I am almost 34 and live in the US. I come from a Software Engineering background and do a lot more than just programming. I have a master's in computer science and almost 10 years of work experience. I need career advice about joining a startup vs. getting an MBA from a Top-Five school.

First, with ten years of experience,  you should be looking for an EMBA (or equivalent) and not an MBA where you can network with other professional networking into other companies. Ideally this is something you can do while you continue in your present job. As far as you career goes, this requires more than a superficial decision criteria that you have mentioned, and since you are married, this is something you need to discuss with your partner. Not having kids now does not mean not having kids in the near future especially since you are in your thirties with the biological clock ticking. You career is a way of supporting your family, not the other way around. If you are interested in management, this is a direction you should be preparing. It is a transition - more like a sex change operation - from where you are now to where you want to be, and it begins with sorting out what you have and what you need to have. Your programming knowledge is not preparation for management, and the best way to see that is to look at open management positions job requirements within and outside of your company. In software engineering, being a project leader is usually the first step. If you want to manage, you need to have a job that manages resources, ideally people. As to your question, working in a startup is not a substitution for management training unless you are hired as a manager where you actually get on-the-job training in management. It is an opportunity to get vested in a company that should it succeed will make you more money than your current position. At this point in your career, you should be looking for a mentor, not a startup job or an EMBA program. Someone who will help you to the next step, whatever that next step is. To be honest, most technical people are not cut out to be a manager. You have spent 10 years mastering a skill set, now it is time to see where this skill set can take you and who you need along the way.

I recommend joining a start-up because there is so much more practical knowledge to learn there. At a start-up, you learn all the parts of the business process and you will get to see it happening live plus you can pretty much work on whatever projects within the company interest you so it will be more satisfying and fulfilling work. If money is a big concern for you, not to worry because start-ups pay premium salaries for top engineers with awesome benefits and perks. MBA's are good too but most of it simply book knowledge and things in the real world are quite different than the textbook. I think additional years of start-up experience will much more beneficial to your goal of becoming a C level executive or Entrepreneur. And think about it like this, MBA's don't automatically qualify to become an Entrepreneur or CEO right? Good luck on your journey!

Hi , I can share my perspective . At one stage i was in similar situation like yours . I did MBA from one of the better schools in blended mode . Prior to that i had 6 years of experience as developer and then i moved into pre-sales and business development . I had always wanted to do MBA from better schools , however sometimes i could not make it to the school of my liking and sometimes i found the cost of mba was too high . Eventually i settled for a college which costed me around 48,000 us$. Now , here was my Reasoning . I was already in sales and business development , so i felt even if i continue in same role and get an MBA my profile would eventually start shaping up as a sales profile in technology domain . So , i felt i needed only a degree which will help bringing credibility to my profile . On the hindsight , i have never got a job offer only because of reason that i hold an MBA from that college . I have got multiple offers because of my asian language skills . Now if you ask me if i would take the same path again . I may tend to say NO , i may choose a more affordable mba degree in a lesser known college Because i feel eventually a persons worth for a job depends more on skills and experience , not on degree . Specifically , if someone is looking for entreprenuership , then i feel saving money for your startup is more worthwhile , then spending anything in exess of 20,000 us$ on getting a degree . More cushion you have while starting , better are the chances of sustaining your business . You may actually take short leadership or entreprenuership courses which may cost you not at much to get into the right circles .