<p>I have an MBA… so it would be hard for me to be against them. I just think so many people consider them some kind of silver bullet, and… they aren’t. I work in a lot of industries as a consultant, and have met plenty of C level executives who do not have MBAs. I make a point to look into their backgrounds (it helps me sometimes with selling work or finding common ground), and many, many of them do not have MBAs. I work with fortune 500 companies in financial services, health care, and retail. And the MBA isn’t king. Intelligence, communication skills, and busting your a** are.what get you ahead.</p>
<p>@intparent So would you say where you graduate from only helps in finding initial job opportunities (not necessarily in helping you stay in these jobs)?</p>
<p>I’m thinking about working on Wall Street (start out as an analyst in a major firm), and it seems that large institutions accept people mostly from “target schools”</p>
<p>Well, yes, but let’s face it - the majority of high school seniors or college freshmen who are “interested in working on Wall Street” haven’t a clue why, except they think it’s high-paying and that excites them. There are plenty of excellent careers that require analytical, organizational and communication skills – Wall Street just happens to contain some of them. Brand management is another and blossom could cite fifteen others off the top of her head.</p>
<p>As noted above by blossom and intparent and EllieMom, some industries are elite-school-credential-centric and others aren’t. It’s a constant battle on CC when people only think that how their industry works is how the world works, and there is astounding naivete among workers in the elite-school-centric industries that no, Virginia, the entire world of business is not like their world. </p>
<p>“So would you say where you graduate from only helps in finding initial job opportunities (not necessarily in helping you stay in these jobs)?”</p>
<p>Jarjar, you’re a smart person. Think about this for a moment. If someone isn’t a good performer, why would their managers care that they have a degree from (insert elite school), and why would they privilege that person over a better performer?</p>
<p>Jarjar, don’t believe that the world is made up of either the better performer who has less credentials or the elite degree holder who under-performs. The world is never either black or white. Sometimes the elite degree holder is also a better performer. You have to position yourself to be the best possible candidate.</p>
<p>OK, folks are really parsing the job descriptions too much. Have any of you ever worked for large companies? So for instance, we currently have an open position where the job description and experience preferred has some gobblely-gook about managing teams and some other BS. It’s in there only because HR says that has to be in there for the level we want to hire a candidate in to. I’m sure it says something about MBAs or advanced degrees being preferred, etc. We could care less about that stuff and would be happy to get someone who simply has terrific skills in the area we are looking for.</p>
<p>The MBA is the easy degree to obtain and great number is obtaining it on the emloyer dime.
It is also great to have on the resume even in case when it is absolutely not needed for the job performance.<br>
You will have a greater chance at your next job.<br>
So, why not?
The “why not?” reason was the only reason why both ny H. (engineer) and I (CS) obtained it becaseu employers were paying.<br>
In addition, we obtained it from our local college, just did not want to travel on a daily basis whlle working and raising the kids. However, some who I personally know got it from the U of Mich (also while working full time and raising kids).<br>
Our MBAs came from much lesser school than Drexel. Absolutely not a single person evere cared where I got my MBA but many expressed admiration for me having it. By many I refer to many potential employers who I had an interview. I have changed many jobs in very economically depressed region of the country. Since most employers hire mostly locally not a single time anybody cared about the name of my UG and Grad. school. They liked a lot to see a high GPA and an MBA and more so that it was obtained while I was working full time and taking care of family.<br>
Go for MBA even if it is not needed for your job, but let employers pay. </p>
<p>@Jarjarbinks23 Why do I get the feeling that you’re mining this site for information for your HS journalism class or future editorials? Really. I see journalism one of your ECs. But your posted threads (and this one) have a common theme. </p>
<p>Do private schools have it easier than normal publics? 82 replies</p>
<p>High schools and trade skills 30 replies</p>
<p>Do you believe in a college caste system? 91 replies</p>
<p>Why Law Degrees are worth nothing (unless you’re from a top school like Harvard)? 57 replies</p>
<p>I’d like to see the list of articles you’ve recently submitted. I suspect they might curiously align with these topics…</p>
<p>I just think, jarjar, that you’re under the impression that a school / college “makes or breaks you” - that if you get into (private hs, a “prestigious” college, a prestigious BBA and / or MBA), that therefore your life is a bed of roses and everyone will just make way for you. Look, I love elite colleges and I’m an unabashed snob about them, but what ultimately makes the difference is YOU and how you perform in whatever venue you are performing in. Your comment above about the PhD from Harvard says it all - you’re thinking like a high schooler, who thinks that grown-ups automatically bow down in reference if someone walks into a cocktail party or job interview with a Harvard diploma. That’s just not how life works, at all. Yes, elite schools serve as “smart stamps” upon entry; but if you’re smart, you’ll do fine in this world, and if you’re not smart in the real-world sense, no one will care about your diploma. </p>
<p>Is Brown BEO considered a top undergraduate business program? Or otherwise considered a “target” school?</p>
<p>I know it’s completely unorthodox as far as undergraduate business is concerned, especially since you have near-complete freedom outside the actual business curriculum. Hence why Brown BEO is not AACSB-accredited (unlike MIT Sloan and, of course, UPenn Wharton)</p>
<p>My company recruits at Brown for a variety of entry level corporate roles.</p>
<p>We like econ majors, applied math majors, physics majors, comp lit majors, psych majors, etc. You guys are very literal.</p>
<p>Target for WHAT, Catria?
What part of “different industries and employers care about different things for different positions” is unclear?</p>
<p>And what anyone who’s actually, well, worked in a real corporate environment knows – the decision to recruit at a given school isn’t solely based on “let’s rank all the schools top to bottom on perceived smartness and start at the top and work our way down.”</p>
<p>When an employer targets a school, it is not saying “and we believe that this is a superior school to any other school” or “this is the only place we can find candidates to suit our needs.” What goes into there may be any and all of the following:</p>
<p>1) Convenience for employees to travel there for recruiting
2) Extent to which key employees are enthused about going there to recruit (which may be for personal reasons)
3) Extent to which student body tends to be willing to relocate to where the employer needs them</p>
<p>I’m sure Blossom can think of 12 more; these are just the first that come to mind.</p>
<p>I bet if you ask again you might get a one-size-fits-all answer. </p>