From my article at LinkedIn (because it's fun to pick on the lemmings).
"The only "real" sub fields you will find in business schools are Accounting and MIS/IT as they require 2-4 years of study to get some level of mastery of these subjects. The rest of them, be they marketing, HR, "general business management" or whatever other popcockery b-schools are whipping up and charging you $400 a credit for are bogus. This isn't to say that there isn't value in learning about employment law in HR, or learning some statistical analysis in marketing, but all of these subfields can be summarized in a week long seminar and a pamphlet about 50 pages thick. Not the 4 to 6 years of your youth and 2,000 pages of over-priced, incredibly diluted textbooks they suck out of your veins. And it doesn't matter if it's a "BA" or and "MBA" in business, it's all the same BS."
Remember to buy "Worthless" and make sure either you or somebody you love does not RUIN THEIR LIFE getting an MBA.
Interesting piece there Cappy. I will disagree with you on one item, the value of the fancy tie from a Harvaaard, NoorthWestern, or Stamford. I dealt with three 'interns' back in the 2000s from Yale. Alert, reasonably through when it came to numbers. But when it came time to learn how to pull data cables? The common thread was that was below their station. End of their stint, they never signed up for a second year.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I have had biz majors from schools like Univ of Texas, Ohio State intern on site with no complaint. Better than the Ivys, probably not, but I would hazard any one of them would get to the C-suite before the Ivy munchkin.
The best decision I ever made was not getting an MBA. I was accepted into a prestigious MBA program, where the company I was working for at that time (13 years ago) was going to pick up about 80% of the bill for the MBA. I just couldn't give up my personal time for more school. I was about to become a dad, and didn't want to miss the opportunity of being a good dad to my kids. Part of being a good dad is being there physically, mentally, and emotionally for your kids (and wife). Like I said, best decision I ever made was turning down the acceptance into that MBA program. I have no regrets, none. As it turns out, didn't need it in my line of work.
ReplyDeleteBusiness seemed to function pretty well for the past 1000 years without MBAs. Ford, Carnegie, Standard oil, The Hudson's Bay Company, The East India Company, Lloyd's. All did just fine and nary a business school in sight.
ReplyDeleteI too also dodged a bucket from not getting an MBA. I was literally a week away from starting class.
ReplyDeleteEven MIS/IT isn't as great a major as it was 20 years ago, thanks to the H1-B's that have infested the field. Real salaries have not risen in 15 years, a sure sign of a labor market glut.
ReplyDeleteThe whole point of the H1-B program was to lower salaries, and boy has it worked.