[merid]

I am a Publishing student and I am coming up to my last year where I get BAHons. However I am thinking now that an MBA would give me greater scope.

Can anyone say whether the MBA does help if you just want broader skills?

[raconteur213]

100%...get the MBA if you can. It is a diverse degree which will make you a versatile leader in the future.

[Thistle]

On graduation (MA (Hons) Geography & Psychology) I gained employment into a managerial position. While my degree had given me opportunity to hone some of the skills needed for this job, it did not develop them all or give me the broader business 'frameworks'. While successful in this position, and subsequent ones, I considered the additional leverage an MBA could give me would be worth the pain (and cost) of getting it. I feel it provide me with broader skills as well as skilling me with a robust approach to business.

From my experience, a few reflections:

1) An MBA is not for everyone;
2) (IMO) The real benefit of an MBA is realised when students have real 'experience' to draw upon, rather than approaching subjects from a purely academic stance;
3) Ensure the MBA programme you opt for is at least AMBA stamped;
4) Personal development is as important as academic enhancement;
5) Some people remain sceptical of the value an MBA has (Means Bugger All; Management By Analysis etc.), and rightly so: You+MBA does not = fantastic executive. Like everything, you will get out what you put in. However, the INTJ 'will it work?' and curious approach should result in fewer c**k-ups.

[raconteur213]

Originally Posted by Thistle To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

On graduation (MA (Hons) Geography & Psychology) I gained employment into a managerial position. While my degree had given me opportunity to hone some of the skills needed for this job, it did not develop them all or give me the broader business 'frameworks'. While successful in this position, and subsequent ones, I considered the additional leverage an MBA could give me would be worth the pain (and cost) of getting it. I feel it provide me with broader skills as well as skilling me with a robust approach to business. From my experience, a few reflections: 1) An MBA is not for everyone; 2) (IMO) The real benefit of an MBA is realised when students have real 'experience' to draw upon, rather than approaching subjects from a purely academic stance; 3) Ensure the MBA programme you opt for is at least AMBA stamped; 4) Personal development is as important as academic enhancement; 5) Some people remain sceptical of the value an MBA has (Means Bugger All; Management By Analysis etc.), and rightly so: You+MBA does not = fantastic executive. Like everything, you will get out what you put in. However, the INTJ 'will it work?' and curious approach should result in fewer c**k-ups.

I must agree that an MBA is heightened by work experience. Academia can only take you so far...

[merid]

I hear what you are saying. But if I take the Publishing route, my preference is to go into commissioning editing means that leadership ability is limited, would I not need a business orientation to get to the management position, which would be higher than a commissioning editor.

I have looked at the MBA offered by my university and I have to ask, is it all just common sense? I have done, Financial Accounts, Marketing and Public Relations modules. Modules that the university said would be providing new skills for business but I found it was all things that came naturally. Would the MBA be much of the same?

[raconteur213]

Originally Posted by merid To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I hear what you are saying. But if I take the Publishing route, my preference is to go into commissioning editing means that leadership ability is limited, would I not need a business orientation to get to the management position, which would be higher than a commissioning editor. I have looked at the MBA offered by my university and I have to ask, is it all just common sense? I have done, Financial Accounts, Marketing and Public Relations modules. Modules that the university said would be providing new skills for business but I found it was all things that came naturally. Would the MBA be much of the same?

Yes.

I began my MBA and after taking about 5 courses I quit. I found it to be nothing more than common sense practices. However, coporate America does use it as part of their salary equation.

[Thistle]

	Originally Posted by merid To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I have looked at the MBA offered by my university and I have to ask, is it all just common sense? I have done, Financial Accounts, Marketing and Public Relations modules. Modules that the university said would be providing new skills for business but I found it was all things that came naturally. Would the MBA be much of the same?

Business schools differentiate themselves within the MBA market and will provide different focus, modules, quality etc. I suggest you window shop different providers, before determining a school. An MBA is costly (time and money) - ensure you choose the right one for you.

While my u/g degree didn't touch on Fin Acc, PR etc most of those on my MBA class had their u/g degree in Business/Accounting/Finance/Marketing and they didn't mention duplication. For me (but not all of my counterparts), it was common sense - no big revelations, but affirmation of my intuition.

Lastly, I studied for my MBA part time. This really worked for me.

[Max T]

I imagine commissioning editing to be quite a specialist area with a set career path and the publishing degree qualification. So I'd question whether publisher recruiters would hold the MBA in the same esteem as would more business-mainstream areas such as finance, consulting, marketing, ops etc. Surely someone with industry-specific qualifications could be equally competitive for such management roles.

Assuming your young age (final yr undergrad) and mindful that my view may be distorted by UK MBA B-schools tending to value years of experience more than US schools, I would agree with Thistle in advising you gain some business experience prior to further study.
If a business career-minded persons flourishes from say 30 to 60yrs, their 20s should be a time to just look around and find areas of interest. Then use the MBA to go deeper into your chosen path.

Re. MBAs and common sense- I'd agree it is common sense but you should see how people screw up trying to put it into action! Cosy case studies cannot duplicate the fun of business.

Take the GMAT whilst you're still at uni and in 'academic-mode': you'll likely excel in the verbal side and ok on the numbers (so brush up). The reason being that academic tests can be tough after a few years in work, yet GMAT scores are very valuable for getting into a decent US b-school.

[merid]

From what I have learnt, the editing side is limited in promotion growth. With those involved in sales getting ahead, hence my idea to gain a qualification that would let me opt out of one path and into another.

Another thing, do people work towards an MBA to increase the amount of money that can be earned or for the learning?

[Tenacious B]

	Originally Posted by raconteur213 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Yes. I began my MBA and after taking about 5 courses I quit. I found it to be nothing more than common sense practices. However, coporate America does use it as part of their salary equation.

True, I took a project management class from the business school last semester to "test the waters" of getting an MBA later on. One thing I did like about it is that many of the common sense practices were clearly defined so that people who didn't have as much common sense could try to grasp them. This is helpful since it lends official sanction to what most of us do naturally.

Many schools in the US require at least 2 years of work experience before being admitted to the MBA program.

[acyckowski]

In general, corporations pay better money for entry-level positions requiring special technical knowledge (engineering, accounting, and I surmise publishing). The MBA, however, opens "diagonal" doors...in other words, because it is often viewed as both a leadership and a general business credential, it allows you to simultaneously move "up" in terms of progression and "over" in terms of job type. For instance, an engineer with an MBA could "jump" into a supervisory position in the manufacturing department...without the parchment, it would likely take the same engineer two moves to get there.

As some others stated above, the degree is basically just a piece of paper until you have job experience. If you want to move up in a typical medium to large corporation, you're pretty much expected to have both, and it won't matter what order you got them in.

I'd recommend going for the MBA. You may find after a few years on the job that you're sick of the boneheads in charge of you and want an opportunity to run things the right way.

[Freak]

I think MBA does probably improve one's skills by case studies, team exercises etc. Perhaps skills have more to do with Sensing function of the brain ... (haven't researched this much, as yet) and MBA would tend to improve your Sensory side to make you a well-rounded individual.

[meanlittlechimp]

Don't bother unless you go to a good program. A crap program doesn't get you anywhere. You'll learn more by working within a given industry. If you have no business experience, it can be a decent way to get a career switch, however. It's also depends on what career you want to end up being in.

If you're already working at a company climbing the corporate ladder, it's not worth it, unless you get into a top 10 program. And even then, it's mostly to get contacts and build your resume. The knowledge is mostly useful in accounting, finance and quant classes (if that's what you want to do). The marketing and entrepreneurship areas are mostly worthless. That being said the experience can be fun if you enjoy the case method (some schools combine case method with textbook like Columbia).

[augustus]

I have an MBA and I am happy I got it.

Its a flexible degree that can lead you in many directions.

My goal when I got it was to help me to run my own business. I wanted to understand all aspects of the business so I wouldn't have to depend on someone else.

On the other hand, your goal could be to get to a management position at a well known company and that would work too.

The main advantage of the MBA or any degree for that matter is to have a foundation to build upon. It is very hard to stop and work on the basics once you are fast forwarding through your career.

Its something to build upon not an end in itself.

[Monte314]

I teach in an MBA program. My students not only seem to greatly enjoy their studeies, but regularly talk about how they are learning things in their classes that they can actually use at work the next day.

Also, an MBA can be a good credential on a resume.