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Is it worth of doing MBA after BE(CSE)?

Is it worth spending 50k USD on MBA programs?

  • I am a software professional and want to know some good reasons for doing an MBA. Some of the reasons I hear are as follows: 1) Networking 2) Leadership 3) Communication Skills However, I have some reservations regarding the value of such things: 1) Networking is useful only if you have some skills of your own such that you are a successful contributor to the team when you join. Given that, shouldn't one spend more time on accumulating skills like programming, android, iOS, hadoop, solr, wearable computing etc etc (Please note that I belong to software field and so using terms from that domain, but you get the idea). 2) Leadership and communication skills can be cultivated even without going to a B-school. And more importantly, is there a strategy or a formula which the B-schools can teach me for such skills? 3) We have seen so many examples of drop-outs and non-MBA people making it big. They sure were born with some talent or worked hard to achieve it. If that is true, then again why cannot I work hard, open a startup and bet my luck on those kind of things? There are even app-developers like those of Angry Bird, Flappy Bird, Temple Run and hundreds more who got lucky without an MBA. So basically, the question I am asking is are there any real skills which I can learn in an MBA by paying a huge sum of money and time? A real-world example of how a (costly) MBA helps in career would be much appreciated. What I personally feel is that education in general and especially MBA programs were really useful before The Internet happened. Today, I have answers to nearly all my questions. Take Stack Overflow and Quora for example. They have an answer to almost every technical question. What exactly is left out there which is taught by the B-schools? Can that not be digitized and put in such forums? Or has it been done already? I am also taking example from Bachelors/Masters in technology to real world professionals. How relevant are those programs in today's world? Four-to-six year degree holders are unable to solve simple problems during interviews (No offense to anyone please, I have myself done a Bachelors in Technology but I had to learn immensely more stuff after my Bachelors to succeed in my workplace).

  • Answer:

    It's actually upwards of $150-170K total for Columbia, Wharton, and Stanford. If you include your opportunity cost of leaving a $100K/year job for two years, the total cost is more like $350K. If you want to make video games, an MBA certainly is not for you. MBAs are primarily trained to work as consultants and investment bankers. A small fraction follow their entrepreneurial ambitions in Silicon Valley. If you're in software, you'll be viewed with suspicion from your peers and, like you said, there are better things to do with your time. But if you want to manage billions of dollars in assets, help Fortune 500 corporations develop their business strategies, or work with multinational conglomerates in expanding their operations into emerging economies, an MBA may be for you.

Nikita Butakov at Quora Visit the source

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I just interviewed a friend of mine who does programming at Columbia and she had a fantastic perspective on this - worth a read: An Entrepreneur in Education: Angela Lee, Executive Director at Columbia Business School and Founder of 37 Angels « Annie Said.. http://anniesaid.com/2014/03/13/an-entrepreneur-in-education-angela-lee-executive-director-at-columbia-business-school-and-founder-of-37-angels/

Annie Tsai

Update: The question has been altered... it was original phrased more like "Isn't a MBA a waste of 50k? What's the point of getting one?" I have a software engineering background myself, but here are my thoughts. Let's start out with the fact that an MBA is not necessary for financial/commercial success, but neither is a college education, or academic knowledge, intelligence, etc... however... they ALL help. I agree that depending on what you are looking for, an MBA maybe not be cost effective. Salary-wise, it is equivalent to roughly 5-years of work experience, so often you will immediately get a boost in position and pay  (of course you just spent 3-years and a lot of money to get it... so it depends). Another thing is that I think you don't really understand how difficult/inconsistent it is to develop the business skills outside of an academic environment. The way to "learn" how to do these things is to do it yourself and learn from your mistakes... however, few corporation are going to let you play with it's financial future while you learn on the job. That leaves starting your own company... which probably requires 100-250k initial investment (either from you or your friend/family) and for you to work 2-3 years without pay... and then there is no one mentoring/guiding and going over your decisions to figure out what worked and what didn't. For the rest of this post, I'm going to assuming you are asking about the skills necessary to start your own company. If you are not... stop reading. Oh btw, I recommend you read http://www.amazon.com/The-Founders-Dilemmas-Anticipating-Entrepreneurship/dp/0691158304. It's not going to solve all your problems, but it will help. You also underestimate/misunderstand the value of networking for someone who is looking to either start their own company, or move into the higher echelons of a bigger company. Networking can lead to angel investors and VC funding... something you cannot "learn" on your own. If you are starting up your own company, you don't have time to "learn" the additional skills (to be honest, the way your wrote your post already shows you have weakness in communication and interpersonal skills that will take years to improve upon). If you are a higher executive, you don't have time to handle every little detail in all areas of the company... that why it would be to know someone who you know who can come in and handle the issue for you. Also sometimes you don't need a skill... but a contact for a business partnership in another company. Knowing someone who is an executive in another company is an incredible powerful tool.

Anonymous

Working for a major genomics bio-tech in San Diego, I have seen several biologists get MBAs to leverage their way into new positions, especially in marketing and product management. The thing that is notable is that they were already employed, taking classes while working, and the company offered tuition reimbursement. If you don't care about having a life outside of work, this set of circumstances is ideal.

Pietro Kürbisesser

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