[Cheeto]

I'm coming to the end of university up in Canada and I was wondering abotu people's impressions of MBA's. Anyone have one? Want one? Hate one?

I'm heading overseas for a year to work some odd jobs but I was thinking of coming back and doing an MBA in the future

Thanks mates

[jdoc]

It all comes down to your goals. Do you want to start your own business? Work for a consulting firm (eg. Accenture, McKinsey, etc.) or in a large Fortune 500 company? In what capacity (operations, accounting/finance, HR, etc.). Are you looking to work in finance (bank, i-bank, hedge fund, mutual fund, etc.)?

In general if you're looking to start your own company, an MBA isn't going to help you out that much. Find some mentors, take some basic accouting/marketing/etc. classes, and get people with complementary skills to have a well-rounded team.

What your undergrad degree is in is also a factor. If you already have a business degree the value of getting an MBA is lower.

Many magazines have annual reports and sporadic commentary on the value of MBAs. Check out Macleans, Canadian Business, the Economist, Forbes, and BusinessWeek and you will get very good info on the opportunity cost of getting an MBA. If you're going to get one, figure out which school has the best fit for your future career goals and then talk to current and (recent) past students there to see if their experience matches up with what the school is promoting.

[Cheeto]

Thanks for the info.

I will have an Economics undergrad in a month (hopefully) and I plan on running my own business in the future for sure. I've tried a thing or two already but nothing has taken hold. That's why I want to go to Europe, to snoop around there and see what's available.

I'm currently working in mutual funds parttime so that may be a possibility in the future but not one that I would be exctied about. The MBA for me would be more a way to further understand about business workings and finances and something to do while I try other ventures on my own. Sort of a way to keep from staying in one place for too long, you know? I think it's good to always be improving

[jdoc]

If you want to go work at a big company/consulting firm for awhile and get more business ideas (particularly enterprise solutions), then an MBA may be worth your while (as long as you don't mind that this will take several years). One person's blog of interest to you is:

http://www.fabricegrinda.com/

He has a similar educational background and also belives in geographical arbitrage.

I'm also heading to Europe this summer and hopefully find some interesting opportunities. If you want to chat after and share experiences, feel free to send me a PM.

[Day2]

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...2/b3976089.htm

Fabulous article about MBAs.

I tend to think that they are pretty overrated. Might make your entry level job a little higher than it otherwise would be... But if you are an exceptional person, I think the opportunity cost of taking yourself out of the workforce is too high.

Cheers,

[jdoc]

I find it interesting how there's been a big MBA backlash in the past 2-3 years after the market got saturated with both new programs and applicants in the early 2000s.

A lot of schools have started to move towards part-time or online courses to reduce the cost of lost wages. Forbes discussed this in depth awhile back:

http://www.forbes.com/humanresources...emba05mba.html

And recently discussed how b-schools are trying to lure people back:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2006/...ap2588712.html

There's also the ever-popular 'executive courses' as well to touch up your skills in a particular area.

I tend to agree with Day2 that there's more likely better avenues to prosperity, and an MBA (or any degree for that matter) is no silver bullet for success, I still think it makes sense to look at your individual circumstances and figure whether the value proposition exists for you.

[Steve]

Theres a school called Thunderbird. Look into that, seemed pretty ideal to me, but only for graduate students I think.