms then go for it online, but if its a difference of online u. of phoenix vs. sitting in the classroom of a major university (say a D1-A/BCS type school) then go to the real school.

what the heck do athletic rankings have to do with anything..oh you americans

# ¿ Oct 23, 2008 22:14

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Thoogsby posted:

There's usually a correlation between division and academia. Big schools get better athletes and better teachers.

locdogg posted:

Athletic success also drives awareness/positive impression of the university as a whole. It's often referred to as the "Flutie Factor".

This is really only an American phenomenon - and a weak one at that. Really, its basis is only cultural and America's big emphasis on college sports business and all that shenanigans.

But come on, even schools like MIT are Division III (lol nerds). Does that make them smaller? Less well known?

I mean okay the Ivy League started as a sports thing, but who the heck thinks of sports when people say "Ivy League" anymore?

Anywhere else in the world, college sports means nothing.

Obviously I knew that locdogg was trying to hint at school size/sport size, I was just being a prick. He could have made his points using better comparisons, such as the old Carnegie classifications of "Research I" institutions.. but he instead chose a sports division.

ion fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Oct 24, 2008

# ¿ Oct 24, 2008 10:52

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Rekinom posted:

Actually, when he said "BCS schools", I knew exactly what he was talking about as far as school quality. But hey, your approval is what matters.

That's probably because you're American?

Thoogsby posted:

Okay. So what the gently caress is your point?

I like how you ignore the rest of my sentence that answers your question, dumb gently caress.

locdogg posted:

Maybe he thinks the MBA is an academic degree?

Last time I checked, MBA's were conferred by universities, not sports teams.

ion fucked around with this message at 11:43 on Oct 26, 2008

# ¿ Oct 26, 2008 11:37

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

locdogg posted:

The MBA is an American professional degree. If you are going to pursue your MBA and hope to find something other than that, you are going to be very disappointed.

The MBA is not solely American. Business schools all over the world grant MBAs.. and obviously it's a professional degree. When have I ever disputed that?

Thoogsby posted:

No I just thought that part summarized your post nicely.

Oh, I see, so you're the one being a prick.

quote:

Fantastic, we're talking about American schools.

No we're not. We're talking about MBAs.

quote:

What is the point in coming into a thread about an American degree and just saying "Yea well its not like this in other places!".

The MBA is not solely an American degree anymore. MBAs are granted internationally. Europe has a whole system for accrediting MBAs. (EQUIS) And it's not like this in other places. Why are you such a typical American rear end in a top hat? Oh that's right, that's because you think America is the center of the world, and since they are the creator of the MBA, then all MBAs are American. Just like all Bachelor degrees are Italian. :rolleyes:

quote:

Whats wrong with having a school get recognition for its sports teams? With maybe a couple exceptions, the schools with the biggest names and best academic programs have the best sports teams. It's really not that complex.

A couple exceptions? There's tons of schools in America that are academically well known that don't have the best sports teams. It's a lovely metric, and I guess complexity is something frowned upon by simpletons like yourself that like to measure schools by the size of their sports team.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ¿ Oct 26, 2008 22:26

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

locdogg posted:

look man, if you've got a legitimate question or comment, we'd love to entertain it. otherwise, maybe you shouldn't post here anymore, ok?

You didn't respond to any of my concerns, and if you want to turn this megathread into a little American business circlejerk clique then that's your prerogative. From the tone of your post, I'll take that as a yes. Don't tell me where I can and cannot post.

Rekinom posted:

Imagine that, two Americans in America on an American internet forum talking about getting a degree in America from American schools using American sports references that Americans know, in order to get a point across.

I mean, what are the odds of that happening, seriously.

SomethingAwful as being only for Americans? Gee, better tell Lowtax to ban all the non-Americans. SomethingAwful is a place for everybody, and you guys are trying to monopolize the thread instead of even giving decent rebuttals to my criticisms.

ion fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Oct 27, 2008

# ¿ Oct 27, 2008 00:46

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

What's the difference between a BBA and a MBA in terms of curriculum? It seems to me that they are almost nearly identical; in fact, I know one school setting up an accelerated MBA program now for BBA graduates because they're noticing this..

ion fucked around with this message at 08:56 on Feb 26, 2009

# ¿ Feb 26, 2009 08:54

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

ultrafilter posted:

Depends on the school. Consider the two top-ranked BBA programs. At the University of Virginia, the undergrad and graduate business schools aren't even on the same campus, and there are some major differences in the possible concentrations. At the University of Pennsylvania, the second-year MBA courses are cross-listed with the junior/senior-level electives. Anything in between is possible.

So given that there is extreme variation among the top BBA programs, then I take it that the redundancy of course material of MBA to BBA programs doesn't matter (otherwise this variation would not be happening) to students and teachers.

Put another way, the MBA is really a BBA degree dressed up as a Master's, making it particularly useless if you already have a BBA and care about what you learn as opposed to simply buying a master's credential?

# ¿ Mar 2, 2009 01:51

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

unixbeard posted:

also more MBA related: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article5821706.ece

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15school.html

# ¿ Mar 20, 2009 09:50

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Another scathing article of MBAs and business schools, this time by The New Republic: http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=c4e9e361-fcdd-4098-afe5-400051102592

# ¿ Apr 1, 2009 11:08

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

propecia posted:

I'm a 1st year full-time at IU-Kelley and I'm working in corporate finance this summer.

what is your position, is it bulge bracket

# ¿ Apr 2, 2009 15:33

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Leathal posted:

Any benefits to double majoring in terms of grad school apping? I'm doubled up with Economics & Intl Business, but I'm probably dropping the I. Biz and gettin out a semester earlier with just the Econ.

depends on the school. in some schools econ is very quantitative and rigourous and more prestigious than the career-minded business majors, whereas in others it's for the business-rebound students. either way, getting into grad school means a good quantitative background, regardless of whether u're an econ undergrad or not.

however, international business in general is a big fat joke major.

# ¿ May 12, 2009 17:31

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

econdroidbot posted:

(Here are their most recent class stats.)

Disney? For serious?

Not a single consultancy or ibank or even commercial bank on the list?

Caveat emptor!

edit: you are an economist for the federal government and you want to leave your job for a bad school, don't do it. either lateral into another position in the private sector, get into a way better business school, or continue working up the ranks at the federal government.

how did you get your economist job? was it after or during your years at purdue?

ion fucked around with this message at 03:51 on May 15, 2009

# ¿ May 15, 2009 03:45

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Pompous Rhombus posted:

This is definitely not worth its own thread, this is as close a place as I can think of to ask:

Do any of you get the Wall Street Journal, and if so, do you have this months WSJ Magazine (lifestyle mag that comes bundled with the Saturday edition)? I sold them a photo and kind of wanted a copy or two to hang on to, but I can't find the drat thing on a newsstand anywhere. Willing to paypal for postage/time spent.

Why don't you ask the WSJ itself?

# ¿ May 29, 2009 23:51

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

THE AWESOME GHOST posted:

I'm pretty much set on getting an MBA at some point, but want to get work experience first because from what I've been told speaking with others an MBA without work experience is worthless. If I wanted to increase my chances of getting into business school, is the school/GPA you graduated from as important as the work experience you had? My GPA is good, but my school isn't in the US so I'm a bit worried as to how credible they'll find it as I want to do my MBA there. I'm not worried about the GMATs either, I think I can do well on those, and as for recommendations and getting into a good company I can handle that.

Basically did I screw myself by not going to the best of schools?

You need good recommendations to get into good MBA schools. It's about experience moreso than previous credentials.

But these days, to get a good recommendation from a good company means you likely have to had gone to a good school. It's routine that the top business firms in the world send back their workers back to business school before they can move up.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2009 00:41

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

RightHonourableHolt posted:

I have experience in marketing for a small start-up media company and do some pretty serious social media work for a university right now. I figure that it isn't proper experience to go into most MBA programs. I've come across some MBA co-op programs for people with little business experience which provide some real experience in alternating semesters. I'm having trouble locating more programs other than the following:

-Laurier
-McMaster
-Waterloo
-Dalhousie

I'm an American and haven't found any co-op programs here (not that I'm adverse to moving to Canada, I actually have good connections there). Is this a Canadian thing for some reason?

If not a co-op, I'm looking for programs which are friendly to low-experience professionals.

I'm looking in the US and Cananda, Eastern Seabord, pretty much from Virginia north.

In America you have on-campus recruiting. In Canada, often schools partner with corporations and liason with companies directly to provide opportunities for students. Waterloo is the school usually credited with pioneering this approach to education. Coop is also built into the curriculum for many (referred to as practicum requirements sometimes), or accommodated into the academic schedule for students. In America, students are usually left with an empty summer semester to do whatever they want, with little to no support.

Nearly all Canadian schools have a form of co-op. I think UofT has a good co-op for business.

# ¿ Jun 15, 2009 22:55

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Agent Escalus posted:

^ University of Toronto, NYU, and Columbia's programs. will set you (and possibly, me) back $160,000. The price of trying to get a better working life, I guess.

I'm a Canadian who would like to do my schooling in the States - because one, I'd like to at least live there for some of my life, even if its only for the two years of schooling; two, doing my schooling there possibly opens up the chance of recruitment and the ability to settle and immigrate. Does anybody else feel that way?

Also, for current MBA enrollees: I'd be interested to know what "professional experience" you had prior to acceptance in your school. I graduated with a BA in English in '06, and haven't had the ability to get a permanent job, with the exception of a retail gig. It's one of the reasons I want an MBA, but frankly I get worried when I think about it: I haven't been able to obtain what I'd call meaningful employment or experience and I worry if my attempt to improve my situation will be denied precisely because I don't have it - and the ironic vicious cycle will continue.

Uh, you won't get accepted into a top MBA program without work experience. So you should work on that. And if you're not going to a top MBA program, it's a waste of money.

And trying to get experience > no experience, so there is really no cycle.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2009 00:41

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Thoogsby posted:

What sort of work experience do top 10 MBA programs look for?

I have a potential opportunity to get a GE Financial Management program internship in January and these internships are suppose to be fantastic first steps to getting into the program when you graduate. My ultimate goal is to get an MBA at an Ivy or other top tier school but even after reading a few books I really only know a lot about what people do after getting MBAs as opposed to before.

Well business schools are definitely more "outreaching" in getting people from different backgrounds these days, because before they were far more restrictive in who usually got in (bankers, consultants, managers, etc.). You're seeing more people from scientific backgrounds, non-profit work, etc.

But basically top 10 schools had an easy admissions formula: 2 years of grinding out at a bank, 2 years of private equity/entrepreneurship or something -> MBA; the problem was usually bankers trying to look interesting moreso than any hard qualifications. And they're realizing they can get talent and also women from other fields, especially since there was a huge demand for quantitative professionals in finance. (That's why HBS launched their 2+2 program)

Where does this leave all the other experienced professionals, like accountants, nonprofit, IT workers? Well, you're competing against those banker guys. So you really have to show some interest and have good work experience in getting into a top MBA school. Think of your competition -- do you think it's filled with a bunch of unemployed English grads yearning for a career -- no! they go to law school! Those guys can't make it past admissions. It's usually some form of excellent work experience AND excellent undergrad grades, with the distribution varying. In America, it's common to see guys finishing a prestigious undergrad, going into the military (leadership role) and then going straight into top business schools.

So yes yes yes take the summer internship, because it really sets you apart if you have strong business experience before going into business school, because during recruitment time after first year MBA, it will be a huge asset in securing a top associate internship in a field like finance or consulting.

Also these days, recruitment at business schools is going for younger and younger students.

I think the gist of what I'm saying is that the MBA is seen more for advancement rather than a career switch/start. Switching careers by leveraging business school is almost a whole other ball game. In some companies, there is no pressure or need for management and workers to spend two years for a degree at all. In other companies, there is. It really is all positional.

ion fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Oct 9, 2009

# ¿ Oct 9, 2009 02:30

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Thoogsby posted:

This will be my first of three internships before I graduate undergrad. I find out if I got the interview tomorrow but it's likely I will. But I think this will be a great opportunity to get experience while I'm still only 20.

With three relevant business internships (is this co-op?), I think you should apply directly to MBA if you have good marks.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2009 02:54

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Thoogsby posted:

Yes it is Co-Op. I'm not sure about the specifics but I know GE Capital is very supportive time wise and financially for MBA students if this does pan out to a career opportunity (as it sometimes does).

Even if I don't get the Financial Management Program Co Op, GE also has 6 spots open in the Aviation department for Finance Co Ops in the area too.

What school in Ontario?

# ¿ Oct 9, 2009 03:07

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Thoogsby posted:

Boston actually! It's impossible to tell with GE though, it's easier to name the places they don't have offices than places they do. I think for the Financial Management Program the places I might end up are Norwalk CT, Billerica MA, or somewhere in Nowhere Wisconsin. Honestly, I dont want to go to Wisconsin but I may bite the bullet if I was afforded the opportunity to get in on this program.

Oh weird. Co-op is mostly a Canadian thing, it was sorta pioneered by UWaterloo. Most American schools usually just have summer internships and on campus recruitment/career fairs.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2009 03:22

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Carfax Report posted:

I agree that the MBA isn't a replacement for a career start, but (and I may be misunderstanding your point...) I disagree that the MBA is seen more for career advancement than a career switch. Many people going into finance are career changers. Consulting as well; even for our 2009 graduating class, McKinsey took 45 people, and you can bet most of those didn't work in consulting beforehand.

consulting doesn't care about your background. finance tends to, however. MBA's used to be super popular for career switchers, but nowadays, because people tend to work after undergrad and delay med/law school by 1-5 years, that's a lot of top notch talent that MBA programs are trying to poach, and is really driving the recruitment age of MBA's down. meaning you have to either have good experience before MBA (usually requiring high grades), or super grades/leadership experience.

top MBA programs hardly ever admit middle aged career switchers anymore. it leeches from the money-making executive MBA programs they have.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2009 04:51

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

WS6 97 posted:

I am 26, will finish undegrad (MIS/Finance)when I am about 30 (just started taking classes). I work as a part time Supervisor (past 3 years) in a large shipping company. I'm curious if I can get into an MBA program with the Part time management experience I have? I'm salary to 27.5 hours a week. So when I graduate I'll have 7-8 years part time work experience. If not will it count for anything? I'm either looking at Penn State or University of Maryland for the MBA, Thanks

Penn State has a pretty drat good presence on Wall Street despite being a public school and not Ivy, if you're interested in finance/technology

# ¿ Oct 9, 2009 04:53

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# ¿ May 1, 2024 20:13

ion: Mar 23, 2004; by Peatpot

Don Wrigley posted:

MBAs are still extremely popular for career switchers. People who have really good IT experience tend to just be smart people, so with top business degrees, they tend to be able to nab those finance/consulting jobs. I've known plenty of kids to work at my office for several years before going back for an MBA and switching to more lucrative careers.

Though I'd most likely agree with you on middle aged career switchers, that's not what MBA programs are popular for (I wish we were wrong, I'd consider going for it). 26-28 year old career switchers with 5 years of IT experience, however, career switching is huge at MBA programs.

edit:

http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/26/branching-out-using-an-mba-to-switch-careers

I don't disagree that people use MBA programs to switch careers. But it's not the cohort that business schools want to attract -- these days, they want the cream of the crop. They want young, academically-excelling students that demonstrate interest in business.

And so do the investment banks and consulting firms with routine long-hour analyst positions. They want single individuals with no kids, so that when the managing director asks you to work over the weekend on an important project, it's much easier to get them to do it. It's much harder to ask and get the thirty year old with two kids to come in during a Saturday. Younger people put work first, personal life second.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2009 03:55

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > So you wanna be a ghost?! [MBA Megathread]