48Posted on 03/26/2009 8:33:13 AM PDT by AreaMan
In our Magna Cum Lousy slideshow, we suggested that there answer was no, though we got some push back.
So we're glad to see that Matthew Stewart at The Big Money has written up an excellent essay arguing that the MBA is collapsing in value and won't return to its prior glory. His excellent points include:
We can think of a few more things, including the fact that the networking opportunities are no seriously degraded due to the collapse of old institutions.
But what really animates our view is this: To believe that the old educational institutions will maintain their value is to believe that all of the other old institutions around them -- banks, failed cities, collapsed law firms, broke old-money families etc. -- would go down, and yet for some reason those same dynamics would not affect the schools. How likely is that?
Does this mean my Associates in Applied Sciences has increased in value???
What I have found is that an MBA is good a a general Master’s degree, however, you need to have specialized knowledge in a field or other certifications. If I only had an MBA and not my other experience and certifications, I probably would be managing a McDonald’s.
I never understood the concept of an MBA, although I guessed it was a good revenue source for colleges and universities.
Ditto
The value to someone else may be declining but if it ever had any real value, then it should still pay off if you start your own business. If not then any value was always an illusion.
Not all MBA’s worn on the Street...not to mention that a ton of the folks that developed the CDS risk models were “quants” with math degree’s not MBA’s.
“What I have found is that an MBA is good a a general Master’s degree, however, you need to have specialized knowledge in a field or other certifications. If I only had an MBA and not my other experience and certifications, I probably would be managing a McDonald’s.”
That’s a great point. I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve interviewed who received their bachelors, then immediately obtained their masters and wonder why I’m not interested since they have no work experience.
How about my BS in "Child Development" which I haven't used in 30 years, since I switched to technology?
I feel my advantage was I was working at the same time completing my MBA. Kids right out of Business School with no work experience remind me of Obama and his break out sessions (or a Dilbert cartoon, you choose)
Funny but too true!
Not just CEOs either, these people are the inmates in charge of the asylums at most Fortune 1000 companies...NOT the so-called “best and brightest”. Those are (or used to be) out becoming entrepreneurs.
Hey, don't make fun of the Golden Arches man..at least they are making money. Also, if your performance bonus is "All the Big Macs You Can Eat", you're doing better than most.
“I feel my advantage was I was working at the same time completing my MBA. “
Yup. I don’t have my MBA but I did obtain my bachelors while working my way through school. I can’t tell you the number of people who have told me through various interviews over the years how that gave me a leg up on the competition.
Managers have an arrogant attitude that, since they can “manage” that they can successfully run any project or department or business, even if they know nothing about it.
As an IT person, I can assure you that it’s not uncommon for 5-10 managers to be overseeing one poor IT guy doing all of the work on a project (my term is that I’m the guest of honor at a pig roast), and their solution to any shortcoming is to bring in more managers and ask for more status report meetings.
Of course, what is really needed is just one manager who will actually listen to the people doing the work, or even better yet, who knows how to do the work themselves.
MBAs will probably become like lawyers with far more being cranked out each year than there is gainful employment for.
I had to get a Masters to be eligible for promotion to LTC in the US Air Force...I chose an MBA because I needed to get the Masters in 6 months or less (took 5), and an MBA was the only degree I could get in less than 6 months while still working full time.
Says a lot about the value of an MBA...
Uh oh. Does Bill Gates know about this? Oh yeah, he never graduated. Like housing, degrees have been overinflated for some time.
Considering how many Ivy league MBAs are in government, I’d say they have proven to worth less than nothing.
I recall a comment made by a law professor during “introduction to law school.” The comment was to the effect that “your friends who were not accepted here are beginning coursework toward their MBA’s.”
The big lesson of an MBA is “start your own company”. If you don’t do that, you weren’t listening.
Says who? This is a fairly ignorant statement that I'm surprised the author would be so bold as to make. I would cite finance as a concrete body of knowledge that has multiple practical uses, and that is most efficiently learned through a teaching process.
A blind, rational belief in efficient markets -- which is what you might learn in many B-schools -- is way out of favor.
Only in socialist / liberal / progressive circles. They're actively trying to kill it. Anyone who knows anything about human economic nature understands that capitalism is the natural state of man, when he's allowed to exercise it.
“A blind, rational belief in efficient markets — which is what you might learn in many B-schools — is way out of favor.”
This statement doesn't even make sense — if the belief were “rational”, it would be sensible. It should have said: “A blind belief in rational, efficient markets ....” Also, it's unlikely any elite b-school is teaching that markets are always efficient. More likely, they're teaching how to take advantage of any inefficiencies.
“The ethics of the b-school education — everything that's legal is ethical — has now been rejected.”
This is simply not true. Every b-school teaches a mandatory ethics course, which sets a higher standard. Even though, in the real world, these ethical standards will be more honoured in the breach than in the observance — that is not the fault of the b-schools.
I got mine while working to, and I believe both work and school benefited from me obtaining it while I was working. I learned a hell of allot while taking those MBA classes so for me, though having it hasn’t made me a millionaire or a CEO of a fortune 500 company, the certificate and it’s usefullness will never collapse.
My kid is getting his MBA now, right after his bachelor’s and here’s why...he graduated college at 19, took the GMAT, scored very high, looked at other graduate programs and decided he wanted the MBA. He was awarded a graduate assistantship at a private college (so his MBA is tuition free.)
Does he think it will get him anymore money in the short term....no. He’s held internships, and part time work in order to gain work experience.
Although it won’t reap any benefits now, 7-10 years down the road, when it might be necessary for him to return to school to get his MBA in order to forward his career, he’ll have already completed the work.
We (my husband) did the go back to school when your older, with a family, and full time job, and it’s no fun juggling work, school and family.
So he’ll have an MBA at 21, all college work has been tuition free including his BA. I will say he’s learned so much in the program. At first he kept his age a secret, until he proved himself in group projects, etc. but his grasp of business is so much broader than it was when he graduated with the BA and I’m sure wherever he goes he’ll be a much better employee because of it.
Capitalism is under attack by the government and the people at the top will circle their wagons and protect themselves. This means industry will shed jobs until they think they can make some money.
All that being said, your son is well prepared to succeed.
How’d you get in 36 hours in 6 months? MBA program my kid’s in takes a minimum of 16 months....four 4 month terms, total of 36 credit hours (if your previous degree let’s you skip the pre-req’s to the integrated core, otherwise it’s more hours) and full time is 9 credit hours per term.
So what, the market is going up.
It was something of a diploma mill...internet classes. In my defense (and theirs), I spent 5 months writing papers 4 hours/day, and spent 12-14 hours/day on Saturday & Sundays. Also all thru Christmas...took the morning off. My family didn’t see me for 5 months.
Still, it wasn’t an MBA anyone would boast about. It was a square filler.
Gotcha. My sister used an online program too for some degree work. She was so frustrated with group projects. Did you have any of them? People would fail to turn in their “parts” and she said it was awful.
My kid on the other hand has had no problems with cooperation from group members during projects. I guess if you have go face to face with your team mates your conscience kicks in, LOL, plus they have to turn in team member evaluations after a project so that might help with the motivation.
My son got his MBA a couple of years ago. He worked right out of college and felt the MBA would make him more marketable. He finished in a year and a half because he and his wife found out a baby was on the way. He had his pick and choose of jobs when he finished. So far it’s paid off.
MBA = Married But Available
Thanks for the info.
I view the MBA as being similar to the JD,only the top programs can give you a decent return on investment and they are profit centers for the Universities(No Labs, Expensive Chemicals nor Equipment),so every podunk college wants to have both programs, even if they are screwing over their students.
completely agree
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