I'm considering going back to school for a MBA since my company currently does some tuition re-imbursement. However, there is a worry that company benefit could end at any time and I would end up with student loans. So, I'm wondering if anyone here got one and found it to be helpful in terms of getting a better job or a pay raise at your existing job. Money-wise, I'm thinking along the lines if the MBA helps me get X amount more in my salary it would take Y years to re-coup any student loans.
Hey, if you had a really amazing experience while getting an MBA or afterwards, I want to hear that too!

More and more companies are cutting back on offers of continuing education, if not dropping it altogether. If your employer is still giving a reasonable reimbursement it couldn't hurt to take advantage of it. What makes you think you might get stuck with large student loans? Couldn't you just stop if your employer backs out?

How much an MBA will help you in terms of salary depends on your industry, so I wouldn't dare give an opinion. Obviously it has to be a plus, but there are so many experienced people out of work in certain industries that the competition not only has education, they also have work history to show. College kids are now graduating with their dipolmas and finding out that they are applying against people with the same degrees and ten years experience in the field. So who would you pick for the job?

In the old days it was a lot easier to believe you were in control of your career.

I don't have an MBA, but I have a few years experience (25+) in business. So, hopefully, I can provide another point of view.

I think that you need to decide if it's something YOU want to do, regardless of whether your company is going to reimburse all (or part) of your tuition cost. An advanced degree requires work and dedication. It's not something you should go into with a "whatever" attitude, as you will likely get little from the experience. It's also much harder to juggle life demands with a part-time educational program (assuming that is what you are planning to do), as opposed to being a full-time student who is 22-24 years old.

Having said all that, I think that an MBA can definitely help you in your career, in most cases. If you already have a undergraduate business degree, the MBA will add some more tools to your resume and help sharpen some of the ones you already have. If you have something other than a business undergrad degree, the MBA should give you the business analysis tools that you may need to advance in your profession.

While the monetary investment is definitely something to look at, I don't think you can make your decision strictly on that basis. For example, if your advancement is dependent upon the degree, then it's a no-brainer. Same if it puts you heads above other candidates for the job you want to get in the future, or if you plan to change your employer or profession, especially to move into management. If you have no future plans to change employers, and your company won't hold the lack of an MBA against you, why pursue it, other than for personal reasons?

Just out of curiosity, what do you do? What is your undergraduate degree in? I have heard that something like 50% of all MBA students have a degree in something other than business, mostly engineering.

Would your company be interested in putting me through law school? I have always wanted to go, but money and life demands have made that pretty much impossible. The law degree would go great with my accounting degree and CPA license.

Good luck with your decision!

Raven,
My husband’s dealing with being stuck in the middle between the older, more experienced workers and the young college graduates with the latest certifications.
And while I was attending the MBA workshop at the college all you heard was prospective students saying they were finding they needed a master's to get a foot in the door. It seems to be the new bachelor’s degree.
But since the work reimburses at the end of the year, I’d have to pay up front. Which I’m fine with since I value education but I when I first started college taking a variety of science classes 17 years ago I had no idea I’d now be considering business classes!

Will,
I work for a mutual fund company and my undergrad degree is interdisciplinary natural science. I've just never worked in the science field. Instead my work experience has been customer service and finance related so getting an MBA seemed like a good way to get some exposure to different aspects of business so I can figure out what I want to be when I grow up I was talking to a current student and one of his class-mates has a degree in anthropology.
Since work will reimburse classes that help improve your work skills and benefit the company just convince them that an accounting lawyer is a must

quote:

Originally posted by comicbookfan:
I work for a mutual fund company and my undergrad degree is interdisciplinary natural science. I've just never worked in the science field. Instead my work experience has been customer service and finance related so getting an MBA seemed like a good way to get some exposure to different aspects of business so I can figure out what I want to be when I grow up I was talking to a current student and one of his class-mates has a degree in anthropology.

I would think that having an MBA will help you advance into management, or at least faster than not having one will. And yes, today's bachelor's degree seems to be a master's degree.

Of course, having previously interviewed some college graduates with both bachelor and master degrees, I wonder what some of the universities are teaching these days. Most of them can't write a decent business letter or do work that a beginning staff person should be able to comprehend. Plus, they think they should be making $60,000 plus paid benefits. And don't get me started on work ethics or work etiquette!

I applaud your forward thinking and wish you the best in your choice !