I'm getting ready to graduate this fall with a degree in Finance, and I was wondering if it would be worth it to keep pursuing either a Major in Finance or an MBA?
Anyone on here with an MBA?
- Thread starter NoleSoup4U
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I've got one, but the answer to your question is not a simple one. It depends on what kind of job you want, where you plan on going and the cost.
Yeah, I know that it isn't a cut and dry question. I don't mind moving, and I'm really just trying to figure out what the job situation is like out there. I've read articles that state the MBA market is kind of flooded right now, but I don't know if that's true.
An MBA doesn't carry as much weight as it used to since so many people have one, but it can be a de facto requirement for some jobs.
Gotcha. This is why I was leaning more towards a Masters in Finance, but that program isn't as regularly offered.
I have one and I don’t regret getting it. It has served me well in a number of ways.
Same here, but I feel like I would have gotten off to a better career start with the accounting or finance. But now that I’m a couple decades in it’s a bonus for management upward mobility.
I think it's prudent to wait until an employer will mostly/fully cover the cost for you.
I'll be starting up an MBA next year. I may have sacrificed a few years of slightly higher earnings if I had gotten it right away, but I doubt it. Now, my employer will be covering 80% of the cost anyways.
Plus I feel like an MBA without having prior work experience isn't as impactful as having the work experience and knowing how you'll apply it going forward.
I'll be starting up an MBA next year. I may have sacrificed a few years of slightly higher earnings if I had gotten it right away, but I doubt it. Now, my employer will be covering 80% of the cost anyways.
Plus I feel like an MBA without having prior work experience isn't as impactful as having the work experience and knowing how you'll apply it going forward.
I'd definitely get your MBA eventually, but get some work experience first. As someone said above, most good companies will cover a lot of the cost if they see you as a future asset to them.
Plus, work experience is the only thing that will tell you whether you like or don't like something. Make sure that MBA is something you can and want to use for your entire career.
I appreciate all the feedback. I'm going to a meeting tomorrow at the university and I'm sure I'll ask some questions there as well.
I'd echo a lot of the astute comments here.
I earned an undergraduate degree in Accounting, which required a lot of finance classes. A few years later I earned an MBA with an emphasis in strategic management. I took classes at night, and my employer(s) paid for most of the tuition. It can be a challenge to take classes at night, on top of a full time job and if you have any family obligations. I was married when taking the MBA classes (still am), but had no kids. Now have 3. I don't think I could've done the night classes if I had 3 kids to raise at the same time.
I do however believe I - and most other MBA students and professors I've spoken to - received vastly superior value, experience, etc out of pursuing an MBA once you are in the work force. Once you are in a full-time real world job, it is just so much easier and more valuable to apply what you are learning to your job, and vice versa. Going as a fifth year of college right after your fourth year, can be a lot like just a fifth year of "memorizing" what you are being taught, with no real-life scenarios or problems/ experiences to apply the teaching to.
When I finished my MBA, 1996, the technology was so primitive, and has advanced much since then. Example: one of the major challenges was just coordinating group work and schedules to get together on weekends or non-class evenings to do group projects, and to somehow splice / mesh group projects, papers, presentations. Via e-mail, etc.
Now there are so many more simple, basic group technologies, like WebEx, GoTo Meeting, Skype, Google docs for sharing, SharePoint sites, etc. that its a lot easier to do group projects via virtual meeting technology
Even if you don't learn a vast amount in the MBA program, I believe an MBA is worth it even just from a networking perspective with fellow students and professors, and how those connections can help you in your future career.
Also, as others have stated, often an MBA is a prerequisite for some other jobs in the corporate / business world. I personally believe often hiring managers aren't necessarily looking for what exactly you learned in your MBA, but use it as a requirement to select a crop of candidates who are willing to put in the extra effort to better themselves and put themselves above others from a work ethic standpoint.
I also think it serves you better to get a masters in a field that is complementary but different than what your undergrad major / degree is. The further you plan to move up in your career, the more important it is to have a broad, diverse base of knowledge across disciplines, (like Finance, Economics, Strategic Management, Technology) - vs. just being heavy, deep into specialized field like accounting or finance.
