Grad School MBA - Are the Expensive Programs worth it?

[jasonX]

Originally Posted by youngnastyman

So I hear that MBA's are a dime a dozen all too often from posters here. What, in your opinion, would be an alternative to the MBA for someone with an undergrad in MIS?

I have several technical certifications (RHCE, NCIE, MCSE) and I don't exactly think of those as being on the same par as an accredited degree.

I do not see myself working in corporate America for the rest of my life so all this talk about it getting me this job vs that one is irrelevant. I want the education to better myself and as some of you said build a solid network so that I can succeed in my private ventures.

Redhat/Microsoft are technical certifications. If you want to relate business/management into IT, look at ITIL, PMP, Six Sigma etc. The PMP has an experience requirement with regards to managing projects, but the ITIL you could dive right into.

[Titanium3er]

Originally Posted by youngnastyman

So I hear that MBA's are a dime a dozen all too often from posters here. What, in your opinion, would be an alternative to the MBA for someone with an undergrad in MIS?

I have several technical certifications (RHCE, NCIE, MCSE) and I don't exactly think of those as being on the same par as an accredited degree.

I do not see myself working in corporate America for the rest of my life so all this talk about it getting me this job vs that one is irrelevant. I want the education to better myself and as some of you said build a solid network so that I can succeed in my private ventures.

A masters in MIS? I've read this is one of the highest paying masters degrees and one with the best job outlook. I would have pursued it instead of an MBA if I had an IT background. I believe that at some schools some of the course requirements are similar, but with a much greater focus on Information systems of course.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by youngnastyman

Yep Now you can take the GRE. I think this year is the first year that universities are allowing this.

The GMAT wasn't too bad when I took it; how is the GRE?

[youngnastyman]

Originally Posted by persian54

The GMAT wasn't too bad when I took it; how is the GRE?

Its supposed to be less crazy on the math portion. I still haven't decided which to take yet but when I was doing some prep work for the GMAT the math questions on the practice exams were insane! I believe the changed the GRE to make the math portion more business related though.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by youngnastyman

Its supposed to be less crazy on the math portion. I still haven't decided which to take yet but when I was doing some prep work for the GMAT the math questions on the practice exams were insane! I believe the changed the GRE to make the math portion more business related though.

I see I see, interesting to know.

I wish I had taken the GMAT while in high school lol. I would've been able to do much MUCH better. Everything on it was what I had studied in HS... which I had begun to forget while in college..

[dth656]

A few thoughts that may be helpful (or not):

-one of the main things you pay for in b-school is the alumni network, so depending on where you want to be located and your chosen field of work, you should consider this as well (Rice over all may have a stronger alumni network than UH, as an example)
-if you are thinking of career switching into ibanking or management consulting, you should apply to "name" schools, as most top-tier firms limit their recruiting efforts to these (McKinsey, Bain, BCG, etc)
-the coursework itself is a joke no matter where you go (you could easily learn the course material yourself from a book or quickmba.com)--especially if you were an undergrad engineer or other quant major

[nicknaz]

I agreed on the previous alumni network and the ibanking/mgmt consulting comments.

Switching into those 2 industries (and industry switching in general) is a great reason to go to b school.

My personal opinion is that the tuition cost and opportunity cost for a "top 7" school (HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, Booth, Sloan, Columbia) is worth it in almost all cases but outside of that group of schools you really need to assess whether the companies you want to work for recruit there and whether the school is recognized internationally or in the other US regions.

Good luck OP!

[AWil335i]

I'd say the more uncertain you are about your career path, where you'll try to find a job, etc, the more important it is to have the name recognition behind your MBA. Part of what you're paying for is the alumni network... and i'm not talking about an association that hosts bogus events.... i'm talking about the number of graduates with that degree who are making the hiring decisions at the companies you want to work for.

Also agree with the post above me - outside of the top 7 or so, it's probably much more dependent on what schools are prominent in your region.

Good luck! Ultimately, I think you'll find that it's worth it in the long run.