The case against an MBA
In my last post I took you through the case for getting an MBA, a Masters of Business Administration. Now I want to explain the other side – why you don’t necessarily need an MBA to succeed in your military transition
“MBA programs …. have become so expensive that students “must effectively mortgage their lives” and take on “a crippling burden of debt” to get what is “mostly a worthless piece of paper.” Kaufman believes that MBA programs “teach many worthless, outdated, even outright damaging concepts and practices.” And if that’s not bad enough, he insists that an MBA won’t guarantee anyone a high-paying job, let alone turn a person into a skilled manager or leader.”
Josh Kaufman being interviewed in a Money article called “Why Business School Is a Waste of Time and Money.”
Ouch! If this is not a critique of the MBA, I’m not sure what is.
Josh Kaufman is the author of Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business . He was a former manager at Procter & Gamble who joined the company right from university. Most of his fellow brand managers were MBA grads. To overcome his feelings of intimidation and prepare for the job he began an intense journey of self-education. His website Personal MBA is a result of this journey.
Maybe Josh and other MBA critics like him are onto something. Let’s look and see how this wisdom applies to a military veteran.
Here are 5 reasons why you don’t need an MBA as part of your military transition.
1) It’s about learning and application instead of credentials. Ultimately, your goal is to learn about business and apply it to your first job after the military. It’s not about credentials and titles. They can serve a purpose but are not necessary. In my post – Learn the Language of Business – I wrote about the importance of learning business as a new language to be able to communicate and understand your customer’s language. You can gain this knowledge by teaching yourself.
2) Time – 2 years is a long time without getting paid. An MBA is a serious investment in time. Most US programs take 2 years to complete. (A number of European MBAs a shorter – a year to 18 months). That’s a long time to go without working and not getting paid. A number of my friends passed up on the MBA for this specific reason. The rationale – you can study on your own and learn about business after you land your first job.
”Unless you want to be a consultant or an [Investment] banker (where a top MBA is nothing but a screen for admission), it’s hard for me to understand why this is a better use of time and money than actual experience combined with a dedicated reading of 30 or 40 books.”
Seth Godin
3) Cost – a hefty price tag! Let’s be honest. An MBA is quite expensive. The actual cost varies per school but it can be up to 4 times an average salary. For some, graduating from the right school is worth the cost. For others, beginning your business career saddled with debt can be a huge burden taking many years to pay off.
4) No guarantee for success after your MBA. The goal after an MBA is to land your first job. But there is no guarantee for success after you achieve your MBA. This article from the Wall Street Journal from December – For New Grads, Jobs Still Tough to Find – highlights some of the challenges new MBA grads have. And if you do get your first job, there is no guarantee of career success because of your MBA. Check out the research below in the additional resources section suggesting that MBAs are not very effective.
”No matter what they tell you, an MBA is not essential for landing or handling a good business job… Pursue your own Personal MBA in tandem with actual experience doing some kind of business. If you combine study with actually trying stuff, you’ll be far ahead in the business game.”
5) Take an executive program later in your career. The final reason for not getting an MBA is one of timing. An option that may be available to some of you is to take an executive program later in your career. Many business schools offer tailored business programs for more senior managers and executives. For many up and coming managers this is an ideal option. They can get great education at a world-class business program but with less time commitment and paid for by their company.
“When it comes to success in business, an MBA degree is optional. But a GSD, which is only earned by Getting Stuff Done, is required.”
Christine Comaford
Resource for Additional Information
Here are some resources for additional information to consider if an MBA is worth the effort:
- Personal MBA (www.personalmba.com). I mentioned this above. The website and the recent book by Josh Kaufman are great resources. I have an MBA but I believe that’s Josh’s book is one of the best introductions and overview of business that you can find. Whatever your choice I recommend adding this book to your reading collection while you are still in the military researching your transition.
- The End of Business Schools?, Less Success Than Meets the Eye by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Christina T. Fong. This is an article by the Academy of Management Learning & Education. It’s the first one that I’ve found that provides data to challenge the notion that MBAs have a positive outcome on career outcomes.
- Forbes’ Business School Calculator . Do you want to find out if an MBA is worth the investment? Here is a good place to start. Forbes has created a calculator that allows you to input your desired school and salary information to determine ROI of an MBA and how long it will take you to pay off your loan.
- Malcolm Gladwell article – The Order of Things, What College Rankings Really Tell Us. Here is an abstract from an article by Malcolm Gladwell which questions the whole process of College Rankings.
That wraps up my 2 part MBA series – for and against. An MBA is an important decision with important consequences for your transition and career. Consider both sides of the argument and make your decision wisely.
Begin Your Heroic Journey!
Tom
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