xttran23
06-10-2007, 07:18 AM
B-school Confidential: MBAs May Be Obsolete
by Penelope Trunk
<http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/archive/careerist/penelope-trunk/1>
The Master of Business Administration degree has been a holy grail for
decades. If you wanted a career that mattered and didn't have the aptitude
for medical school, an MBA was a good ticket to prestige and riches.
But things aren't so clear anymore. If the MBA used to be the entrance fee
to climb the corporate ladder, there are few corporate ladders to climb
anymore -- and people are increasingly experimenting with ways to speed up
that climb anyway. One way is to skip the MBA altogether.
So if you're thinking of getting an MBA, you should probably think twice.
Here are five signs that the MBA is becoming devalued:
1. Only the top business schools have high value.
The difference between the value of a top-tier MBA
<http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/mba/brief/mbarank_brief.php>
and all the others is very big. In fact, if you don't get into a top-tier
program, the value of your MBA is so compromised that it's not worth it to
stop working
<http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2005/08/01/is-grad-school-right-for-you/>
in order to get the degree. Go to night school instead.
A lot of people already know this, which has made the competition to get
into a top-tier b-school fierce. So much so that you probably need a
consultant
<http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/may2007/bs20070524_906621.htm>
to help you get in. Wondering how effective those consultants are at
gaming the system? So effective that schools are publicly saying they're
trying to change the application process in order to undermine the
effectiveness of application coaches.
2. Business schools are compromised by a lack of female applicants.
Harvard Business School is so concerned that it's not receiving enough
female applicants that it's changed the admission process to accommodate
the biological clock
<http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/09/26/business-schools-shift-to-accommodate-the-biological-clock/>
. This means that students will have less work experience coming into the
program.
In the past, business schools have said that prior work experience is
important to the MBA education. But apparently, the lack of women is so
detrimental to the education that Harvard is willing to take less work
experience.
While the changes are beneficial for women in some respects, one has to
wonder if this doesn't compromise the value of an MBA for everyone.
3. Business school is like buying a high-priced recruiter.
The best thing you get out of business school is a good job afterward. But
how do you know you wouldn't be able to get that job without business
school?
In an article in The Atlantic
<http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200606/stewart-business> , management
consultant Matthew Stewart says you probably could. He also says you
should consider paying a recruiter to get you a good job, and spend your
time taking philosophy classes instead. That's because philosophers, as
Stewart writes, "are much better at knowing what they don't know. ... In a
sense, management theory is what happens to philosophers when you pay them
too much."
And if you are thinking of becoming a CEO, Sallie Krawcheck, herself the
CEO of Citigroup's Global Wealth Management, says you should be an
investment banking analyst first. That's because being a CEO is really
about making decisions with limited information, and that's what analysts
do best.
4. Hotshots don't go to business school anymore.
For a while now, it's been clear that the true entrepreneurial geniuses
don't need degrees. The most effective way to learn about entrepreneurship
is to practice in real life. You don't need an MBA for that.
Now that trend is filtering into the finance industry. Pausing one's
career to get an MBA used to be non-negotiable for investment bankers. But
today, the top candidates in finance are choosing to forgo business school
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/business/16mba.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin>
. They're already making tons of money, and they're well-positioned to
keep making tons of money, so the MBA seems unnecessary.
The upshot of this is that business school might start looking like
something for people who are feeling a little bit stuck in their careers
and need a jumpstart, rather than just a starting gate for superstars.
5. People go to business school for the wrong reasons.
An MBA is very expensive in terms of time and money, and it solves few
problems. If you're not a star performer before b-school, you probably
won't be one after you graduate And if you just want to make a lot of
money, the odds of you of doing that are only as good as the odds of you
getting into a top school -- currently about 1 in 10.
If you're still wondering if an MBA is necessary for you, here are five
more situations
<http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/05/15/five-situations-when-you-shouldnt-go-to-graduate-school/>
that might put the nail in the coffin of the MBA.
The bottom line is that very few careers today really require an MBA. If
you're getting one for a career that doesn't require it, you might look
more like a procrastinator than a go-getter.
------------------------
Who can give me statistical and other information that refutes the
five assertions/arguments she is making about MBAs by Monday. I will give you a great HUG..& .:happy0180:
by Penelope Trunk
<http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/archive/careerist/penelope-trunk/1>
The Master of Business Administration degree has been a holy grail for
decades. If you wanted a career that mattered and didn't have the aptitude
for medical school, an MBA was a good ticket to prestige and riches.
But things aren't so clear anymore. If the MBA used to be the entrance fee
to climb the corporate ladder, there are few corporate ladders to climb
anymore -- and people are increasingly experimenting with ways to speed up
that climb anyway. One way is to skip the MBA altogether.
So if you're thinking of getting an MBA, you should probably think twice.
Here are five signs that the MBA is becoming devalued:
1. Only the top business schools have high value.
The difference between the value of a top-tier MBA
<http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/mba/brief/mbarank_brief.php>
and all the others is very big. In fact, if you don't get into a top-tier
program, the value of your MBA is so compromised that it's not worth it to
stop working
<http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2005/08/01/is-grad-school-right-for-you/>
in order to get the degree. Go to night school instead.
A lot of people already know this, which has made the competition to get
into a top-tier b-school fierce. So much so that you probably need a
consultant
<http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/may2007/bs20070524_906621.htm>
to help you get in. Wondering how effective those consultants are at
gaming the system? So effective that schools are publicly saying they're
trying to change the application process in order to undermine the
effectiveness of application coaches.
2. Business schools are compromised by a lack of female applicants.
Harvard Business School is so concerned that it's not receiving enough
female applicants that it's changed the admission process to accommodate
the biological clock
<http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/09/26/business-schools-shift-to-accommodate-the-biological-clock/>
. This means that students will have less work experience coming into the
program.
In the past, business schools have said that prior work experience is
important to the MBA education. But apparently, the lack of women is so
detrimental to the education that Harvard is willing to take less work
experience.
While the changes are beneficial for women in some respects, one has to
wonder if this doesn't compromise the value of an MBA for everyone.
3. Business school is like buying a high-priced recruiter.
The best thing you get out of business school is a good job afterward. But
how do you know you wouldn't be able to get that job without business
school?
In an article in The Atlantic
<http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200606/stewart-business> , management
consultant Matthew Stewart says you probably could. He also says you
should consider paying a recruiter to get you a good job, and spend your
time taking philosophy classes instead. That's because philosophers, as
Stewart writes, "are much better at knowing what they don't know. ... In a
sense, management theory is what happens to philosophers when you pay them
too much."
And if you are thinking of becoming a CEO, Sallie Krawcheck, herself the
CEO of Citigroup's Global Wealth Management, says you should be an
investment banking analyst first. That's because being a CEO is really
about making decisions with limited information, and that's what analysts
do best.
4. Hotshots don't go to business school anymore.
For a while now, it's been clear that the true entrepreneurial geniuses
don't need degrees. The most effective way to learn about entrepreneurship
is to practice in real life. You don't need an MBA for that.
Now that trend is filtering into the finance industry. Pausing one's
career to get an MBA used to be non-negotiable for investment bankers. But
today, the top candidates in finance are choosing to forgo business school
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/business/16mba.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin>
. They're already making tons of money, and they're well-positioned to
keep making tons of money, so the MBA seems unnecessary.
The upshot of this is that business school might start looking like
something for people who are feeling a little bit stuck in their careers
and need a jumpstart, rather than just a starting gate for superstars.
5. People go to business school for the wrong reasons.
An MBA is very expensive in terms of time and money, and it solves few
problems. If you're not a star performer before b-school, you probably
won't be one after you graduate And if you just want to make a lot of
money, the odds of you of doing that are only as good as the odds of you
getting into a top school -- currently about 1 in 10.
If you're still wondering if an MBA is necessary for you, here are five
more situations
<http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/05/15/five-situations-when-you-shouldnt-go-to-graduate-school/>
that might put the nail in the coffin of the MBA.
The bottom line is that very few careers today really require an MBA. If
you're getting one for a career that doesn't require it, you might look
more like a procrastinator than a go-getter.
------------------------
Who can give me statistical and other information that refutes the
five assertions/arguments she is making about MBAs by Monday. I will give you a great HUG..& .:happy0180: