Every time the topic of an MBA comes up here, I am confused at the vitriol it inspires. There seems to be a significant portion of the HN audience that is conv

Every time the topic of an MBA comes up here, I am confused at the vitriol it inspires. There seems to be a significant portion of the HN audience that is convinced that all MBA's (100%) are empty suits who add nothing but fancy powerpoints and bureaucratic layers. This has always confused me. After, all I have an MBA and I'm not like that (I think). Furthermore the majority of MBA's I know are not like this either, although some certainly are. And what of the people that were engineers before the got their MBA? Twenty nine percent of my MBA program (UCLA) was made up of people who got their degrees in Engineering, Math or CS. Did this entire cohort lose their brains during the procress? Why the disconnect? I have a new theory: selection bias. Very few people I work with know that I have an MBA, because it doesn't come up or really matter. I don't have "socalnate1, MBA" as my e-mail signature or on my business cards. I rarely if ever mention my degree in conversation, even if I am using a tool I learned at B-school. My linkedin profile only mentiones it under education. My diploma hangs in my home, not at work. However, there are a number of people who REALLY want you to know that they have an MBA (weirdly, these people tend to come from 3rd tier schools). It's on their signature, they lead with it as a qualification or reason they should be listened to. I have no doubt that this group of people fit's the caraciature that is painted here. So anyway, that's my theory. People who "make sure you know they have an MBA" are over represented in the collective Hacker News hivemind, and those competent folks who you didn't even know had an MBA are not.