As a young professional with pedigree and a stellar traditional career track (top Ivy League school, top investment bank/consulting firm, top VC/PE firm), does it make sense to take 2 years to get an MBA from HBS, Wharton or Stanford GSB?

I admit I may be a bit biased (given the company that I founded and run) but yes, HBS is absolutely worth it.  No brainer.  Here are three reasons why: 1) Life is a journey.  The time you spend at a top school will be powerful stuff--you will never forget it.  You will meet new people, INTERESTING people, get exposed to some amazing new things, travel, and think about what it alllll means.  Honestly, this experience alone is priceless. 2) The Network.  At HBS (less so at smaller schools, Stanford, Tuck etc.) you will be able to pick up the phone at any time, and get on with the CEO of...well, just about any business.  This is also a priceless opportunity; any business, any level, you name it.  No brainer. 3) Yes, you will learn stuff too.  You will learn all the soft skills, hard skills, and eeeverything in between.  This of course isnt the main reason to go, but its a preeetty good one.  Lots of stuff out there to learn, and to  know. Anyway, go get your MBA if you can get into a top school.  I dare you to find an HBS grad who wishes he hadnt gone...

I don't think it would be useful to you. The big thing that an MBA gets you is a credential and a network.  You already have work experience which is your credential, and you already have a network. As far as curriculum, Amazon books and google is cheaper.  People don't pay business schools money for curriculum, any more than people buy expensive watches to tell time.  If you want to just learn stuff, there are a lot cheaper ways of doing it.

"pedigree and a stellar traditional career track" These would typically be qualifications I'd be grateful for when someone else would describe me as such. Then I would still hesitate to describe myself in these terms, but maybe I am too European in that. I loved Gordo's answer. In particular, pay heed to his observations about soft skills. If you have all that you list, you will not be a better leader or a sexier candidate for promotion if you get more of the same. Do some work outside your comfort zone in that foreign zone called personal development. If the stars align, you are heading for an intergalactic career path. If they don't, you won't experience a little headwind down the road as major trauma. In both cases you'll be a better human being as a result of it.

If you're looking at it from a "learning experience" you might be able to make the argument that time in industry might be more meaningful.  However, the HBS/Stanford/Wharton MBA would almost certainly help build your network and open up potential new job openings for you over the course of your career.  Granted an MBA will never get you a job but it might get you called by a recruiter, might get you an interview with a hiring manager that you otherwise wouldn't, etc.  It likely won't - by itself - make you any more successful but it might give you opportunities that you wouldn't have without it.

I am in the same shoe as you. I have considered the question and decided to go to business school. The only question is the right timing. The reasons are simple: 1. I find myself with little knowledge of business world. A lot to learn other than soft skills. I want to meet new people, get new opportunities and develop new skills. I feel not enough and insecure with my top tier university degree and stellar career.( I highly doubt I can describe myself like that. :)) 2. Sometimes work is a little boring. I started to work one and half a year ago. Sometimes I found life a little tedious. School days seem fun and interesting. 3. I have colleagues graduating from HBS and such business schools. They could land a job with a start salary like $500k right after graduation. I had to say it's appealing to me very much. The thing that bothers me is that I am a trader. It might be a little difficult for a trader to apply for a top MBA. They prefer people with management background. I would be so delighted if I could go to HBS. I love my job, enjoy my career and I think I could get more with a MBA. I am 23 now. Sometimes I wish I was younger and was a boy so that I would have more courage to stand up to challenges in life. I am worried about the expensive tuition, the opportunity cost, the effect on my relationship. I am so uncertain of my life. But I think certain risk is worth taking. Now I am preparing for Dec CFA examination,  get a new boss, wait for a raise in salary and undergo huge pressure. I truly hope I could go to business school when I still could fit in the undergraduates. The year after next seems fine. Good luck!

Wholly agree with One other aspect: MBA can be a rare opportunity to step outside your area.  So take advantage of that and look globally. In particular, as well as HBS and GSB look at the top-international schools:   IMD (Switzerland), IESE (Spain), Insead (France), London (UK), CEIBS (China) You will learn a lot from being in that different environment, get access to a wholly different network, make a different set of friends, perhaps learn a new language, certainly learn something new and different. fwiw In FT ranking HBS is #3 and GSB is #5 - maybe you would learn something different from #1 or #4 http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings-2011 Economist Rankinghttp://http://www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking

This question depends on you, your goals, and your financial concerns. The MBA is likely a waste of money for you no matter what school you go to, from an investment perspective. The question is, are the two years off to focus on yourself and the friendships/relationships you develop at a given school worth it? That is a question only you can answer. For me, I would have paid $1 million to go to the school I went to. I would have paid $250,000 to go to the other school I applied to. And in retrospect, I would have had to been paid to attend another school.  That is my view on the value that these schools would have provided me in my very unique life. For you, the answer will likely be different.

Moneywise it will probably not be worthwhile. You will make more money staying where you are and continuing on your career from there. This is especially true if you already know which industry you want to spend the rest of your career in and you have no wish to, e.g., run an industrial company at some point. But, staying put, you may also end up being one of those people who know the price of everything but the value of nothing. MBA studies help broaden your horizons if you are open to the lessons.