4 ms·

Some of us MBA's have also written (and write) code and can also think from a dev mindset. Why all the hate for MBAs on here?

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
jbob2000 9y ago
Because the tech landscape changes, and in a few years the tech skills you have will become outdated. Nobody will tell you this, though, so you'll confidently and move forward in your MBA career thinking you're still as good as you were when you developed full time. In a few years, you're going to butt heads with a developer who tells you you are wrong, but because you are an MBA and you used to develop, you must be right. I deal with this all the time as a developer. I am tired of guys who "used to develop, so they know what they're talking about".
- devmunchies 9y ago
  Would that also apply to any technical managers and directors?
- uptownfunk 9y ago
  That is a fair point, will be mindful of this going forward.
umanwizard 9y ago
Because out of all the PMs I've worked with, over 90% were awful. I'm sure you are an exception but the general rule holds
- uptownfunk 9y ago
  Interesting to hear, what makes them awful? FYI There are some of us who welcome feedback, so would like to hear your thoughts to be mindful.
  - deskamess 9y ago
    I cannot speak for the original poster, but I found that many who came in were not interested or did not understand technology. They came in with 'reputation' (worked for IBM in project management, etc) and were probably hired for it. There was little on the job understanding and no effort to understand the how's and why's of the product. What was important to them was that 'project schedule lines' could be filled in regularly. They had no context, and were rarely interested in why something was missed, but were eager to fill in the next column which was 'Expected Completion Date'. When feature requests came in from a client it was pushed down without consult to the overall project; they basically did not like saying 'no' to a client. The company was a tech company but the people with influence were ignorant of general SW development practices. If a project manager did not cut it, they were replaced with another one just like the previous one. Tech had little input on the next choice - after all, it was the project managers dept. I suspect there are good PM's with a tech bent, but they are hard to come by. I hope you can make a difference by hiring and encouraging others PM's who do want to improve and understand the technical environment they are in, and not just live on the 'project schedule line'. Spend a day with support, spend a day with QA, talk to an engineer and find out why one task on your schedule is dependent on the other. It will make for a better cohesive team with common goals (and ideally less departmentalism).
  - kamaal 9y ago
    Its a misnomer to think that anything can be managed at a abstract level. Managing things requires understanding and working on them at a very intricate level. MBA thing is based on the exact opposite. If you don't do this- Us Vs Them kinda environment emerges rather too quickly.
jrs95 9y ago
I was just joking, although some people seem to be more serious. To me, it's just kind of a funny meme.
choward 9y ago
Not to trying to bash your skills but I think that can be part of the problem. It's good that you know how to program and that helps understand technical problems better. But don't think just because you know the problem it means you know the solution. It doesn't mean the solution is trivial and that it should be fixed in a day.
- ntsplnkv2 9y ago
  Very true. Some of my worst managers think they know everything, they think they know how quickly something can be done, when they simply don't. Many times they are downright disrespectful because they think they know it all.
mugsie 9y ago
From my perspective: Some companies hire these MBAs straight out of college, and put them into fast track programs. This is not a bad thing in itself, but it means you can end up with a (S)VP or C level who has never actually worked in the area the company is in. This leads into "great" ideas being generated (e.g. every new hire has to be signed off by the VP of the division, all purchasing needs 2 levels of sign off etc), that may sound great, but to people actually living with the ideas, it causes massive issues. Without fail, everytime I have seen a policy like these that makes me groan out loud, when we find out who came up with it, they have an MBA.
megaman22 9y ago
Because too many people have gotten burned by bad ones. Stereotypes don't just spring into existence from nothingness.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

jbob2000 9y ago

Because the tech landscape changes, and in a few years the tech skills you have will become outdated. Nobody will tell you this, though, so you'll confidently and move forward in your MBA career thinking you're still as good as you were when you developed full time. In a few years, you're going to butt heads with a developer who tells you you are wrong, but because you are an MBA and you used to develop, you must be right. I deal with this all the time as a developer. I am tired of guys who "used to develop, so they know what they're talking about".

devmunchies 9y ago
Would that also apply to any technical managers and directors?
uptownfunk 9y ago
That is a fair point, will be mindful of this going forward.

umanwizard 9y ago

Because out of all the PMs I've worked with, over 90% were awful. I'm sure you are an exception but the general rule holds

uptownfunk 9y ago
Interesting to hear, what makes them awful? FYI There are some of us who welcome feedback, so would like to hear your thoughts to be mindful.
- deskamess 9y ago
  I cannot speak for the original poster, but I found that many who came in were not interested or did not understand technology. They came in with 'reputation' (worked for IBM in project management, etc) and were probably hired for it. There was little on the job understanding and no effort to understand the how's and why's of the product. What was important to them was that 'project schedule lines' could be filled in regularly. They had no context, and were rarely interested in why something was missed, but were eager to fill in the next column which was 'Expected Completion Date'. When feature requests came in from a client it was pushed down without consult to the overall project; they basically did not like saying 'no' to a client. The company was a tech company but the people with influence were ignorant of general SW development practices. If a project manager did not cut it, they were replaced with another one just like the previous one. Tech had little input on the next choice - after all, it was the project managers dept. I suspect there are good PM's with a tech bent, but they are hard to come by. I hope you can make a difference by hiring and encouraging others PM's who do want to improve and understand the technical environment they are in, and not just live on the 'project schedule line'. Spend a day with support, spend a day with QA, talk to an engineer and find out why one task on your schedule is dependent on the other. It will make for a better cohesive team with common goals (and ideally less departmentalism).
- kamaal 9y ago
  Its a misnomer to think that anything can be managed at a abstract level. Managing things requires understanding and working on them at a very intricate level. MBA thing is based on the exact opposite. If you don't do this- Us Vs Them kinda environment emerges rather too quickly.

jrs95 9y ago

I was just joking, although some people seem to be more serious. To me, it's just kind of a funny meme.

choward 9y ago

Not to trying to bash your skills but I think that can be part of the problem. It's good that you know how to program and that helps understand technical problems better. But don't think just because you know the problem it means you know the solution. It doesn't mean the solution is trivial and that it should be fixed in a day.

ntsplnkv2 9y ago
Very true. Some of my worst managers think they know everything, they think they know how quickly something can be done, when they simply don't. Many times they are downright disrespectful because they think they know it all.

mugsie 9y ago

From my perspective: Some companies hire these MBAs straight out of college, and put them into fast track programs. This is not a bad thing in itself, but it means you can end up with a (S)VP or C level who has never actually worked in the area the company is in. This leads into "great" ideas being generated (e.g. every new hire has to be signed off by the VP of the division, all purchasing needs 2 levels of sign off etc), that may sound great, but to people actually living with the ideas, it causes massive issues. Without fail, everytime I have seen a policy like these that makes me groan out loud, when we find out who came up with it, they have an MBA.

megaman22 9y ago

Because too many people have gotten burned by bad ones. Stereotypes don't just spring into existence from nothingness.