4 ms·

You could do a lot of things with $185,000. You could live off of the $185,000 for at least a few years testing minimal viable products.

by jasonmw 14y ago

MattRogish 14y ago
The MBA is more of a credentialing and marketing expense than an experiential one. For example, some big accounting/finance firms only hire "top MBAs". No amount of garage-startup experience is going to get you in there; remember that not every educational/experiential endeavor can/should be viewed via the "Is this good for a startup?" lens. Don't underestimate the network effects of high-powered rich people who all went to the same school: many companies are unfortunately not meritocracies.
- jasonmw 14y ago
  I agree with you. I'm not sure if I could justify spending 180k to work for a company that views credentials with higher weight than experience. If I worked for such a company, I would always be worried about the new hire coming in with even higher credentials.
atdrummond 14y ago
I suppose it depends what you want to do with your life. Some people are happy to pursue an MBA for the signalling effect. At the very top tier of institutions, if you have a particular career track in mind, this is not a bad idea. It might not appeal to most HN readers but there's still a rational argument for the degree, even at this price.
ssharp 14y ago
I'm not sure how many people attending Stanford GSB are interested in creating minimal viable products. At a $185,000 price tag, you're buying yourself into a job in big three managerial consulting (McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group), or finance, which generally comes with a very nice starting salary, signing bonus, and a built-in career trajectory. Most consultants are either deep in consulting in 10 years and making very nice money (mid to high 6 figures, low 7) as a partner or manager or have moved on to vice president or higher level positions at client organizations you've consulted for. Totally different worlds.
Alaskan005 14y ago
And then what? He /she will always be a Stanford MBA and as much as some VCs hate them, blue chips companies hire them on the spot. The problem is with second and third tier MBA and Law degrees. (Maybe VCs hate them since they try to create regular companies and that increases the value before VCs invest in them.)
randomdata 14y ago
Assuming you also worked instead of doing the school, some quick back of the napkin math places it as a $25,000 income for the rest of your life for doing absolutely nothing. Though I suspect $25K isn't even small a blip on the income statements of these people.

You could do a lot of things with $185,000. You could live off of the $185,000 for at least a few years testing minimal viable products.

by jasonmw 14y ago

You could do a lot of things with $185,000. You could live off of the $185,000 for at least a few years testing minimal viable products.

MattRogish 14y ago

The MBA is more of a credentialing and marketing expense than an experiential one. For example, some big accounting/finance firms only hire "top MBAs". No amount of garage-startup experience is going to get you in there; remember that not every educational/experiential endeavor can/should be viewed via the "Is this good for a startup?" lens. Don't underestimate the network effects of high-powered rich people who all went to the same school: many companies are unfortunately not meritocracies.

jasonmw 14y ago
I agree with you. I'm not sure if I could justify spending 180k to work for a company that views credentials with higher weight than experience. If I worked for such a company, I would always be worried about the new hire coming in with even higher credentials.

atdrummond 14y ago

I suppose it depends what you want to do with your life. Some people are happy to pursue an MBA for the signalling effect. At the very top tier of institutions, if you have a particular career track in mind, this is not a bad idea. It might not appeal to most HN readers but there's still a rational argument for the degree, even at this price.

ssharp 14y ago

I'm not sure how many people attending Stanford GSB are interested in creating minimal viable products. At a $185,000 price tag, you're buying yourself into a job in big three managerial consulting (McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group), or finance, which generally comes with a very nice starting salary, signing bonus, and a built-in career trajectory. Most consultants are either deep in consulting in 10 years and making very nice money (mid to high 6 figures, low 7) as a partner or manager or have moved on to vice president or higher level positions at client organizations you've consulted for. Totally different worlds.

Alaskan005 14y ago

And then what? He /she will always be a Stanford MBA and as much as some VCs hate them, blue chips companies hire them on the spot. The problem is with second and third tier MBA and Law degrees. (Maybe VCs hate them since they try to create regular companies and that increases the value before VCs invest in them.)

randomdata 14y ago

Assuming you also worked instead of doing the school, some quick back of the napkin math places it as a $25,000 income for the rest of your life for doing absolutely nothing. Though I suspect $25K isn't even small a blip on the income statements of these people.