[swahyudi]

In my opinion, an MBA degree is going to be very BENEFICIAL for you in terms of how it shaped your business mind and the connections you'll develop while in the program.



How an MBA degree shapes your business mind?

When you're getting your MBA, you'll learn every subject related to money from the scratch again. So, you'll learn accounting, finance, organizational behavior, operations and research, etc. By saying shaping your business mind, I mean it covers your basic business knowledge, NOT your entrepreneurial knowledge. Your entrepreneurial spirit won't develop that much; however, it's your job to improve your way of thinking by yourself, e.g. reading Rich Dad's Series and grab its important concepts about starting a business, etc.



Why is it important to gain connections with other MBA students?

If you observe or experience it by yourself, Yes, most of MBA students are gonna be managers after they graduate. However, for most of them, deep down inside they know that one day they have to start their own business. C'mon, they're SURELY exposed to many concepts not to forget Rich Dad's. They SURELY know that they have to invest and let their money work for them. Believe me, MBA students are not ordinary students. They are those who really know about financial knowledge or business knowledge than most of us here. That's why you have to build relationship with lots of them because they're the ones who'll rule the economy one day, esp. the big companies out there.




Just my 2 cents.




Warm Regards,
Stefanus

[evolvingentrepreneur]

If you refer to the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans, you will note that many of these individuals, including Bill Gates, either dropped out or never attended college.

When it comes to entrepreneurship I believe that self-education and practical experience wins hands down. However, many people are too timid to tackle a self-education in business right after high school or a 4 year college education, so they go for the security and comfort of the MBA.

If you look at the typical backgrounds of many successful entrepreneurs you'll see that they usually only have a bachelor's degree, usually not even related to business. These entrepreneurs typically employ, and subsequently leverage, all of the brightest MBA's of the world.

[swahyudi]

Haha, you have good points there! This will be a good thread I hope

[DavidHWalker]

My school, Univ. Texas has an excellent MBA program . I see all the MBA's in the business school walking around lugging their school issued Dell laptops and their hugely bulky backpacks. I always thought that the real thinker- the true thinker didn't need to get their MBA. That was until I was sitting in a business school lounge and overheard the conversation of two MBA's. They were negotiating the sale of a $21 million manufacturing plant...they never did reach a final consensus, but just the fact that they were there...that being in the MBA program gave them the opportunity to have that potential deal, that's what makes it worth it---the connections.

Also, I've heard of numerous MBA's after graduating talking about doing start-ups together. It is my contention that whenever you stick like-minded individuals in a situation together, a lot of potential good can come of it.

So as it turns out, the classes and coursework may just be extra filler space. The real advantage of getting your MBA is getting to know your classmates.

~David

[swahyudi]

What a good post!

Thank you, David.
Have a good weekend!

[insomnia]

I don't think having an MBA can ever hurt you, learning and educating yourself makes you smarter and stronger. Although it is not necessary for success, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and hard work can be enough for succcess.

[Dus10]

That is the most important part, the connections. Heck, I would have to say that a Harvard MBA, most of the most prestigious MBA around is actually pretty worthless, in and of itself, but the connections you get from being invloved in that MBA program or probably the more valuable than other MBA programs. The president of my company, and the president of my parent company are both Harvard MBAs. The president of the parent company went through the MBA program with President Bush, and is now the Chairman of the National Economic Council. The president of my company is now becoming the president of the parent company.

I actually think Harvard does a pretty piss-poor job. The guys do not have a lot of business sense. Harvard must dictate, " Since you will have a Harvard MBA, you can make impossible requests and demand that they be met with inadequate resources, just because you have a Harvard MBA." The value of the Harvard MBA has been questioned much lately. It just shows how much you gain in connections.

Although, getting a general business education should not be underrated. There is not anything wrong with getting an education. Learning real accounting skills is imperative. It is the language of business. Learning all of it is imperative. You can learn without going to school, obviously, but it is more painful.

I really dislike people using Bill Gates as a good example. The man got lucky, plain and simple. As a matter of fact he broke many laws in the first several years of Microsoft, and if it were not for the statute of limitations, and the "fame" he has gained, along with the money, he could have been sitting in a white-collar prison for felonies. He committed fraud on at least two occasions, and absolutely stole several of his concepts. He actually is not a very good businessman. That is a reason why he chose not to be the CEO any longer. That and the legal battles he has been fighting do to antitrust issues.

[jpomerenke]

Originally posted by swahyudi
In my opinion, an MBA degree is going to be very BENEFICIAL for you in terms of how it shaped your business mind and the connections you'll develop while in the program.



How an MBA degree shapes your business mind?

When you're getting your MBA, you'll learn every subject related to money from the scratch again. So, you'll learn accounting, finance, organizational behavior, operations and research, etc. By saying shaping your business mind, I mean it covers your basic business knowledge, NOT your entrepreneurial knowledge. Your entrepreneurial spirit won't develop that much; however, it's your job to improve your way of thinking by yourself, e.g. reading Rich Dad's Series and grab its important concepts about starting a business, etc.



Why is it important to gain connections with other MBA students?

If you observe or experience it by yourself, Yes, most of MBA students are gonna be managers after they graduate. However, for most of them, deep down inside they know that one day they have to start their own business. C'mon, they're SURELY exposed to many concepts not to forget Rich Dad's. They SURELY know that they have to invest and let their money work for them. Believe me, MBA students are not ordinary students. They are those who really know about financial knowledge or business knowledge than most of us here. That's why you have to build relationship with lots of them because they're the ones who'll rule the economy one day, esp. the big companies out there.




Just my 2 cents.




Warm Regards,
Stefanus

This may be one of the more stupid posts i have read on YE. MBAs are pretty much a dime a dozen now a days.

A true entrpreneur would never say something like this. Go to the corporate world buddy... make your same salary every year as you build your bosses asset and if your lucky you wont get fired when your 35 because some punk 26 year old with a fresh MBA just garduated and will take half the salary as you to start.

Everything you learn for business is learned while running a business or just in every day life situations. Might as well start young. Dont waste your time and money getting a MBA.

[swahyudi]

Thank you so much for your criticism!

You do have a good point there, but please don't say that it's a stupid thread.
We all want a nice and open discussion about this matter, OK?

[bps092]

From my experience I think that books dont teach what you learn to respect in physically teaching yourself in the real business world. A lot of my businesses classes that I have taken in the past talk about the basics, and really don't go in depth to the point that you can use that in a real world setting. As it is important to know those things, practical knowledge and skills developed are far more valuable than book smarts.