Re: [newtech-1] MBA - is it worth the effort for entrepreneurship?
| From: | Ben R. |
| Sent on: | Saturday, September 6, 2008, 10:39 AM |
For me the process was a little different, I think. I didn't start the MBA with any clear goals and I didn't know how exactly how the degree would help.
When I graduated college the business environment was a bit rough and I had a hard time finding a job, so I took one that I didn't really want to do. After two months I was miserable there so I quit and started an IT consulting firm with a friend who I had known for years. Over the year and a half that followed we transitioned into product development, but we weren't experiencing the kind of success that we were hoping for. Frankly it was because we lacked the business experience to effectively push the company forwards.
It was at that point that I got a job with a dot-com that was just coming out of the startup phase and maturing a bit. Unfortunately for me, the company didn't want to pay for my MBA, and I really had no interest in paying $1400/credit at Stern. At 24 years old I was really afraid of taking on that amount of debt. So instead I'm doing my MBA at Baruch College for $400/credit and getting a first rate education anyway.
Would it have been worth an extra ~$60,000 to go to Stern and build a network of contacts there? Maybe. Is that a requirement for success? No.
As to knowing exactly what I want to do -- it wasn't until a couple of months ago that I realized that I'm happiest working in a startup, but the MBA has been a great experience anyway. I disagree with the idea that you must know why you're in school in order to benefit from it. The MBA is, in some ways, like getting a liberal arts degree. You're taught how to think about complex problems.
Ben
On Fri, Sep 5, 2008 at 9:01 PM, soulsonic <[address removed]> wrote:
thanks to everyone for this great insight.
in case you are wondering, i am 34, have been in web/software development for over 10 years, and entertaining ideas about what to do next. i don't mind investing years into self development, but i don't want to waste time either, so feedback from you guys is invaluable. from what i've gathered, it seems like MBA is best suited for individuals that have clear goals, and know exactly how the degree will help them. vs adding one more thing to ones resume, and getting a more rounded general business education that may or may not be of help in the future ( which is more of where i am coming from )....
and yeah, this whole Gates quitting college is as often misused and beaten to death as Edison making 1,000,000 mistakes before inventing the ligh bulb :)This message was sent by soulsonic ([address removed]) from NY Tech Meetup.
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