Starting an MBA.

So I got admission into one of world's top 20 MBA programs, on campus, part time, self-sponsored

I'll be starting in few weeks...very excited!

Short term goal: Finish the MBA and juggle work-life.

Long term career goal: move to Management.

This means, no more technical certs for me anymore!

I don't want to post too many details in this post for the sake of personal privacy, but if you're curious or want more details shoot me a message...

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DatabaseHead

NavyMooseCCNA wrote: »

I started it in the Fall of 2002 and the job market was more than tight, especially for newbies to IT, like me. I started the MBA program to set me off from others.

I've found the MBA to be more beneficial for youngster coming out of school. Most job req's will waive experience if you have a masters degree. We have a lot of hot shot consultants coming into our environment via on premise contracting efforts and they are seriously educated. Most if not all of the contractors in their 20's have MBA's from top 25 schools. The folks in their 30's and 40's seem to be less educated on paper.

While I was purely in IT, this didn't matter as much, experience was king and of course certifications...... From my perspective in the US, MBA's generally help folks in business verticals and/or hybrid verticals. Folks in pure IT roles don't benefit from the MBA as much.....

NavyMooseCCNA

DatabaseHead wrote: »

I've found the MBA to be more beneficial for youngster coming out of school. Most job req's will waive experience if you have a masters degree. We have a lot of hot shot consultants coming into our environment via on premise contracting efforts and they are seriously educated. Most if not all of the contractors in their 20's have MBA's from top 25 schools. The folks in their 30's and 40's seem to be less educated on paper.

While I was purely in IT, this didn't matter as much, experience was king and of course certifications...... From my perspective in the US, MBA's generally help folks in business verticals and/or hybrid verticals. Folks in pure IT roles don't benefit from the MBA as much.....

I had no plan, other than to get a job. I had been out of work for almost nine months and I was running out of ADT (Active Duty Training) days from my command. I can't think of one instance where having an MBA helped me get a job or helped me on the job. My CO from back then encouraged me to start the program because it would make me noticed by employers. The next job after this I found out from a CDR in my command who liked my work ethic and knowledge...

UnixGuy

NavyMooseCCNA wrote: »

I started it in the Fall of 2002 and the job market was more than tight, especially for newbies to IT, like me. I started the MBA program to set me off from others.

It doesn't help in getting an IT job, quite the opposite, it might work against you. It sure can help you get a consulting job though. Good MBAs have on campus recruitment, did you try that?

supafish9

Why do you feel an MBA would hurt someone in the IT field? Assuming you're taking an Executive or Professional program, this is studying and networking during your off-hours and trying to better yourself.

TechGuru80

supafish9 wrote: »

Why do you feel an MBA would hurt someone in the IT field? Assuming you're taking an Executive or Professional program, this is studying and networking during your off-hours and trying to better yourself.

There sometimes is a misconception about Masters degrees and being overqualified. The reason why this doesn't really apply to an MBA is because the focus is on non-technical areas like managing cost, account, etc...where with technical Masters, there are people who graduate and can oversell themselves past entry jobs but can't get past or even into an intermediate job.

When people ask me I generally give the following advice:
-Non-related undergrad, can go for a Masters in a technical area or MBA, but try to get a job prior to completion if you can.
-Business undergrad, you could get an MBA (although it's not going to have as much of an impact)...or you can go for a technical degree...but again try to get a job prior to completion.
-Technical undergrad, an MBA will make you well rounded and give you business terminology but you should have some experience going into a program.

I personally have a business undergrad with sales experience, then went and got a technical masters degree. I didn't really see any issues getting into a security job (had 1 internship)...however regular IT type jobs almost never called.

UnixGuy

supafish9 wrote: »

Why do you feel an MBA would hurt someone in the IT field? Assuming you're taking an Executive or Professional program, this is studying and networking during your off-hours and trying to better yourself.

What TechGuru said is true

I'll also add, because it's an expensive degree, so you're losing money & time. The networking in the MBA that you do won't help you in IT jobs, most students aren't in IT and those who are in IT usually want to change careers or move up. It's not the best investment if your goal is to be a network engineer, or a senior network engineer, for example.

Executive programs (from good schools) are only open for people who are already directors/executives, so it's not for professionals.

NavyMooseCCNA

UnixGuy wrote: »

It doesn't help in getting an IT job, quite the opposite, it might work against you. It sure can help you get a consulting job though. Good MBAs have on campus recruitment, did you try that?

Nothing like that existed. I was at one of those for profit schools that actually had on ground classes. I went to this school because it was military friendly and more than a few people I knew were getting their degrees there.

DatabaseHead

UnixGuy wrote: »

What TechGuru said is true

I'll also add, because it's an expensive degree, so you're losing money & time. The networking in the MBA that you do won't help you in IT jobs, most students aren't in IT and those who are in IT usually want to change careers or move up. It's not the best investment if your goal is to be a network engineer, or a senior network engineer, for example.

Executive programs (from good schools) are only open for people who are already directors/executives, so it's not for professionals.

As far as I am concerned this is a scientific law.

UnixGuy

NavyMooseCCNA wrote: »

Nothing like that existed. I was at one of those for profit schools that actually had on ground classes. ..

I think that's why you hear people advise against those schools for MBA. They can be good for some technical degrees, or MAYBE in the special case scenario where you are already in a higher up management position AND the employer is paying for it. Otherwise, I don't personally recommend an MBA from a for profit school.

UnixGuy

This is a wrap for 2018 - my most productive year ever in all fronts.

I started this term with two subjects but then dropped to one. This will be strategy moving forward - One subject per term (at least for core subjects and until I figure work out). This mean I won't finish in two years but in 3-4 yrs. No rush really

I enjoyed doing one subject...the pressure was nearly non existent. I did really well in my final exam and group assignment, and learned a lot in the process.

In January I'm starting another subject. It's going well!

TheFORCE

@UnixGuy congratulations man! I've always said it here on my previous posts if you want to get into management go do an MBA not a masters.

UnixGuy

Two more subjects down this term. I did better than my usual.

Wanted to post here to remind myself to hang in there. I decided to quit SO many times for various reasons, I even took a term off, but yesterday during a final exam of a subject that's supposed to be a fluffy subject, I realised how much I learned. Analysing the corporate strategy of a firm and proposing a whole new plan..I wouldn't know where to begin have I not been involved in the program.

It's hard to stay motivated because the ROI isn't super clear. It's one of those things where you make a big investment and hope for the best.

It's a long and hard journey, and I'm halfway through....got to be patient.

UnixGuy

Two more subjects down. I did 2 x intensive subjects. Each subjects is 10 weeks long worth of content squeezed in 5 weeks. It was a breeze this time.

Happy to say I know a lot more about marketing and product management now. I can also say that I understand design thinking a lot better.

Looking forward two more subjects (maybe 3, haven't decided yet) next term before end of year break

Infosec_Sam

Hey, congratulations! 6 more months until your expected graduation - are you still on track to hit it?

UnixGuy

Infosec_Sam said:

Hey, congratulations! 6 more months until your expected graduation - are you still on track to hit it?

No i think I miscalculated in my signature, it's more like 10 months

UnixGuy

One more subject down! This term I did one subject, and it was the most intense subject so far. "Accounting" ! I swear what he covered in 10 weeks should be covered in 20 weeks.

subject was SO demanding. We started off in week 1 by defining what financial statements are, how to read a balance sheet/income statement etc...

fast forward to week 10 and we're doing financial forecasting for groups and companies with many segments.

I put a lot of effort into the subject as I had zero background in the topic and I learned SO much. I think I did well in the final exam too (I think).

So now I'm half way the MBA. If I choose to exit with the MBA alone, It will take till term2 2021..if I decide to do a double degree (MBA + Master of Marketing) then I probably need to do subjects till term3 or term4 in 2021. We'll see... It's been quite a journey so far

DatabaseHead

@UnixGuy Keep up the good work! I remember building forecast (both demand and financial) for our generic drug LOB. That was quite humbling to see how poorly some of those performed. The good news was throughout the FY I was able to +1 the forecast which clearly helped tighten up the "prediction"

UnixGuy

DatabaseHead said:

@UnixGuy Keep up the good work! I remember building forecast (both demand and financial) for our generic drug LOB. That was quite humbling to see how poorly some of those performed. The good news was throughout the FY I was able to +1 the forecast which clearly helped tighten up the "prediction"

nice work!

I was humbled throughout the course as I honestly never read a balance sheet or an income statement before, so it was a lot to take in

JDMurray

Yes, it is humbling. I'm heading into the economics and finance part of my MBA program right now and I have no prior experience with any of this material to start from--other than balancing my checkbook.

DatabaseHead

UnixGuy said:

DatabaseHead said:

@UnixGuy Keep up the good work! I remember building forecast (both demand and financial) for our generic drug LOB. That was quite humbling to see how poorly some of those performed. The good news was throughout the FY I was able to +1 the forecast which clearly helped tighten up the "prediction"

nice work!

I was humbled throughout the course as I honestly never read a balance sheet or an income statement before, so it was a lot to take in

I can imagine it was a lot for me as well. I thought logistics and supply chain was the hardest in my MBA, but I have a bachelors in management so some of that I retained. I also have had one foot in the business for at least 10 years while in IT. Unlike most on this forum (I am assuming) I've been heavily leveraged in business functions and roles.

Once they find out you have a skill it WILL get leveraged

UnixGuy

JDMurray said:

Yes, it is humbling. I'm heading into the economics and finance part of my MBA program right now and I have no prior experience with any of this material to start from--other than balancing my checkbook.

you will learn a lot. It feels great to be able to pull out financial statements of companies and assess how they did for past x amount of years. I'm already using my new accounting skills planning for my personal business!

baghdaddy19

Thats great man! Best of luck!

bigdogz

@UnixGuy
Congratulations and keep up the good work!!!