I think that while an MBA can be useful, one has to evaluate if they really NEED the degree. If not, there are other ways to get similar benefits.

Same thing with grad school. Everyone thinks it’s a must-have or must-do, but in many cases, it isn’t. In some, it is. You have to see what it means for your specific career!

I do not know what your background is, but at least for me, there were a few areas in which I was lacking – particuarly in finance – so the MBA program is helping me fill in the gaps. Will I still make mistakes when I open busineses? Of course, and I will learn a lot just like you mention, but I think I have also learned to mitigate much of the risk b/c of my educational background.

I am not too surprised that the MBAs you spoke with didn’t know much about social media. A lot of MBAs they tend to be older and were not exposed to this form of media. If marketing and sales is not their focus and they want to pursue say product development for a living, then I think that’s okay – they will just need to hire/work with someone with more expertise in the area like yourself. These people will not be on a site like this because entrepreneurship and business ownership is not their goal.

I do think that people should have a few years of work experience before getting an MBA. It goes back to the coaching analogy that Ryan elaborated on in a previous post.

And as far as climbing the corporate ladder, MBA’s aren’t a guarantee for career advancement. According t Forbes o, CEOs with MBAs perform worse than those without them (http://www.forbes.com/2002/04/25/0425ceoschools.html). Eager to become a CEO…start a company! If you fail in 6 months, I guarantee you’ll learn more than you will getting your MBA.

but if you plan on starting and running and growing a co. then all you really need is an AS degree in Business Management, basically. the rest is real-world experience and implementation. and experimentation -

I have been thinking about going back to school recently and this discussion has shed some light on it for me. The thing is I am pretty successful for a guy that has yet to go to university, but I believe that coupled with my experience would be a pretty damn good asset.

So the debate in my mind continues.

I didn’t know you were getting a master’s degree. My bad. So really, I think you probably have a good idea of what you want and have chosen the best degree for your career path.

I guess I assumed you were out of undergrad saying “I don’t need further education to be successful.” Which you’d be right in saying, btw. But it irritates me when people say this and then say that MBAs (or any other graduate level degrees) are worthless. My point is that they aren’t, and most people with this attitude don’t really know what they are talking about.

So my assumptions were completely wrong. But I think I will write something about how to decide if an MBA is right for you. The time seems right to dust off this topic again.

shoyt1@babson.edu

Babson is REALLY expensive, but there are ways around that. I told the admissions people that I needed a fellowship/scholarship, and they told me exactly what I needed to do to get those. Plus if you’ve started a successful company already, there’s a good chance that you’re going to get one of the Blank Center scholarships (I think the award is a full ride, but I’m not sure). Most of my expenses are living expenses.

If I had to do things over again, I would have gone to Babson for my undergrad degree. Those kids are just amazing. They have this dorm called e-tower where 21 kids live in the same area and push each other, and the dorm acts as a business hatechery. One of these kids is running a $100M business while going to school. Another kid started this ping pong ball advertising company with his class freshman year (it’s part of the program), and he’s continuing with that. There’s a lot of power in having the right kind of advisors when you are younger and have less to lose.

@Ryan – just mention Babson when you write part II =)

Not only that, you couldn’t have hit the nail more squarely on the head with the baseball analogy, particularly when addressing a former collegiate baseball player. I tell parents all the time when instructing their kids. I don’t care how they stand, where they start their hands, or even how they swing provided that everything gets to where it is supposed to be right before, and at the point of contact.

To take it one step further I liken getting an MBA to having a knowledgeable batting coach helping you out for a couple of years after you have already learned the nuances of the game, and likely your own swing. They can guide you in the right direction and help you utilize the tools that fit your swing and your style the best. Good MBA professors are (or should be like that) in that they help each respective person determine what the best methods are for themselves and the situations they’re in.

A coach that teaches everyone the exact same swing might be making everyone a little bit better, but he’s not helping the more talented players reach their full potential. For those that take an alternative route and learn their swing all their own chances are they will not be as successful. BUT, if there’s a really talented player who is really savvy and carefully watches, analyzes, maybe even watches film on great hitters and then spends hours honing his swing in the batting cage then perhaps he can reach the same level as the players with the good hitting coach.

The advantage still may be for the MBA because he still has that hitting coach to verify that he’s good and to endorse him to someone else whereas that player that did it on his own doesn’t. So I understand the up hill climb without getting the MBA, but that second hitter isn’t out any money for those hitting lessons either. I think that I might’ve just used your baseball analogy approach to really put things in perspective for both myself and hopefully anyone reading this… (maybe that should be a part II to the original?).

Thanks again Joe, and I’d love to hear more about Babson’s MBA program if you get a chance!

In the meantime, let me try and respond to your comments, which are very warranted. There’s definitely something to be said about not having gone through an MBA program. I definitely think that it would be a beneficial experience; it’s just that I don’t think it’s the -only- experience. Was there some intent in trying to create a discussion between entrepreneurial-minded Gen Yers and business professionals that have received or will be receiving their MBAs? The thought crossed my mind before I typed the first word.

I chose an advanced degree specifically focussed on marketing, and I have had the chance to take some MBA courses. One was a phenomenal class on services marketing; the other was a complete waste of my time on Managing for Creativity and Innovation. And I suspect that could be said for many of the courses we take. The point being I am not completely in the dark and have actually taken two MBA classes prior to drawing any conclusions.

Also, while that first paragraph might lead you to believe otherwise, I have had very few bad encounters with MBA students; though there is a stigma that they think they’re better than the rest of the graduate business programs at my university. Our marketing class has also been told we’re significantly more personable and better presenters so for the time being I’ll relish that tiny victory.

While I agree that a large percentage of the time the MBA is going to have the edge over someone who doesn’t have it (provided they aren’t looking for someone who focussed specifically on one just one aspect of business) I would argue that it’s not always the case. Would Ben Casnocha and his resume not have an advantage over someone with an MBA? Prior to even finishing his undergrad I’m not convinced he wouldn’t be hired over a LARGE percentage of MBAs, particularly if you took the start up route (which you had a great post about by the way).

Again, I am still in the classroom, finishing up my Masters, and I have peers thinking of taking the MBA route. The point of my article was to alter an alternative with an emphasis on passion and people instead of theories and formulas. And more importantly to incite conversation with respect to that decision and those kinds of marketing.

Thanks again for you comments.