To those with an MBA, have a question...

I do alot of heavy equipment/machinery design for the steel producing industry. Some project management.

Unfortunately the company isnt really going anywhere, and besides being the office manager there is really no where for me to move up. I know there isnt a chance in hell at retiring from here, but dont wanna go to another company and feel the same way about the work.

A BSE and an MBA used to open up tons of doors, but I dont know if thats still the case.

 

Yeah I send out dozens of resumes all the time. I have good experience, but some of the crap I get call backs on, they just want a yes man that meets the basic quals so they can pay them the mins. The HR managers I come across are freakin clueless. Unless the company was gonna pay part of the degree, I would not do it. Either get experience somewhere or use that money and start your own small business.

 

Cost vs return is definitely something to consider. I have about $15k left to pay on my student loan from undergrad. If I do get my MBA it will likely be where I went for undergrad since its close and I can so it in the evenings and still keep my current job. Plus I'll get the alumni discount. My company pays 80% but its capped at like 5k a year or something.

 

Will your company promote you once you have your MBA? Or will you look elsewhere? My buddy did that, that he was going to the top and he got passed over. He felt like it was a huge waste of time. He's trying to find work elsewhere.

 

Won't necessarily be any instant promotion, no. There is a lot of room for advancement in this company though people are always moving around and up the ladder. And they have a specific program for people to get into if they kind of want to be "molded" if you will into future leadership material. I don't really look at it as much as advancement within my department and more of providing a better opportunity to move up elsewhere in the company. Pretty much having a degree here and getting experience is much more important than the specifics of the degree itself.

 

No company I have ever heard of guarantees a promotion with an MBA. Not trying to be an ass, but maybe your buddy wasn't promoted because the other candidate was better...

 

No you're right it could have been a number of things. But about 1.5 yrs after he got it, they hired someone else outside the company to be his supervisor w/o an MBA. He was not happy

 

ouch, that does hurt. I would see the writing on the wall, which is not always pretty

 

OP, my undergrad was in Agronomy (Soil Science) but my degree required Acct and Econ. I did not enjoy those classes at the time, but when I went back for my MBA those classes helped me more than any other undergrad classes I had taken. I would have been lost when I took those classes in grad school if I hadn't been introduced to them in undergrad. My advice is to mix in as many business courses as you can so you're more prepared for an MBA program. You also might want to think about minoring in Business if you can fit a few more classes into your schedule.

You can't go wrong in pursuing an MBA. True, more people than ever have one now, but you'll expand your job oppurtunities tremendously after you earn it. I've been promoted twice within my organization in the last five years and I know I wouldn't have received either promotion without the MBA.

Good luck!

 

Work experience and smarts trumps degrees most of the time. Unless the position you want requires an mba. It isnt necessary. I know plenty of mba and jd grads that are unemployed. Too much supply and no work experience. Crappy economy= company will hire the 30-40yo with mba and more work experience than you. Now you are sol and have to pay off your student loan on a lower paying salary than what you were expecting. Also good to think about what you can do with 80k cash...

 

Luckily for me after all is said and done it would be around 20k. I wouldn't even consider if it was gonna cost me 80k.

 

I finished my Bachelors, and waited 2 years before going back for my MBA. I have a Bachelors in Animal Science. Just figured an MBA would be the best thing for me to go back and get, and could help me out in more areas. As it can be used in many different areas.

So far the MBA, hasn't helped me at all in getting more money or a better job.

Cost me close to $30K for the degree.

 

Hendooman - UT Chattanooga

And I would get my MBA from UT Chattanooga almost certainly. Right now the tuition is $4100 per 9 hour semester. They tailor their program toward working individuals. 18 months 9 hours a semester.