Question for those in the business field -- Is a MBA really important?

[dukedg]

Okay, I did the Fortune 10 (but can keep adding to the list if people are interested). All information is from Fortune, Reuters and Business Week. Please let me know if you notice any errors.

Infomation in following order: Company CEO Age MBA?

1. Wal-Mart Stores H. Lee Scott Jr. 62 No (JD)
2. Exxon Mobil Rex Tillerson 55 No (BS in Civil Engineering)
3. General Motors G. Richard Wagoner 54 Yes (HBS)
4. Chevron David O'Reilly 61 No (BS in Chemical Engineering)
5. ConocoPhillips James Mulva 61 Yes (McCombs (UT))
6. General Electric Jeffrey Immelt 52 Yes (HBS)
7. Ford Motor Alan Mulally 62 No (Masters in Science and Masters in Management)
8. Citigroup Vikram Pandit 51 No (MS in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Finance)
9. Bank of America Corp Kenneth Lewis 60 No (Bachelors in Finance and Executive program at Stanford)
10. American Intl. Group Martin Sullivan 53 Unknown (He is a chartered accountant (British CPA))

[SoCalGirl]

I've debated MBA vs no MBA and for now continue to decide no. For I-Bankers and the like I completely agree that the school matters. Especially at the beginning. That being said, I've always been told that for any other type of job the school (and grades) only matter for your first few years. After that it's just a foot note to the work experience you've aquired since graduating.

eta: TP - If you get job and expect to stay in the area, UCSD finally opened a business school. http://management.ucsd.edu/ It's still relatively new but they fully expect for it to be a top school one day.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by dukedg

Okay, I did the Fortune 10 (but can keep adding to the list if people are interested). All information is from Fortune, Reuters and Business Week. Please let me know if you notice any errors.

Infomation in following order: Company CEO Age MBA?

1. Wal-Mart Stores H. Lee Scott Jr. 62 No (JD)
2. Exxon Mobil Rex Tillerson 55 No (BS in Civil Engineering)
3. General Motors G. Richard Wagoner 54 Yes (HBS)
4. Chevron David O'Reilly 61 No (BS in Chemical Engineering)
5. ConocoPhillips James Mulva 61 Yes (McCombs (UT))
6. General Electric Jeffrey Immelt 52 Yes (HBS)
7. Ford Motor Alan Mulally 62 No (Masters in Science and Masters in Management)
8. Citigroup Vikram Pandit 51 No (MS in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Finance)
9. Bank of America Corp Kenneth Lewis 60 No (Bachelors in Finance and Executive program at Stanford)
10. American Intl. Group Martin Sullivan 53 Unknown (He is a chartered accountant (British CPA))

Only possible correction would be to declare #9- Bank of America CEO a "Yes". I am not sure how it works at Stanford, but generally speaking any reference to an "Executive" program is a reference to an MBA- specifically the Executive MBA program I mentioned above at Texas for those who earn their MBA while continuing their career.

But I would point out that while 4 of the 10 on your list have MBAs, at least 7 of them have advanced degrees beyond undergrad- and advanced degrees specific to their professions.

Plus on the Oil and Gas side, it is not uncommon for engineers to be CEOs. However that industry is not in growth mode nor is it of interest to many general business students. Thus it is tricky to use that particular industry to recommend people get their MBA or not. If nothing else, once you get into oil and gas- that is pretty much where you stay. The regulations, nature of the business and accounting functions are highly specific- and at a fairly early point in your career you have to decide whether to go that route or not. It is not easy to jump from oil and gas to another industry once you are entrenched.

Not trying to beat up on you or anything- but just sort through the statistics with a more specific approach to explain why I strongly advocate people get their MBA if they intend to rise in the corporate ranks.

jubilance1922- I cannot speak to all technical professions, but a number of physicians and medical researchers have obtained MBAs in recent years so that they can move out of medicine and into the highly lucrative health care management field.

But this is a specific circumstance born of the growing power of business in the management and oversight of medicine, and not necessarily reflective of the need for people in other technical fields to get MBAs.

Doctor salaries for all but top specialists have been under significant downward pressure in recent years, and so with all the money to be made in the still growing health care industry on the business side- many physicians have made the leap through both their technical experience and by attaining an MBA.

[dukedg]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

Only possible correction would be to declare #9- Bank of America CEO a "Yes". I am not sure how it works at Stanford, but generally speaking any reference to an "Executive" program is a reference to an MBA- specifically the Executive MBA program I mentioned above at Texas for those who earn their MBA while continuing their career.
...
Not trying to beat up on you or anything- but just sort through the statistics with a more specific approach to explain why I strongly advocate people get their MBA if they intend to rise in the corporate ranks.

I added a link to the executive program -- it is not an MBA, but rather an intensive course for seasoned executives. I don't feel beat up on at all! I, personally, like to have some information to look at when I consider things like whether I would want to go back and get an MBA.

I think an MBA is a great way to get a foot in the door if you want to change careers, especially into something like finance or strategy. I don't think it is necessary for everyone who wants to move up in corporate america, though (just my opinion). For that kind of money, I would hope everyone does some thorough research into what he or she is looking to get out of the MBA and which programs, if any, would suit those needs.

[alum]

I-bankers definitely need an MBA from a Tier One Business School. Whether they work in hedge funds, mutual funds, individual private accts etc, it will be necessary for advancement.

For others, the MBA vs a different MA//MS may be not as much of a priority. I advise graduate students, the majority of which are looking for an executive program so they can concurrently continue with their employment while pursuing the MA/MS/MBA. If they are in a highly specialized field, they tend to go for the MA in the specialized field ie FBI, CIA, NSA folks look for a Master's in National Security. Procurement and acquisition analysts as well as logisticians go for the MA in Procurement and Acquisitions Mgmt. The generalists go for the MBA.

[techzbt]

I'm just finishing my MBA and it has literally doubled my salary.

However, here's my advice: Take it seriously and go to a full-time program, night school and weekend programs are only good if your company is paying and you get an agreement for a new job following your degree. Go to a public school in your home state, it's a lot cheaper. Go to the best school that you can get into that meets those criteria. Ask what companies RECRUIT and HIRE MBA's in your desired concentration on that campus. Are those companies ones you want to work for? I got hired by a company that doesn't recruit on my campus, but it's much easier to get a job for one that does. Go to NSHMBA. Don't study for the GMAT, it's a waste of time (people who study don't do any better).

Also, you do not need a "Tier I" degree to be an investment banker. Investment banks hire a lot of people from the next tier down (Big 10, Pac 10, Big 12, Tobbacco Road, and other private school eg Emory, WashU, St. Thomas, ND)

I consider "Tier I" to be Ivy League+Stanford+Chicago and possibly Michigan and Northwestern

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by techzbt

I'm just finishing my MBA and it has literally doubled my salary.

However, here's my advice: Take it seriously and go to a full-time program, night school and weekend programs are only good if your company is paying and you get an agreement for a new job following your degree.

I'm going to have to disagree with you there.

What makes the evening/weekend program any less than the regular full-time program?

I know plenty of individuals (VPs, Sr VPs, etc) that graduated with a 2-yr program from great schools and did the evening/weekend classes. It's the same material, it's just a little more rigorous and accelerated.

[iastategal]

Originally Posted by Benzgirl

My two cents. Graduate, Get a Job, Wait a year until you have enough tenure to be reimbursed for education and let your employer pay for it.

No, you will not live on campus. Yes, you will be distracted by your full-time job. But, you will be able to bring something to the table during your class discussions and help out on projects.

Nothing peeved me more than to have a recent grad without any business experience to be on a project with me. They could not contribute a thing and we ended up assigning them the busy-work. Trust me, you will get a lot more out of your education and you will be less in-debt.

I agree with this advice. Get a real job, get some experience and then go back to school - you will get much more out of the program as you will be able to bring real life situations to the class discussions.

Also, I agree with the advice on getting your employer to pay. Getting an MBA or an advanced degree (MS or MA) is becoming more important in the corporate world regardless of what your undergraduate degree is in and many employers are willing to pay some/all of the cost. I am an engineering manager and I was strongly encouraged (and I encourage the people to who work for me) to get an advanced degree in management/business and my employer paid for it.

The corporate world is changing and advanced degrees in business/management etc are becoming necessary to climb to the senior leadership/executive ranks in many industries. Having hired several people over the past few years, your experience is looked at first when you apply for jobs, and the fact that you have an MBA/advanced degree (from an accredited school, not just top tier) or are working towards one is also looked at very favorably. I know many top executives who did not have advanced degrees and thier companies sent them off to Sloan etc for business/management masters as it was a prerequisite for them to advance to the highest ranks in their companies.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by techzbt

Also, you do not need a "Tier I" degree to be an investment banker. Investment banks hire a lot of people from the next tier down (Big 10, Pac 10, Big 12, Tobbacco Road, and other private school eg Emory, WashU, St. Thomas, ND)

I consider "Tier I" to be Ivy League+Stanford+Chicago and possibly Michigan and Northwestern

Agreed. My former BF was a Managing Director at Investment Banking firm. He did not have an MBA, but did have a JD (Big 10 school). He also completed a 24 month program at Harvard in business, but it was not a degree program.

Their firm typical hires out of college were from the Ivy League. These kids were worked to death (80 hrs per week and at a low pay) for two years, when they would typically leave for B School. Once they graduated with their MBA (typically from an Ivy League school), they were in high demand on Wall Street. The firm x-BF worked for, never hired recent-MBAs without experience unless they were willing to start at the bottom.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

I know plenty of individuals (VPs, Sr VPs, etc) that graduated with a 2-yr program from great schools and did the evening/weekend classes. It's the same material, it's just a little more rigorous and accelerated.

That's me! Unfortunately, I wasn't working for a great company at the time and had to foot my own bill. I did it in 1 1/2 years.