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Yes, a lot of people don't understand that MBAs do not carry much weight anymore (if they ever did). I have family members who aggressively pursued such degrees

Yes, a lot of people don't understand that MBAs do not carry much weight anymore (if they ever did). I have family members who aggressively pursued such degrees under the assumption that they'd practically guarantee an executive position. I've also met many who've obtained MBAs in an attempt to gain some career advancement, usually to a higher managerial position. I only know of one such person for whom this ploy was successful. I have to think that the "Harvard" name carries a lot of weight, but MBAs as a class of degrees have, at least over the last ~10 years, been accompanied with a little bit of a snicker, in my admittedly relatively shallow experience with MBA holders. At one point, I did hire a developer with an MBA, but his MBA was a point of concern rather than merit. >What HBS does well, above all else, is act as a filter. They really do a remarkable job at admissions, putting together a group of folks who are likely (by nature or nurture) to go on to have an outsized impact on the world. I have to ask. In your opinion, is access to this network really worth the cost of going through the program?

ruleabidinguser 10y ago
WHy was the MBA a point of concern?
- cookiecaper 10y ago
  Mainly these two reasons. 1. It signals that one may not be interested in a development career long-term. This is probably the closest you get to the "overqualified" dismissal excuse more commonly given in other fields. The potential impact on the team could be either small or large, depending on the candidate's plan to move himself to a different position. 2. To me, it demonstrated a dependence on formalized schooling processes that may signal an inflexibility of mind that makes it difficult to adapt to the fast-moving world of software. He chose to go through this program not because he was programmed to believe it was the only way he could support himself, which is why most people pursue "higher education", but because he wanted to learn about the business perspective. A strategy that involves getting an MBA is highly inefficient, as discussed elsewhere in this thread.
DelaneyM 10y ago
> I have to ask. In your opinion, is access to this network really worth the cost of going through the program? Not even close to worth it. Networking is pretty easy and the vaunted HBS network is very bloated. I'd still do it again, but I was coming off an exit and mostly needed a way to keep busy for two years in Boston while my wife did her grad work.

ruleabidinguser 10y ago

WHy was the MBA a point of concern?

cookiecaper 10y ago
Mainly these two reasons. 1. It signals that one may not be interested in a development career long-term. This is probably the closest you get to the "overqualified" dismissal excuse more commonly given in other fields. The potential impact on the team could be either small or large, depending on the candidate's plan to move himself to a different position. 2. To me, it demonstrated a dependence on formalized schooling processes that may signal an inflexibility of mind that makes it difficult to adapt to the fast-moving world of software. He chose to go through this program not because he was programmed to believe it was the only way he could support himself, which is why most people pursue "higher education", but because he wanted to learn about the business perspective. A strategy that involves getting an MBA is highly inefficient, as discussed elsewhere in this thread.

DelaneyM 10y ago

> I have to ask. In your opinion, is access to this network really worth the cost of going through the program? Not even close to worth it. Networking is pretty easy and the vaunted HBS network is very bloated. I'd still do it again, but I was coming off an exit and mostly needed a way to keep busy for two years in Boston while my wife did her grad work.