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So I'm looking to advance my career and get an MBA with a concentration in the IT field. I've been looking into the colleges around where I live and I'm between a rock and a hard place. I know an MBA demands the best school, but I also know that it's not something I should really put off. I have 2 years of post-undergrad work experience. I work as an engineer and I happen to like what I do, I feel like I'd like to be able to bring in new technologies and test them or analyze our current systems and decide roadmaps. I work full time right now so I'd have to do any of these either in the evenings or on weekends. In order to get an MBA I have three options:
1) Go to the state school - it's not rated incredibly well, but it is pretty well known in my state and I can attend the classes in person fairly easily since the campus is near my job. However, MBAs from state schools "don't look as good" for some reason. This is the only option out of the three that I can reasonably afford right now. This does not have an IT related MBA program
2) Wait 3 years and go to the better state school or the REALLY good private school - both are nationally known and would open any door in the industry I could dream of. These require 5 years of post undergrad for in person, unless I do online at the better state school. An MBA would look a lot better from here and I can still go in person, but just because I wait the three years I'm not guaranteed to get into either and I could wait that time and get stuck going to the college I could have done now. I have to wait the three years because the part time MBA program from here is an "executive" program and requires more experience, except for the online program at the better state school which only requires 2 but I've heard that "online degrees don't look good". This option I would have to take a loan and I'm not entirely sure is really worth it. These also do not have IT related MBA programs.
3) Go online - I've been looking into some college that offer online IT MBAs and there are some good named schools that do. Problem is that these colleges are very expensive and the loan would probably take at least 8-10 years to fully pay. This is the easiest option because I can take classes whenever so I wouldn't have to worry about commuting. Problem is that it'll be very easy to tell that I didn't go in person to get my degree and that might look just as bad as going to the state school. The two best ones I've seen offer the program I want are Carnegie Mellon and George Washington University.
I'm really not sure which one of these is the best option and I could really use some help from people who know more than I do about this.
Why would you get an MBA with an IT concentration? Get an MBA with a concentration in one of the business disciplines or get a graduate degree in IT if you don't have the IT educational background you desire. An MBA is a great credential to bring business credibility to the engineer or IT professional that has no business background. An MBA isn't the place to gain IT credibility for someone who doesn't have an IT background or education.
So I'm looking to advance my career and get an MBA with a concentration in the IT field. I've been looking into the colleges around where I live and I'm between a rock and a hard place. I know an MBA demands the best school, but I also know that it's not something I should really put off. I have 2 years of post-undergrad work experience. I work as an engineer and I happen to like what I do, I feel like I'd like to be able to bring in new technologies and test them or analyze our current systems and decide roadmaps. I work full time right now so I'd have to do any of these either in the evenings or on weekends. In order to get an MBA I have three options:
1) Go to the state school - it's not rated incredibly well, but it is pretty well known in my state and I can attend the classes in person fairly easily since the campus is near my job. However, MBAs from state schools "don't look as good" for some reason. This is the only option out of the three that I can reasonably afford right now. This does not have an IT related MBA program
2) Wait 3 years and go to the better state school or the REALLY good private school - both are nationally known and would open any door in the industry I could dream of. These require 5 years of post undergrad for in person, unless I do online at the better state school. An MBA would look a lot better from here and I can still go in person, but just because I wait the three years I'm not guaranteed to get into either and I could wait that time and get stuck going to the college I could have done now. I have to wait the three years because the part time MBA program from here is an "executive" program and requires more experience, except for the online program at the better state school which only requires 2 but I've heard that "online degrees don't look good". This option I would have to take a loan and I'm not entirely sure is really worth it. These also do not have IT related MBA programs.
3) Go online - I've been looking into some college that offer online IT MBAs and there are some good named schools that do. Problem is that these colleges are very expensive and the loan would probably take at least 8-10 years to fully pay. This is the easiest option because I can take classes whenever so I wouldn't have to worry about commuting. Problem is that it'll be very easy to tell that I didn't go in person to get my degree and that might look just as bad as going to the state school. The two best ones I've seen offer the program I want are Carnegie Mellon and George Washington University.
I'm really not sure which one of these is the best option and I could really use some help from people who know more than I do about this.
This.
Don't wasste your time with option 1.
There's a reason "real MBAs" are so valuable. An MBA from a good school will generally require a 650+ GMAT, ~5years work experience, and maybe even a LOR... these can also generally be helped/sponsored/funded by your job as well.
THOSE are worth it
The online or state schools are worthless and just a waste of time lol. You might as well just flush your money down a toilet in that case...
Why would you get an MBA with an IT concentration? Get an MBA with a concentration in one of the business disciplines or get a graduate degree in IT if you don't have the IT educational background you desire. An MBA is a great credential to bring business credibility to the engineer or IT professional that has no business background. An MBA isn't the place to gain IT credibility for someone who doesn't have an IT background or education.
Of course, this is just my $.02.
that's not necessarily true
If he has a BS in any of the 4 Engineering disciples... paired with an MBA from a good school can prove to be VERY valuable. He could do an MBA with an MIS concentration, that came to mind right away for me... and that would correlate well with his undergrad background
If he has a BS in any of the 4 Engineering disciples... paired with an MBA from a good school can prove to be VERY valuable. He could do an MBA with an MIS concentration, that came to mind right away for me... and that would correlate well with his undergrad background
Just as I said, the MBA can be valuable for an engineer.
Most of the top MBA programs don't offer "IT Concentrations" for a reason. It's a business degree...
I hire for a living and would look for a candidate with an MBA or a graduate degree in the computer sciences, but I would never seek out someone with an MBA and an IT Concentration.
An MBA Concentration should be additional study in one of the business disciplines already part of the MBA. Not a field that isn't even part of an MBA to begin with.
Just as I said, the MBA can be valuable for an engineer.
Most of the top MBA programs don't offer "IT Concentrations" for a reason. It's a business degree...
I hire for a living and would look for a candidate with an MBA or a graduate degree in the computer sciences, but I would never seek out someone with an MBA and an IT Concentration.
An MBA Concentration should be additional study in one of the business disciplines already part of the MBA. Not a field that isn't even part of an MBA to begin with.
interesting
Well an MBA - MIS focuses on Management Information Systems. If he had gone from an Engineering background... most cases honestly they will want a good amount of work experience and PAY FOR HIM to go back for an MBA in [whatever] field here.
I know an MS in a specialized disciple in Engineering would help but for any case with any MBA concentration he would most likely have to take some "core business" classes to qualify for the MBA in addition to the GMAT, ~5 years of experience, LOR(s)
There's a reason "real MBAs" are so valuable. An MBA from a good school will generally require a 650+ GMAT, ~5years work experience, and maybe even a LOR... these can also generally be helped/sponsored/funded by your job as well.
THOSE are worth it
The online or state schools are worthless and just a waste of time lol. You might as well just flush your money down a toilet in that case...
Lol, what in the hell is a "real MBA"?
So OP, you want some information on what you should do? It depends totally on what your Career Plans are.
But I will tell you this rule of thumb, if you don't plan on going to Wallstreet Investment Banking there's absolutely NO REASON why you need to go to a Top Ranked School that costs $100,000 for the MBA. Number two, if you honestly haven't already been recruited into Wallstreet I-Banking at this point, you probably AREN'T going to get recruited/hired into it, so the simple purpose of going to a Top Ranked School to get into Wallstreet Investment Banking right now is fruitless.
You want to get an MBA in IT, I assume you want to take up some type of middle IT Manager role? Is this in a small company, medium sized company, large company, Fortune 500 company?
If you are talking a small - medium sized company (which is about 75% of the available jobs out there) you CAN go to a quality and respected online college that's regionally accredited like a WGU and save a SIGNIFICANT amount of money on the degree pickup paying about $9,000 for three terms.
If you plan on targeting large companies or Fortune 500, you can go to your State School and use their MBA program or you can try out of state schools that charge the same tuition to in/out of state residents like a University of South Dakota that has costs about $25,000 - $35,000.
Be smart about this pickup, an "MBA" is NOT what it used to be. What you really are using it for is for promotions from IT staff positions into to IT Management positions combining your 5 - 7 years of professional experience with the Master's degree pickup, to then look for promotions to some IT Manager position. You can do that with a State School as I listed or WGU can work just as well, you DO NOT and you SHOULD NOT be looking at spending $100,000 for this degree pickup. You are looking at $9,000 - $35,000 in total. Note the 5 - 7 year professional experience requirement, without it getting an MBA is worthless at this point.
Also never trust a person that uses the term "real MBAs" or these people who run around putting "Comma MBA" after their name like they have a freaking PhD or something lol. An MBA is NOT a terminal degree and quite honestly, the MBA has lost 80% of its value over the last couple of years. To me the degree is nothing but an option of Master's Degree choices one is looking to grab when seeking Management promotional positions that usually require a Master's Degree.
Unless your career plans involve investment banking, consulting or the C-suite at a Fortune 500 company, option 1 is your best bet. As long as the program is accredited and recognized in your area, it will open doors for you. You are doing the right thing by combining your experience with education. Going into massive debt for an "elite" MBA is overkill unless you are planning on being recruited into a top firm in NY, Boston or SF.
I went to a no-name, accredited MBA program and was able to parlay the degree and 5+ years experience into a director position. The best part is I was able to pay for it out of pocket, so I got a nice bump in salary with no debt to pay back.
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