ladylisa

Yesterday the discussion of MBA's arose on another subject but it did get me thinking about this issue. My OH will get a part funding from his company if he wants to do his MBA, were not sure on the exact amount they will contribute yet as we are still looking into it. However I wonder if anyone on this site has taken their MBA and if so did they feel it helped them in any way by having it. We looked into online courses with the University of Phoenix and it would be about $25,500 and with another online University (Keller) about $28,000 plus extras. I've also noticed the University of Liverpool do online MBA programmes so I will make enquiries there also. That would then obviously be a UK course. I wonder whether a US or UK MBA would have more standing. Anyway if anyone has any thoughts or experiences I would be interested to hear.

BigDavyG

Check out business week or other magazines for their rankings of courses. If its not a good one there's very little point in doing it from a career point of view.

I have nothing more to say on the subject in case i offend someone again

MrDub

I have also recently started looking into doing an MBA, part time (bought the GMAT books and all !) and wondered how worth while it is, the pros and cons of one uni over the next.
From what I have found out it is quite important to actually attend the uni and not do it on-line as Im told the connections you make both from you collegues and the uni itself are a pretty important part of the whole course. There seems to be quite a stigma attached to an on-line mba from the people I talk too. I dont know about you but also shelling out $25,000 for an internet course does seem a little strange, I would also think by actually attending lectures it would make the whole course far more interesting/bearable.
The universities around me in ohio offer quite flexible part time courses, meaning you only have to attend lectures two evenings a week. It is easy to find the rating of the mba course on-line both for full time and part time mba's (they do differ). I do not know how much weight the university ranking will have when you go to get a job (hoping someone adds to this post too). I tend to think if its not IVY league then there is really not much difference of one uni over the next....though no proof of that !

neil

My wife finished the University of Phoenix online MBA last year (it was paid for by her company). It suited her better to do online rather than having to go to lectures etc because of the relative flexibility. It was hard work - she was often up until 2 or 3am working on papers etc. A large portion of her time was taken up with group meetings on the phone or through IM, and she had to post to online discussion groups to show participation. I actually helped her with some of it and one thing we both noticed were the fact that quite a few people on the course really were as thick as 2 short planks. However, they didn't often last, and quite a few dropped out of individual courses part way through leaving my wife's group short of members and with even more for her to have to do to make sure she got the grade she wanted. That was part of the problem as a relatively high proportion of your grade could be brought down by other members of the groups, but the groups changed as you will often choose different courses to do next. A condition of her employer paying for it was that she must stay for another year at the company at least but they have actually increased her pay by over 10% since then.

I personally wouldn't do an MBA because it's not something I want to do. If I was going to study anything I'd want it to be something I was extremely interested in and not something to "help" my career. I think the reason a lot of people do it here is because it gives that little bit extra for the resume in a culture where it seems everyone has a degree.

BritGuyTN

MBA's are like arseholes - everybodys got one

MrDub

Ladylisa,
As a matter of interest, is the cost of the on-line course for the Uni of Phoenix spread evenly out over the 2-3 years or not ?. That is one problem I am finding with part time courses. For e.g. OSU's fee schedual is pay-most-the-first-year. My company's policy is to pay a set amount each year with no conditions and if most of the $26K has to be paid the first year Im screwed in that respect.

MrDub

Yeah most people I work with have one too...thats what is making me feel like I need to get one. Dont want to get left behind in the rat race now.

franc11s

As an employer, I NEVER look at qualifications to determine employment.

In the USA, for larger companies they might look at your MBA but only to a certain age.. Maybe 30 at most.

I think it's all b*llocks because experience, track record and commitment speak 100x any education.

If the goal is to do the MBA to get a better job or make getting a job easier and your over 30, forget it. If you are looking to pass some time, gain some additional experiences and contacts take the course on-campus. Forget on-line, anyone can do that and employees know it.

My biased 2 cents (bias to being British ).

MrDub

I find it hard to believe that the average employer out there considers education b*llocks. Your biased 2 cents of course.....

Chorlton

Experience counts for a lot though. It all depends on your business field and how long you intend to be working.

ukmancoll

I work in Marketing, and follow the internationally known marketing guru, Seth Godin, quite closely.

A few months back he was talking about this very subject on his Blog, and argued that the dedicated reading of 30 or 40 good business books can achieve the same as spending time on an MBA.

Three links from his Blog to look at:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_b...ews_and_b.html

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_b..._books_pa.html

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_b...of_the_30.html

Not sure what my opinion is, although I am would personally lean towards reading the books, and applying them every day in my career - a real life setting. Of course, you don't get the certificate this way, or the Kudos, or the possible contacts you can make by completing an MBA. But what you do get is real life experience, and a lot of money saved.

ladylisa

My British OH also employs his own staff and he doesn't look at qualifications when determining who he will and will not employ, he looks at experience. However I think that is because he's British because all the other staff in his office who recruit do so mainly on the basis of qualifications. Most US employers know the merit of one Uni over another in their decision making process however us Brits wouldn't really know as much about that subject and so wouldn't put emphasis on which Uni someone attended. There are some parents who know which Uni they want their children to attend when their still at Kindergarten, that world is alien to us.

ladylisa

I'm not 100% but I think you pay per section. So for some MBA's the course is split into 16 mini courses and you can elect to take 1 or 2 mini courses at any one time, time permitting. When I was quoted prices they quoted me per mini course. So the Uni of Phoenix were asking $1700 per course for a total of 15 courses. Keller wanted $1750 for 16 courses. However the prices vary from whether you do it all online or take classes. Keller said doing it all online was more expensive than the price they quoted me. I still have more questions to ask them as at the time my OH wasnt entirely sure exactly which MBA he wants to do, if I find out anything I will let you know.

Hiro11

That's definitely how it's been seen in every large company I've worked for, to a point. Having an MBA does grease the slides of getting you on the fast track, but it's far from the only (or even most important) factor.

Also, an MBA from Harvard, Wharton, Chicago GSB or other top school is (obviously) worth much more than an MBA from a less prestigious school. Correspondance or similar type degrees are almost entirely useless in terms of career advancement, IMO.

franc11s

Out of context you are right. But in relation to gaining an MBA over 30 years of age. i.e. a experience WILL gain over education over this age in more than just the average employer. It's common sense.

In the UK this is DEFINATELY the case and in the last 4 years, is a process I am seeing more and more in the USA. If you have the same experience AND an MBA, you would probably win over someone with just experience but since gaining the MBA takes YEARS out of the working environment, it's not always you see both.

Having left school at 15, self taught through experience of working up the ladder, I was running my own international company before most Americans have even graduated from college. I constantly find employees who have a track record are far superior than those with "just" an education. I seem to remember Bill Gates didn't like education too much either and there is a typical company that doesn't just employ "MBA's"...