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The author does acknowledge this in thier linked post, but I think it's worth pointing out. They are in the UK, where MBAs are not as credentialized. DIY MBAs a

The author does acknowledge this in thier linked post, but I think it's worth pointing out. They are in the UK, where MBAs are not as credentialized. DIY MBAs are low value. You can get a BS in Business Administration, or even a minor in it, and have more knowledge and experience than from reading these books. Guess what? Even with those credentials, they will not help you. "I have an MBA from [prestigious school]" are the magic words. The hiring managers don't care about lesser credentials or actual knowledge.

aik 3y ago
It’s very likely this person doesn’t care about the credentials but rather just wants to gain the knowledge to do something themselves. I more or less did this for years by reading a ton of books + many years of HN / articles / interviews / videos + startup weekend events + tried starting things + coding hobby for years + enterprise consulting work, and now I’m fairly well equipped to co-lead the company that I do. The first 5+ years of doing this I debated attempting to go to a prestigious school for an MBA, primary reason (95%) was for the networking opportunity (meeting great likeminded or driven people), (0% because I would’ve been able to tell people I had an MBA from somewhere for job purposes, the snobbery from that would have been a detriment often instead I believe), and 5% for the education which I think has value but when it’s free and I had the motivation there was no reason to pay $100ks for that. At this point this company is doing fairly well so although I would love to meet more driven and likeminded people, I’m not sure it the best path to do so anymore for me.
satellite2 3y ago
A classic case of Goodhart's law. If your metric is convincing a (rather bad) hiring manager, why even bother? And once you've convinced them, what do you do?
dylan604 3y ago
> DIY MBAs are low value. MBAs are low value...depending on perspective. Around these parts, they are deemed very value, or at least in low regard. Look at Boeing as exhibit A. If you're an engineering company that allows MBAs to make the decisions, you won't be a good engineering company for long. At that point, you become the dead carcass that the MBAs point to as to what their purpose is.

aik 3y ago

It’s very likely this person doesn’t care about the credentials but rather just wants to gain the knowledge to do something themselves. I more or less did this for years by reading a ton of books + many years of HN / articles / interviews / videos + startup weekend events + tried starting things + coding hobby for years + enterprise consulting work, and now I’m fairly well equipped to co-lead the company that I do. The first 5+ years of doing this I debated attempting to go to a prestigious school for an MBA, primary reason (95%) was for the networking opportunity (meeting great likeminded or driven people), (0% because I would’ve been able to tell people I had an MBA from somewhere for job purposes, the snobbery from that would have been a detriment often instead I believe), and 5% for the education which I think has value but when it’s free and I had the motivation there was no reason to pay $100ks for that. At this point this company is doing fairly well so although I would love to meet more driven and likeminded people, I’m not sure it the best path to do so anymore for me.

satellite2 3y ago

A classic case of Goodhart's law. If your metric is convincing a (rather bad) hiring manager, why even bother? And once you've convinced them, what do you do?

dylan604 3y ago

> DIY MBAs are low value. MBAs are low value...depending on perspective. Around these parts, they are deemed very value, or at least in low regard. Look at Boeing as exhibit A. If you're an engineering company that allows MBAs to make the decisions, you won't be a good engineering company for long. At that point, you become the dead carcass that the MBAs point to as to what their purpose is.