Un-value of an MBA
Un-value of an MBA
(OP)
I am curious about the experience of other engineers out there. Currently I am doing a part-time MBA. I had my annual review with the VP (and good friend) of the company I work for and I got a good raise and very positive feedback. He did not mention the MBA which he knows I am doing although the company does not support it (in fact ignoring is a better description), so I did. During the review I asked if the fact that I am taking an MBA was valued/considered/appreciated by the company. The answer was no.
Fun part is that the positive comments and feedback I received were all about my managerial and soft skills and none about technical skills. So MBA not valued but managerial capabilities needed?
Fun part is that the positive comments and feedback I received were all about my managerial and soft skills and none about technical skills. So MBA not valued but managerial capabilities needed?





RE: Un-value of an MBA
Lots of people have engineering degrees, but are not very good at "engineering".
Lots of people without engineering degrees are very good at "engineering".
Maybe your friend is trying to say gently, stop throwing your "I have a MBA" up at everyone, and just do the job?
"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
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RE: Un-value of an MBA
RE: Un-value of an MBA
RE: Un-value of an MBA
RE: Un-value of an MBA
My thoughts were
1. I was in a pure engineering position. At the time I was several years away from enough experience to be a manager of anything. In an engineering position, MBA's aren't required, so why give me any special treatment for having one? I realized it was something I was doing for me only to move away from pure engineering work.
2. When I was ready for a management-level job or applied for an internal/external position with "MBA desired" in the description, the piece of paper would then have some value. I have found it useful in getting my next job, but remember that the shelf life is limited. If you stay in your current job and aren't able to apply the so-called MBA skill set for several years after receiving your degree, it won't help much if you then decide to find another job.
RE: Un-value of an MBA
corus
RE: Un-value of an MBA
But, there really is a shelf life for certain things learned in an MBA program. Some things learned, such as GAAP (accounting practices) and other fundamental-type courses will always be valid, or at least for many years. Here are some examples of things I'm talking about that expire:
MIS (managing information systems) courses: Computer technology changes rapidly. I'm sure courses 10 years ago were different than courses today. A big topic in my MIS class was the strategy of outsourcing IT. Was that a valid strategy 10 years ago? Will it be a valid strategy 10 years from now?
HR management: It doesn't get much more b.s. than this for engineers, but employment laws change. Plus, professionals' expectations change. Flex time, job sharing, and on-site daycare may have been reality for only forward-thinking companies 10 years ago, but a whole lot more companies implement these things today.
Global management: China wasn't much of a market force 10 years ago. Emerging markets are always changing. Political climates also change and affect global business practices.
Plus, I think employers who are paying for MBAs sometimes want employees who know all the right buzz words. I definitely disagree with implementing ops-management-strategy-de-jour, but there are still hiring managers who will expect you to know what the latest management guru has written some book about, and every 25 year old hot shot MBA will be able to recite it forwards and backwards.
I guess the future applicability of the MBA really hinges one how you are trying to leverage the degree. If it's just a checkbox on your job app to prove you're a management quality person, then it's probably good for a long time. But, if you were hoping to use that course in Global Strategic Management to position yourself for a management job with your favorite conglomerate's Bangkok office, you better make that job switch as soon as possible.
RE: Un-value of an MBA
An MBA may open opportunities outside of engineering though. My wifes former director was a former industrial chemist with an MBA.
csd
RE: Un-value of an MBA
You may be right that what you have learnt goes out of date but I have a MSc from 30 years ago and no one says it's worthless now. Having qualifications not only shows you know the subject, or knew the subject then, but you have the ability to learn. An ability to learn and take in new and changing things is of more value, especially these days with ever changing technology, and management ideas. A qualification, whatever that is, shows that ability.
corus
RE: Un-value of an MBA
The worst company I worked for had HS grads supervising graduate engineers. This was a QS certified organization!
RE: Un-value of an MBA
I think all would agree that a Masters in Engineering / Science could be a huge benefit to any engineer regardless of how old it is or what field.