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As a young 27 yr old IT professional who started early, I feel like it is the time for me to take my career to the next level.
I have a bit over 5 yrs of work experience in programming and data analysis working at a top notch HR firm. Also finished my masters in computer science from a second tier university with an above average GPA .
I feel like in order to apply for more management specific/ pm/ functional roles, I really need an MBA degree to make myself more business centric. Right now I feel like my resume has nothing but paragraphs of techinical lingo and I don't want to get into a programmer mould and stay like that all my life.
Having said that ,here is what I need advice with :
- From a pay perspective , would doing a part time MBA get me more pay than what I make now? with 5 yrs of technical experience under my belt I make upwards of 80k and bonuses each yr.
- Even though my company would pay like 50% of my p/t MBA expenses, it does not offer a wide array of roles to choose from. So after getting my MBA would I market myself as a techie with MBA or just an 'entry level' MBA ?
- Lastly , I am looking at GSU's p/t MBA program. Has anyone here completed this program? how would you rate it .. business week has it listed under top 10 FLEX MBA programs in the country .
Are there any specialization's in this program that are better than others?
I really need someone to guide me thru this ...where should I reach out for the best advice (other than citydata , ofcourse ? none of my family members or friends have an MBA so I really can't rely on them for specific advice.
Please feel free to let me know if I am too ambitious or really , if MBA does not add a whole lot of value for someone like me.
It really depends on what you're looking for...there's certainly still room for improvement from an 80k salary standpoint. If you look at the middle 80% of the people entering GSU part time, there's a solid 10% making over $100k. Just in terms of networking, that's a significant number(over 100) of other high performing classmates. If you're wanting to completely change industry, a PT MBA doesn't help as much since you're missing out on the summer internship but GSU has a significant cost savings compared to Emory and is still cheaper than GT or UGA.
I was in the same boat as you about 1.5 yrs ago. I had a bit less than 3 yrs experience b/c I did 2 undergrads and didn't start work until I was 24. I had a GMAT that would put me in the top 10% of Harvard, GT and an Ivy undergrad degrees in CS and Economics but a salary high enough that I didn't want to walk away. If I did a 2 yr FT program at a private school, I'd be looking at close to 300k in lost salary + school costs. Since most MBA programs have starting salaries approx around 100k (all those schools in the northeast have high COL so it works out to about the same as 90k in GA). At the same time, there's significant chance of stagnating within the IT industry. A guy that did grad school w/ my dad at GT is currently a coworker and has the same job title as me. He may make a bit more than me but he has 30 yrs of experience over me and I have no intention of sitting still till I retire.
A PT MBA is a way to try out an MBA w/o the huge opportunity cost and it's more of a recurring cost vs. the huge up front investment and it still makes you different from the next guy. It's costing me 6k/semester but I look at it as an investment and leaving more doors open should I want to shift my career. If it doesn't work for you, don't finish and don't add it to your resume. Or you could take a few classes and swing to a FT program if you figure out it's for you. I'd avoid UGA at all costs though...I've been trying to help a friend find a job and it's like trying to sell snake oil. 58% had jobs at graduation and an avg salary of 73k in '08 and I think '09 was worse. Emory only hit 51% for '09 and 95k while the avg student had over 60k in debt. That works out to about 12k/yr off your gross salary just paying student loans since you likely won't qualify for interest deductions.
My older brother did his MBA at GSU straight out of GT after he finished his BS Chem E. He was running our auto accessories business at the time and wanted a change from 14hr days at our frying/freezing warehouse. His biggest complaint was there were a lot of bored middle aged housewives that didn't add to the quality of the program. That said, he managed to get into UBS as a broker straight out of school and got a nice six figure signing bonus when he moved to Smith Barney 2 yrs later.
I looked to GT when they first launched their PT program b/c I figured it was a better fit for my interests. The school is known for its supply chain and IT focuses which falls in line w/ my experience. Face it, Wall St. isn't shopping for a lot of students down here so paying for Emory and rolling up the debt doesn't make sense. I'm in IT and while I may not be a programmer forever, the reason why I make more than the avg Emory MBA grad is b/c all that technical lingo littering my resume. Why not leverage it and top it w/ an MBA from a school known for those areas rather than chase that fleeting ibanker/strategy consulting money. I'll be done in about 15 months and well positioned to look for positions that go well beyond the median salaries for the top 10 schools.
I know a lot of people really value an MBA but many are very sucessful without one. If you want to work your way into management in your current field I don't know that you need an MBA but if you want to get into a different field I am sure it would help. Sounds like you will do well with or without an MBA.
To OP ... I am really going through the same thing as you have described. I also have a masters degree with about 6-7 years experience here in US. I make a little more than you and I am in the field of Programming/Development and am with a Fortune 300 company.
My thinking differs from you on getting a MBA for PM role. I don't see that as a mandatory degree required for this position. I also see quite a potential on increasing my role as a technical lead to senior architect. Only reason why I want to get an MBA is to venture out to other roles if provided an opportunity in the future.
I have a friend who was in the last semester of eMBA program at GSU. May be he finished by now. He generally spoke good things about the program. Here are my suggestions ...
1) If you dislike your current job duties and absolutely want to venture into PM/Business Manager roles , go ahead with a MBA.
2 If yes for #1 then evaluate your responsibilities such as if you can afford to live/study with out a pay and then take a decision whether to do FT/PT MBA
3)Don't think you have reached peak by thinking that you are earning 80K+ with 5 yrs exp. I am sure you can reach 6 figures. Assuming you are a US citizen, you have the luxury of switching companies.
Thanks Mishap, Noah and Pellur . Appreciate your insight.
Mishap - I looked at the p/t MBA's being offered at both GSU and GT , GSU's Flex program was better ranked ( 7th nationwide) and was cheaper per credit hr than GT's.
I just moved to the ATL area 2 years ago, so not sure about which Alumi network has a bigger clout. But overall , GSU seems to be a better fit for me.
With that said, I wanted to follow up with your comment about GT's program being more inclined IT folks than GSU. How much of an impact would this be ?
Long term, I would still like to remain in IT but gain more functional depth and expertise that would position me for higher growth.
Also , how do I see what positions were offered to GSU MBA grad's and their starting salaries ? should I just talk to one of the advisor's or is there some forum somewhere that discusses such things ?
I'd ask your boss- no one here is going to be able to tell you whether getting an MBA will help your career. Personally, I'd say that most of the process of getting an MBA is a waste of time, unless your ultimate goal is to become a senior-level exec in a large firm- outside of that, it's normally not going to result in a pay increase or in someone saying "hmmmm...we've got Bill and Joe both up for that promotion, but Bill has the MBA and Joe doesn't, so we'll give it to Bill."
Thanks Mishap, Noah and Pellur . Appreciate your insight.
Mishap - I looked at the p/t MBA's being offered at both GSU and GT , GSU's Flex program was better ranked ( 7th nationwide) and was cheaper per credit hr than GT's.
I just moved to the ATL area 2 years ago, so not sure about which Alumi network has a bigger clout. But overall , GSU seems to be a better fit for me.
With that said, I wanted to follow up with your comment about GT's program being more inclined IT folks than GSU. How much of an impact would this be ?
Long term, I would still like to remain in IT but gain more functional depth and expertise that would position me for higher growth.
Also , how do I see what positions were offered to GSU MBA grad's and their starting salaries ? should I just talk to one of the advisor's or is there some forum somewhere that discusses such things ?
PT programs are harder to discern salary increase b/c some people don't change jobs or change jobs midway through. It's not a clear before/after like FT. From what I've seen at GT evening most of the people tend to be making about what GSU graduates get prior to finishing and most are looking for close to six figures at graduation.
51% of GT PT students are from engineering fields and another 36% are from business so you can kind of tell the salaries will skew higher since these people likely were making more than 74k to begin with.
As for the rankings...recruiters generally look at FT rankings and not PT since few recruiters come to campus for PT students. GT lets PT students do on campus recruiting once you've completed the interview prep and resume workshops. That's incredibly valuable since you're able to go into the FT MBA job pool. A lot of schools don't allow that which really reduces the value of the PT.
I'd ask your boss- no one here is going to be able to tell you whether getting an MBA will help your career. Personally, I'd say that most of the process of getting an MBA is a waste of time, unless your ultimate goal is to become a senior-level exec in a large firm- outside of that, it's normally not going to result in a pay increase or in someone saying "hmmmm...we've got Bill and Joe both up for that promotion, but Bill has the MBA and Joe doesn't, so we'll give it to Bill."
That's virtually never the case for an MBA. Putting the degree on the table during raise negotiation doesn't really work very well. You can however look for work outside or other positions within your company that are looking for MBA's and either leverage yourself to a higher position or climb that next wrung. If you have 10-20% increased offers on the table, you have negotiating power that Joe doesn't have.
PT programs are harder to discern salary increase b/c some people don't change jobs or change jobs midway through. It's not a clear before/after like FT. From what I've seen at GT evening most of the people tend to be making about what GSU graduates get prior to finishing and most are looking for close to six figures at graduation.
51% of GT PT students are from engineering fields and another 36% are from business so you can kind of tell the salaries will skew higher since these people likely were making more than 74k to begin with.
As for the rankings...recruiters generally look at FT rankings and not PT since few recruiters come to campus for PT students. GT lets PT students do on campus recruiting once you've completed the interview prep and resume workshops. That's incredibly valuable since you're able to go into the FT MBA job pool. A lot of schools don't allow that which really reduces the value of the PT.
Thanks Mishap !!
Instresting that GT allows PT folks to attend the same pool of campus recruiting as FT folks. I wonder if GSU does the same, I'll follow up ...
I'd ask your boss- no one here is going to be able to tell you whether getting an MBA will help your career. Personally, I'd say that most of the process of getting an MBA is a waste of time, unless your ultimate goal is to become a senior-level exec in a large firm- outside of that, it's normally not going to result in a pay increase or in someone saying "hmmmm...we've got Bill and Joe both up for that promotion, but Bill has the MBA and Joe doesn't, so we'll give it to Bill."
As mentioned in my post - my present job does not allow much vertical growth with or without an MBA. So I'd pretty much be on the look out after the market starts picking up ( whenever that maybe) .
My intention of this post was to get a general opinion of how an MBA is percieved when coupled with a techinical skill set that I have. I wanted to know if I will be able to position myself for the higher opportunities by adding an MBA to my resume.
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? none of my family members or friends have an MBA so I really can't rely on them for specific advice. 
