Do you really need to spend two years and tens of thousands of dollars getting a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA)? You have experience already. You have been a director of a nonprofit or have served on the board of one more organizations.
It’s easy to become expert enough
In today’s world, you have access to experts in nearly any topic you can imagine. We use this daily to educate ourselves on “How to fix a leaking faucet,” or “How to cut up a pineapple.” But, do you realize that advanced business skills are available, for free, in many locations? Check out ITunes U or Coursera for free video courses by the world’s experts. Or check out the reading list here.
Will you become a world-class expert this way? Probably not. You could, however, become a top-ten percent expert in your topic. And you do not have to limit yourself to any one topic. If you could become a top-ten percent expert in two topics that don’t overlap, you would be in the top 1% of those with that combination of skills. Add a third topic, and you would be in the top one-tenth of one percent of those with all three skills.
Corbett Barr of ExpertEnough has posted a series of videos. Here is one of them, discussing ways and reasons to avoid two years of grad school with Josh Kaufman.
When I was in college, an undergraduate Economics major, I answered an essay question on a final exam where I had to discuss all the benefits of the Bretton Woods system of international finance.
Four years later, as an MBA grad student, I answered an essay question on a final exam where I had to discuss the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. The world had changed.
Reasons for getting an MBA
1. This is the big one. It will help you to get an interview, and maybe the job. You are paying for that interview with two years and thousands of dollars. You are substituting that piece of paper for experience.
2. You will make connections with other goal oriented people who have similar interests to yours.
3. You will avoid looking for a job for two years. Note: In my days, you were also avoiding the draft for two more years, hoping the war would end.
4. You will learn some business vocabulary. Of course, you will learn that from the videos and books mentioned above.
5. You will learn critical thinking. Again, you can learn that on your own.
6. You want to work for an investment banking firm or a consulting firm. Big bucks, but high risk in this market.
Reasons for NOT getting an MBA
1. It costs tens of thousands of dollars. You could be making money instead of borrowing it.
2. It will take at least 2 years of your life, unless you use a diploma mill. You could have 2 years of real experience, with a track record instead.
3. Much of the information will be outdated in a surprisingly short amount of time.
4. The MBA is very broad. That means that most of the courses are survey courses that just give you an overview of the topic. You generally don’t learn things that have a real impact in real life. How to deal with zoning. How to deal with building, fire, and health inspections. How to do payroll. How to hire someone. How to motivate employees.