My company has a tuition reimbursement program that pays for a good chunk of schooling if I ever chose to go back. I have always wanted to get an MBA because it seems to be the best degree to open up high-paying positions that might not be obtained otherwise. However, after speaking to quite a few people, I am having second thoughts on if an MBA is even worth it. My career goal is to get a "Product/Proj. Manager" or a "Marketing Manager" position at a high-tech company (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc.), and people have said that the MBA is not nearly as valuable anymore.
Here are the 3 things I am most interested in doing:
-Masters in Information Systems/Management, 1.5-2 years (Seattle Pacific University, pay about $10-15k out of pocket)
-MBA from Univ. of Washington, 2 years (top 25 ranked MBA, pay about $15-20k out of pocket)
-PMP Certification from UW (Project Management Professional, wouldn't pay anything)
I'm already $50k in debt from undergraduate school and trying to decide what option would be best for me to further my career. Keep in mind that I still plan to work FT while pursuing any one of these so an MBA would obviously be the most time consuming.
If there are any MMM'rs who got any of these degrees/certs, please share some insight and your thoughts, thank you!
SAP5243, why not both? :) I'm a young guy that recently transitioned into the government contracting industry. I work at an IT government contractor in the DC area and have a very strong professional network. These guys value experience over everything; no one cares where you went to school or what degrees you have. If you have the experience and get the job done on-time -- that's all that matters. One of my contacts is a VP at one of the largest contractors. He only has a B.S. and has Harvard MBA guys working for him. One of our employees was a former CEO (with only a B.S.) and had PhD's working for him. Another one of our technical employees only has a high school education, but is one of our brightest (He was teaching someone something one day. This "someone" went to MIT for undergrad, and Columbia for his MBA.)
I mentioned to two of my MBA colleagues that I wanted to get my MBA and they both responded on different occasions, "Why do yo need to? Learn on the job, you'll get more that way." One of them put it nicely, "Don't look as formal education as a guaranteed path to more money/better position. View it as a personal challenge." Now, if you're wishing to be an executive/C-suite at a top company, your higher education credentials might matter, but otherwise experience and networking is king.
If you don't care for the prestige of a top MBA program, I'd suggest to check out
unow.com. It's accredited, self-paced, and affordable (~5k). You don't get the perks of a traditional b-school, but it's something to be considered. After speaking with our recruiters, an MBA is an MBA (but you'll obviously stick out having attended a top program). I'm in the same boat as you and trying to "hack" my education/career. I'm planning on taking certifications/graduate certificates along with the unow.com MBA, as I definitely don't want any more educational debt (FI is the #1 goal, right? :)). I'm doing the MBA as a personal goal, I've just always wanted to have one regardless where it's from :P.
Feel free to PM if you have any questions! And from my understanding, the PMP is a great route and seems like the hot thing right now. Good luck!