4 ms·

funny, I had the exact same conversation with some nyc guy on a flight to SF a few months ago. He was convinced I should go to back to school get get MBA, so I

by spydum 12y ago

funny, I had the exact same conversation with some nyc guy on a flight to SF a few months ago. He was convinced I should go to back to school get get MBA, so I could know the vocabulary to speak intelligently with management. I mentioned how ridiculous it is to spend so much money to learn a handful of concepts and words. The social network expansion is certainly compelling, but I'm just not sure the value is there for experienced folk: they typically already have a social network.

GFischer 12y ago
I did a specialized MBA, and for the experienced business owners, it did add value in the form of a "free" consultancy - they could use their own companies as case studies, run things past the professors and classmates (which were sometimes much more useful than the professors), have access to a wide pool of different skills. And classes helped by forcing students to apply standard methodologies or tools to their existing businesses, you can always uncover some angle :) . It's not "just vocabulary", and yes, some of the classes can be fluffy/"soft", but I think that even the most jaded businessman can derive some value - in the case of the jaded businessman, maybe a fresh or naïve look at their business ! Or a honest assesment from outside you might not get from employees or consultants. I think that you could argue the opposite: if an MBA is made up entirely of fresh graduates looking to enter consultancy, you're losing out. I think a good MBA student mix would be made up by diverse backgrounds, and I was lucky to have that.
- burger_moon 12y ago
  In a way with how expansive the internet is you can get the same results by sourcing that yourself. For example, regarding your first 2 paragraphs, you get those kind of results by posting 'Show HN: ' threads to get assessment and constructive criticism on your product or business. Additionally you are getting a varied response from people all over the world and at all different experience levels and perspectives. However where online environments are still lacking but getting better is networking. Although places like this are a little better than trying to go on reddit for networking and business advice for example. More transparency behind who is behind the words will usually net better results in that regard.
caminante 12y ago
There are program tiers for all types (cost, years of experience, already-netoworked folks, lifestyle, specialization, etc.) With the abundance of variety, generalizations about opportunity cost don't hold up as well. My understanding's that you don't just "learn a handful of concepts and words," though some go to b-school for the stamp.

by spydum 12y ago

GFischer 12y ago

I did a specialized MBA, and for the experienced business owners, it did add value in the form of a "free" consultancy - they could use their own companies as case studies, run things past the professors and classmates (which were sometimes much more useful than the professors), have access to a wide pool of different skills. And classes helped by forcing students to apply standard methodologies or tools to their existing businesses, you can always uncover some angle :) . It's not "just vocabulary", and yes, some of the classes can be fluffy/"soft", but I think that even the most jaded businessman can derive some value - in the case of the jaded businessman, maybe a fresh or naïve look at their business ! Or a honest assesment from outside you might not get from employees or consultants. I think that you could argue the opposite: if an MBA is made up entirely of fresh graduates looking to enter consultancy, you're losing out. I think a good MBA student mix would be made up by diverse backgrounds, and I was lucky to have that.

burger_moon 12y ago
In a way with how expansive the internet is you can get the same results by sourcing that yourself. For example, regarding your first 2 paragraphs, you get those kind of results by posting 'Show HN: ' threads to get assessment and constructive criticism on your product or business. Additionally you are getting a varied response from people all over the world and at all different experience levels and perspectives. However where online environments are still lacking but getting better is networking. Although places like this are a little better than trying to go on reddit for networking and business advice for example. More transparency behind who is behind the words will usually net better results in that regard.

caminante 12y ago

There are program tiers for all types (cost, years of experience, already-netoworked folks, lifestyle, specialization, etc.) With the abundance of variety, generalizations about opportunity cost don't hold up as well. My understanding's that you don't just "learn a handful of concepts and words," though some go to b-school for the stamp.