MBA Career Paths

[galileo]

I was reading USA today and found an article on MBAs and their average starting salaries out of college, which got me a little excited. In about a half year I will have my MBA and (apparently) the sky is the limit.

[I found the article online : http://biz.yahoo.com/usat/060118/13344817.html?.v=1]

My ungrad focuses were Math and Computer Science and I have about 5 years of experience in the IT field, doing a lot of strategic work. Beyond IT management, I was wondering what other career paths are available for me. I know IT managers (for the most part) aren't pulling in 106,000 a year on average. According to the Computer World Salary Survey for last year, I believe it was close, but I know most IT managers at that level have been in the business for a significant amount of time.

Just curious about everyone's thoughts on it. I'd like to increase my income by about 25% over the next year and a half and if changing the direction of my career is how I do it, I'm fine. I know some of you have MBAs and I'd like to see the level of success you've had with it.

Thanks in advance.

[BilltheButcher]

I have worked in the IT field and now own an IT company. I have worked with countless MBA receipents and I won't hire one in my company. First, they demand more money then the average college graduate and second, their skills aren't that much better if at all then the average college graduate. In the IT field I am more worried about what you know and how fast you can get it done and the quality of that work. Experience is much more important.

Unfortunately, most HR people are grade A idiots and they love to see MBA on the resume. IMO, it doesn't mean you can sell or do crap, it doesn't mean you can work well with people, it doesn't mean you can communicate a clients wishes to your team, it doesn't mean you have a good work ethic. All it says is you are book smart enough to get a piece of paper.

Now this doesn't mean that an MBA is worthless, it will definetly open more doors and get you more money. Once you get in, get tons of certifications and get tons of experience. Sounds like you have a good plan, good luck with stuff.

[galileo]

Surprise, I can do all of those things. I care about potential career paths, not your qualms with the average MBA candidate.

[BilltheButcher]

Surprise, I can do all of those things. I care about potential career paths, not your qualms with the average MBA candidate.

Sorry, was basically ranting on the $$$ I pissed away getting a graduate degree (not an MBA) and my feeling that education only gets you in the interview. You are definetly in the an awesome position educational wise and with 5 yrs experience you should be able to get a excellent paying job. Good luck, lots of doors will be opened to you.

[f=ma]

I'm on the same road, xian.. hoping the MBA will give me a bulldozer full of money and job opportunities

[biggimp]

im planning on starting my mba after get finish my undergrad in mechanical engineering. i have done a little reading on it and yes it is a nice thing to have.

[f=ma]

ME is such a difficult degree.. what uni are you at biggimp? (ps wheres those workouts in the journal??)

[biggimp]

university of nebraska at omaha for first 2, 2.5 years, then lincoln or iowa state to finish it. then back to omaha for the mba... yes ME is very hard! i have been too busy with school or work i am lucky to work out 2x a week, i know its terrible. but i just got a new job so the journal may come back to life.

[greathuskie]

first advice i can give is if youre gonna get a masters, get it in economics not business. everyone and their grandma has an MBA, ever see the commercial where the new guy gets hired, and they say something like "oh you have an MBA? good, go get me a cup of coffee"

hehe. im double majoring, exercise science/economics, so im kinda biased too, but everything ive seen has shown that econ majors make significantly more then business majors

[Roark]

i'm several years out of college and considering an MBA

i'm currently pursuing some industry-specific certifications, but plan to research the MBA next year

my problem is my undergrad grades were lackluster at best

i'm hoping that an impressive work history and some maturity(i'll be 30 by that time) will get me in the door of an MBA program

anybody have any experience from that perspective?

[galileo]

first advice i can give is if youre gonna get a masters, get it in economics not business. everyone and their grandma has an MBA, ever see the commercial where the new guy gets hired, and they say something like "oh you have an MBA? good, go get me a cup of coffee"

hehe. im double majoring, exercise science/economics, so im kinda biased too, but everything ive seen has shown that econ majors make significantly more then business majors

As much as a masters in economics would be useful, I think it would decrease the opportunities for me if I were to stick in an IT career path when compared to an MBA.

Salary surveys seem to disagree with your point though, because MBAs are still making boatloads.

[MM]

I've done a lot of reading about career paths and education; I think the fact that you have work experience in a large corporation and a good record (i.e. you've been promoted within the company, etc) will go a long way to increasing your earning capabilities when coupled with an MBA. I have a lot of friends who are graduating now with either accounting degrees or a masters in accounting; generally the MAs will get job offers that are 2-3K higher, but I imagine the difference would be even larger if they had a number of years of on the job experience.

[Paul Stagg]

MBA+IT = Good opportunities.

A couple of things to keep in mind about those average salaries:
Lots of executives get their MBAs after they reach a pretty high level, and they count as recent grads
Lots of MBAs work for investment firms in NYC, and make rediculous amounts of money. They also work 100 hours a week, and pay $2000 a month for a studio apartment.
An MBA in WAPA wont make what an MBA working on Wall St makes.

An MBA is, however, the single most effective thing you can do if you are interested in progressing into managment, or if you want to have a good job with a big corporation. My MBA was worth about $20K a year right off the bat.. I don't know if I would have gotten the job I got after I graduated (actually a couple of years after I graduated)without it, but I think the MBA got me in the door (it was one of those things that wasn't required, but highly valued.) In my current role, my company gives heavy weight to the MBA. But you never know. Had I focused on my career during the years I was focused on school, maybe I'd be in the same place... I am, however, much better positioned to move up the corporate ladder. The education actually does have value - it isn't just a piece of paper... I'm FAR better at understanding how business works than I was when I got my BA, far better at communication regarding strategy, and have the credibility necessary to act as a change agent.

Ulimately, your individual skill set, experience, education, etc all factor into the compensation picture - you can't count on anything. I know MBAs that make $40K a year, and I know MBAs that make $250K a year.

My guess is that you'll do quite well. If you want to talk specifics (what I do, what I make) shoot me a PM.