Was My MBA Worth It?
I graduated with my MBA degree in 2012. I enrolled in a part-time program (since I already had a full-time job and I still needed to support myself) at an in-state university. It wasn’t an ‘online MBA’ program — but I took all of my required coursework online. I started in the Fall semester immediately after finishing my BA the previous Spring.
At that moment in time, I was on a mission. I had been a college dropout for several years, and while I was in ‘school mode’ I just wanted to stay there. There is a lot of debate about when is the best time/point in your career to get an MBA. And there is also plenty of advice out there for the masses (like on the Reddit discussion linked below). But this post isn’t about advice to the masses; it is about me and my experience.
Why I Choose an MBA
Because I had worked professionally even before earning my BA degree, I had an idea of where I wanted to go in regards to my education. I had worked in real estate/insurance and found myself enjoying the ins and outs of running a small business. Because I had experience in supporting CPAs, I briefly considered getting into accounting specifically. But my previous coursework didn’t contain enough accounting credits so I began to think of other options. I liked numbers and technology and social media. I figured that I would bring that all together and focus on Digital Marketing. My school didn’t have an MBA concentration for ‘Digital Marketing’ though; so I opted for just ‘Marketing’
Selecting a School
In my case, since I had racked up so much debt getting my undergraduate degree, I really wanted an affordable program. But I also wanted the program to be accredited by the AACSB; the ‘gold standard’ of business school accreditation. My GMAT score wasn’t so great (I came in under 600; I usually do pretty good on tests, but I was rattled throughout the exam because the proctor made me remove my head scarf — saying that I could be cheating with it on. I didn’t do my hair that day so I was sitting there feeling pretty humiliated and totally out of my head over it.) I also wanted the flexibility to learn online. So, with these points in mind, my search honed in to state universities. Even if they did not advertise an ‘online MBA’ option, I would talk to the admission/advising staff to see if the required courses had an online option (they did).
I did not take into account things like the alumni from the program, or even the reputation of the school. Placement rates also did not influence me too much either since I was already employed full-time.
The MBA Program
There were definitely pros and cons to the program. One major Pro is that the education was fantastic. Most courses had the components of both lecture and project and research. This level of depth and involvement gave you a more thorough exposure to a topic then what I usually encountered in my undergraduate studies.
One con was that most courses also required a group project. I understand the approach…and maybe it’s even to be expected in MBA programs that you would have some collaborative work. However, almost without fail, there would be that one group member that just was not pulling their weight. And then at the end of the day, they receive the same grade as everyone. True, real life often works the same way. But it hits a little different when you are the one paying for a degree; which is supposed to be a reflection of your competency and knowledge.
Some may feel that my business school experience was stinted since I completed my coursework online. I was curious about this myself and asked a colleague about her experience in a more traditional MBA program. I was surprised when she said that (and I’m paraphrasing) the professional networking component was definitely not as expected. Most of her peers focused on themselves and their studies and rarely socialized or connected.
I will say that the part-time option was what I had the bandwidth for; but towards the end I began to run out of stamina. It took about 3 1/2 years to complete the program. It was honestly hard not to view my MBA courses as burden on my already full plate; especially in those last 2 semesters.
The Results
When I finished my program in the Fall of 2012, I initially only made a tepid effort of trying to grow my career. At the time I was less than a year in at a company that I thought was going to grow and in turn, offer me opportunities to move up (that didn’t happen though). For the next 10 years (yes, that isn’t a typo), I had to deal with trying to find stability in both my professional and personal life. I’m sure that many pointed the finger my way to say that the MBA was a waste. But it really wasn’t. Because if anything, I knew that I was capable; even if I didn’t have the job title or income to go along with it. So for me, the MBA was a major boost to my confidence. And expensive one — but still valuable!
But that period did not last forever. I began to retool and pivot and package myself as a capable business professional. If you look at my salary when I enrolled in my MBA program vs. what I make today, I’ve almost tripled my annual salary. Even better yet, because my MBA was relatively inexpensive, the ROI for my MBA is more than 393%! While this is encouraging, I should also say that it wasn’t an easy or automatic process. Sure my MBA opened doors and even earned me a spot at the table. However I still had to perform and properly utilize the business skills that my MBA program gave me. Confidence was a big factor in my ability to do this; and it helped to see other people in my cohort become college professors and owners of their own law firms. Sometimes the biggest obstacle to growth comes from within yourself. An MBA will not elevate you on its own. But if you properly frame an MBA education and leverage it to help you achieve your goals, then the sky is the limit.
