Are you trying to waste our time ?
Note: Mr #$#$##websites, whatever you say… Keep it flame free. The guy asked a question, so try to be useful.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. I briefly thought about an MBA (for about 5 seconds), but then quickly decided it wasn’t the path for me. If I ever find myself in a large corporation that wants to advance me, I’ll gladly go get an MBA if the company helps pay for it (all or part). But if it’s ever on my own, then (at least right now) I think it wouldn’t be worth it for me.
I tend to think my future is more down the entrepreneur path anyway, so for me an MBA probably wouldn’t provide much value if my plans pan out the way I hope they do. If you do plan for upper management in a large corporation though, I would hold off on the MBA until that opportunity comes up, or at least until you have 3-5 years of working management experience.
Your salary pretty much depends on that program you get in
I came across this article a few years ago when a friend was going for his MBA and have to say I agree with them - I personally don’t think an MBA is worth it. Other research turned up a report that showed that about 1 in 5 in the top upper management positions had their MBA so it’s definitely not required to get a top paying, upper management or marketing job if that’s what you’re after.
I think I’ve learned 100x more about real marketing on my own than I did in college, and I think most large companies are rather clueless when it comes to marketing. Someone in accounting gives them a budget they can spend on advertising and they spend it on crap that they don’t hold accountable to see that it gets RESULTS and at best they guess that it’s helped their business throughout the year.
I guess if there’s a dream job you want that requires an MBA and you can afford the time and money to get one then I’d say go for it, but for most people, I’d say it’s not worth it.
Just my two cents of course and you should take the time to research all the pros and cons an decide what’s best for you.
Steve
This might be funny. In Puerto Rico a starting BBA in a marketing major can expect a salary of $8.08/per hour to $10.50/per hour most likely part-time, full time if really on time and you force your luck the best you could without still medical benefits as often you don’t start as regular. A reserve is usualy what they call it here.
So if it’s part-time $800-$1,000 per month. Full time around $1,400 clean/net income. That’s $1,400 clean for around 160 hours of monthly work.
This is what’s usually funny, I really understood it in my mid 20’s.
160 hours a month easily equals 480 articles w/500 words. Make a new site with a $20 info product with a killer copywritten letter…and well… it might not be $1,400 month in the first month if the letter and product are no good…but 3rd or 4th month…401k and all that good corporate stuff needs an ‘hasta luego!’
I’m still going to finish my MBA dow, it’s good to have a little bit of both on my end. Friendly chicks, high cost therapy, they all do good even if most of us are married I guess:eye:
A bachelor’s in business administration could net you $40k-$60k per year depending on where you are located, and also what kind of work you are doing. A master’s in business administration could net you $40k-$80k+ per year with the same factors.
The money is not what you should focus on when deciding to pursue this degree, the knowledge is what is important. No person in today’s world will be solely working under someone with no one that they have to manage. Everyone will have some form of management responsibility that they must tend to. Knowing how to manage people, deal with legal issues, understand accounting, and knowing how to market your company is important. This is what you gain from having a BA degree.
I personally am getting my bachelor’s in Management Information Systems. It was a combined BA and CS degree at my school. Having had many of the BA classes, and computer classes that center around the management side, I have found it very valuable.
I plan on getting a master’s in both BA and another IS field. While I do work for myself, they will prove invaluable should I ever decide that I want to pursue something else.
Again, pay isn’t as important as the knowledge. After all, you only get paid as much as you bring to the table. Having the understanding of how your work fits in with your company is important.
There are old old dogs teaching you marketing in Colleges and they think printed advertising is still the greatest.
Internet marketing is in, newspapers all over USA ARe going bankrupt.
This has no relevance in determining if a Business Administration degree is worth pursuing.
Yes, there are some teachers which may prefer old marketing strategies. However, they all have to be evaluated. They also must teach their curriculum. The curriculum changes based on the times.
I don’t think it would hurt but a lot of work experience is good for you; goes a long way.
Getting a higher degree will definitely help you land a higher paying position. And, the pay rates vary greatly because some companies will pay you a bonus or commission on top of your base. Of course, this is assuming you work for someone else.
Stating the obvious here…If you go into business for yourself, you decide how much you make. 
i think MBA is pretty good if you have the time and money …
Whether an MBA is worth it or not depends solely on where you go. If you can get into Stanford, Northwestern, Harvard… hell you do it. Because the people you meet there and the connections you are given give a free pass to anything you want. I had a friend goto MBA at Harvard and he said when he was done he had dream jobs begging him to sign on. Now if you goto MBA school at some joe shmoe school, no it’s not worth it. It’s all about connections.
There are many reasons to get a higher degree:
- Getting the paper. You need that diploma for career advancement as in many cases you simply will not be considered for a position unless you have a specific degree - people just won’t take you seriously. How many execs have you seen without a master’s degree?
Many people say the degree isn’t worth as much because there are so many MBAs jobless… well, guess what, your chances of of getting a job without an MBA are even lower. Why should anyone hire you when they have people with MBAs standing in the line.
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Connections. Go to a good university, make a lot of good friends, drink and party, and then start businesses together. It works out great.
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University is just great… I don’t know about you, but I loved that time, its so much fun.
I’ve done a lot of recruiting in current and previous roles, and, IMO, a qualification might get you an interview, but it won’t get you a job.
The biggest thing I take from looking a the resume of a person who has completed their MBA, degree, masters etc is that they’ve shown a strong commitment to seeing a long term project through, which yes can be demonstrated in other ways, but even if it’s not specific to the role, it might just be the difference between you and someone else.
But I’ll in most cases look at work experience, demonstrated success in the practical application of the skills required for the role, attitude, character and cultural fit first.
It’s all about how successful you will be in a particular role for a company, not what a piece of paper says your supposed to know. And Edman even though most execs will have a certification, it’s not always the case, and for those that do, a lot will get their quals long after their careers have started.
But at the end of the day - even if they’ve got their Masters of the Universe it’s what they really can do – not what a piece of paper says .
Excellent point.
If you work for a big company, MBAs are more important, and help in getting a higher salary.
There’s no point in just getting an MBA, but if you’ve been working for a few years and see it as a stepping stool, then it could be a good idea.
Perhaps and that’s very much been the motivating factor for most people I know who’ve chosen to go for it. Not what I’d do, and I haven’t seen a heap of success from it, but worth considering.
I think you would be alot better off getting a whole range of google certificates then handle a companies web marketing strategy , someone with a business degree couldnt walk into a firm and start planning their web strategies.
But it does get you the interview 
I think that someone should do what they feel like it and seek knowledge. MBAs are better than most masters because they deal with situations that happen in all companies, even if they are more directed to people that will work with someone else.
That doens’t mean that you can’t get the knowledge by yourself.
As I said in other thread, having a degree is not necessary and University may not seem practical. Still, it gives you a solid base which will help you to gain real knowledge faster and trains your brain to work.
In addition to that, having it will help you in your career, at least most of the time. It will help you to be promoted faster and it will get you interviews.
The contacts that you make and the fun the you may have while doing it, it’s just a plus.
It simply increases your chances of success. Still, as Shayne said, it is up to you to get to the top.
Obviously… nobody is saying that MBA is some sort of a gold pass to a better job.
But if a vacancy has 10 applications, out of which 7 have a master’s degree and 3 do not, guess which CVs go in the bin first?
But I’ll in most cases look at work experience, demonstrated success in the practical application of the skills required for the role, attitude, character and cultural fit first.
The problem is, you cannot get relevant work experience if you don’t have relevant previous experience. Its a vicious cycle of “you cannot get a good job if you haven’t got a previous good job”.
Obviously, depending on how good you are, you can make it out of this cycle with or without a degree. But a degree is just such a big foot in the door. It shows you are serious. It shows you are able to commit. It shows you believe in yourself well enough to take a financial risk. It shows you are not a moron. It strikes out lots of hard questions from the interviewer’s list.
In some areas, a degree actually IS a golden pass to a better job. Where I live, the area is heavily dominated by few universities, and even large companies have literally become dominated by what we call University X Mafia - a company’s management becomes dominated by graduates from a single university.
And this really makes sense, you go to an interview, and the interviewer asks “Where did you study?”
“University X”
“Oh, I went to university X as well. Who was your Maths teacher?”
“Professor Dipstick”
“I had him too! We used to glue chewing gum on his seat every lecture… those were the times”
And BAM! its like you know each other even though you were never even in the same class or even year.
Next guy comes in.
“Where did you study?”
“Oh, I didn’t. I think its not a very good money investment and I would rather concentrate on getting work experience”
“Riiiiight, I’m sure. So what sort of work experience DO you have?”
“Walmart, Mcdonald’s, pizza hut”
“Do you have any relevant work experience?”
“Nope, nobody wants to hire me because I have no previous work experience”
“errr…”
And Edman even though most execs will have a certification, it’s not always the case, and for those that do, a lot will get their quals long after their careers have started.
Not sure what you mean? Getting an MBA is not the next level of high school. Before you get an MBA, you should have successfully applied knowledge learned in a regular bachelor’s program. An MBA then gives you additional knowledge and contacts that can take you to the next level, out of that damned cubicle.
And the way your phrased it - “it’s not always the case, and for those that do” - you make it sound as if few execs have certification, as if having a degree is the exception, and not the rule. In reality, not having a degree is the exception that can be afforded only by the smartest entrepreneurs. Unless you’re the next Steve Jobs (hint: you’re not) you cannot afford to miss opportunities simply because you didn’t commit a year to study things you should find interesting anyway.