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going to get an MBA without having your job pay for it or any legit plan is itself a red flag to me in terms of the quality of a candidate. Why would you hire s

going to get an MBA without having your job pay for it or any legit plan is itself a red flag to me in terms of the quality of a candidate. Why would you hire somebody who spent 100-200k(and even more money in salary opportunity cost) for a credential?

bugglebeetle 3y ago
Judging by all the Harvard grads that get scooped up without issue and their horrendous problem with grade inflation, the answer to your question seems to be, yes.
- next_xibalba 3y ago
  > their horrendous problem with grade inflation Don’t forget the academic fraud and plagiarism!
- anjel 3y ago
  A friend has an MBA from Harvard. Upon graduating they did their requisite stint at McKinsey for 18 mos, then went to work for a Fortune 100 corp, explicitly hired to be developed as eventual mid to upper management. After 15 years, upper management shifted and their future prospects instantly dimmed. So they picked up the phone, called the Harvard Alumni office, which in a matter of days set up interviews for them at other fortune 500 companies. They had another job offer in an entirely different field in about 2 weeks from the initial phone call. This is a recent anecdote, about 5-6 years ago when all the aforementioned problems were already evident. "Harvard is a hedge fund masquerading as an institute of higher learning" - Scott Galloway (and hedge fund is a euphemism for Racketeering)
scottyah 3y ago
It's a socially acceptable break from your work that doesn't guarantee losing money. If you find yourself getting specialized in an industry you are falling out of love with, your company doesn't offer sabbaticals, and you don't exactly know what you want to do next it's a great option. That may be a Band-Aid covering a red flag, and this may be a special circumstance, but the people I know considering continued education are feeling this.
- abadpoli 3y ago
  This is the primary reason most of the MBAs I know did it as well. There are very few socially acceptable ways to pivot your career, and an MBA is one of them. For example I know several people that wanted to pivot into something more software focused. There are boot camps, but they’re looked down on. Most colleges will not allow you to enroll for a bachelor’s in CS if you already have a bachelors in something else (and also is looked down on), and likewise a master’s in CS is very unlikely. So instead they went for an MBA that has a specialization in data analytics, which for many has been a good foot in the door to more tech-focused roles.
  - tacticalturtle 3y ago
    > Most colleges will not allow you to enroll for a bachelor’s in CS if you already have a bachelors in something else (and also is looked down on), and likewise a master’s in CS is very unlikely. I’m skeptical of this claim. Programs like the Georgia Tech Online Masters in Computer Science were tailor made for this scenario - and I’ve known several who have followed it to great success. Edit: looking into it - blocking second baccalaureates seems to be mostly a problem with California schools. Plenty of other state schools have no such restriction: https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/preparing-transfer-students/second-baccalaureate.html https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/prep...
    - abadpoli 3y ago
      Georgia Tech’s online computer science major lists a preferred qualification of already holding a bachelors in CS, math, computer engineering, or electrical engineering, so I don’t think it’s “tailor made” for people that are looking for a mid-career pivot from non-tech to tech.
      - tacticalturtle 3y ago
        I suppose non-STEM is a different case - the people I knew were Chemistry and Mechanical engineering backgrounds. I’d probably tell someone to grab some CS classes at a community college and apply anyway.

bugglebeetle 3y ago

Judging by all the Harvard grads that get scooped up without issue and their horrendous problem with grade inflation, the answer to your question seems to be, yes.

next_xibalba 3y ago
> their horrendous problem with grade inflation Don’t forget the academic fraud and plagiarism!
anjel 3y ago
A friend has an MBA from Harvard. Upon graduating they did their requisite stint at McKinsey for 18 mos, then went to work for a Fortune 100 corp, explicitly hired to be developed as eventual mid to upper management. After 15 years, upper management shifted and their future prospects instantly dimmed. So they picked up the phone, called the Harvard Alumni office, which in a matter of days set up interviews for them at other fortune 500 companies. They had another job offer in an entirely different field in about 2 weeks from the initial phone call. This is a recent anecdote, about 5-6 years ago when all the aforementioned problems were already evident. "Harvard is a hedge fund masquerading as an institute of higher learning" - Scott Galloway (and hedge fund is a euphemism for Racketeering)

scottyah 3y ago

It's a socially acceptable break from your work that doesn't guarantee losing money. If you find yourself getting specialized in an industry you are falling out of love with, your company doesn't offer sabbaticals, and you don't exactly know what you want to do next it's a great option. That may be a Band-Aid covering a red flag, and this may be a special circumstance, but the people I know considering continued education are feeling this.

abadpoli 3y ago
This is the primary reason most of the MBAs I know did it as well. There are very few socially acceptable ways to pivot your career, and an MBA is one of them. For example I know several people that wanted to pivot into something more software focused. There are boot camps, but they’re looked down on. Most colleges will not allow you to enroll for a bachelor’s in CS if you already have a bachelors in something else (and also is looked down on), and likewise a master’s in CS is very unlikely. So instead they went for an MBA that has a specialization in data analytics, which for many has been a good foot in the door to more tech-focused roles.
- tacticalturtle 3y ago
  > Most colleges will not allow you to enroll for a bachelor’s in CS if you already have a bachelors in something else (and also is looked down on), and likewise a master’s in CS is very unlikely. I’m skeptical of this claim. Programs like the Georgia Tech Online Masters in Computer Science were tailor made for this scenario - and I’ve known several who have followed it to great success. Edit: looking into it - blocking second baccalaureates seems to be mostly a problem with California schools. Plenty of other state schools have no such restriction: https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/preparing-transfer-students/second-baccalaureate.html https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/prep...
  - abadpoli 3y ago
    Georgia Tech’s online computer science major lists a preferred qualification of already holding a bachelors in CS, math, computer engineering, or electrical engineering, so I don’t think it’s “tailor made” for people that are looking for a mid-career pivot from non-tech to tech.
    - tacticalturtle 3y ago
      I suppose non-STEM is a different case - the people I knew were Chemistry and Mechanical engineering backgrounds. I’d probably tell someone to grab some CS classes at a community college and apply anyway.