<p>While a couple years old and in a different economic environment, this BW article is worth scanning:</p>
<p>And here are some sites with a couple-of-year old data on starting salaries from some name schools:</p>
<p>Though, as one of the earlier posters said, treat these 'averages' with some caution, given the survey response rates.</p>
<p>To the OP:</p>
<p>
[quote]
your biggest expense will still be your time,
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Economists measure opportunity cost by what you realistically could get paid for the time you spend in the classroom -- or for that segment of your life when you forgo work to go to school (if that's what you are going to do).</p>
<p>If you are worried about opportunity cost, you could go to a part-time or evening program and still be working. (Of course, the opp cost might be levied in other parts of your life). That way, you could maintain your realisticaly obtainable wage while earning your MBA. It wouldn't matter.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Your goals sound great, but I think it's easier said than done to become a CFO. It will most likely require you to switch jobs a few times, and I think a name brand MBA would serve you well for a career in corporate finance.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You should investigate this fact and not believe a couple of folks who talk about this on CC. I have seen that most CFOs have had an accounting background and a solid, though not necessarily, name or stellar academic background. One good example: a lot of the VCs in Silicon Valley will have a bunch of partners that went to Harvard/Stanford/Berkeley/MIT, but have a CFO who earned an accounting degree at the likes of Utah State. But again, don't take my word for it; investigate.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply. Right now, I am considering HBU, U of Houston or Rice.I have no doubt in my mind that the Rice U program is far superior, but the cost is about $80000. By Houston's standards, that is the price of a not so great home. Also, I have managed to live an almost debt free life where most of my money goes to investing and having an $80000 loan to repay is a lot for me. Do you think it would still be worth it? Another question: I was looking at the Columbia MBA program, and some of the classes look exactly like the ones I took during my undergrad Econ program. Managerial Economics for example, the description of the course is almost exactly like the Managerial Economics course I took. I cant believe it can be much more "in-depth", especially when a lot of the MBA students might have a very limited background in Economics. The thought of paying that much money to take courses I have already taken is sort of discouraging, but I keep my mind open to your feedback.</p>
<p>Slipper1234's post answered your questions very well. The MBA program is not just about taking classes and of course the decision is yours to make.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Slipper1234's post answered your questions very well.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yes, he/she answered the question very, very accurately and sensitively for someone who is driven to be in the top echelons of earning capacity through slaving fiendish hours. I don't get the sense at all that bschoolwiz wants to go down that path. Certainly the expectations in a top MBA program are higher and the quality of classmates is much higher than <top 30. However, fit is key. And this is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. For those who leveraged everything to graduate from a top 15 b-school in 2002, I wonder how they feel about having gone so much into debt when the jobs were scarce and they weren't able to capitalize on the ephemeral value of the degree the way others have done.</p>
<p>
[quote]
"Economists measure opportunity cost by what you realistically could get paid for the time you spend in the classroom "
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I wasn't simply talking about opportunity costs. If you read my post completely, you would realize that I mentioned part time MBAs. He had clearly stated that he values his free time and wants a family life. Going to an MBA program while working full time would certainly force him to sacrifice that in the short term. He needs to put a value to that time he will lose.</p>
<p>As for accountants being CFOs..who gives a crap. There are lots of ways to succeed in life, but I personally believe in doing what it takes to give myself the best opportunity to do so.</p>
<p>Don't do it. If you're smart and work hard, you can do fine in business w/out an MBA. MBA's are only good for that first job, no matter what anyone tells you. This is true for the vast majority of MBA holders. After your first job, it's all on you and what you did during that first job - caveat emptor! A business degree from a non Top 20 school isn't going to do anything for you. Even a top end MBA from Harvard, Wharton or Stanford only has limited value in the long run. In the short run, it can have tremendous value: access to great recruiters and elite firms that only recruit at the highest prestige schools such as private equity firms and hedge funds. If you want to do Private equity or work at a hedge fund, you should only aspire to HWS and maybe Columbia. If you want to work at a "top" firm outside these arenas, an MBA from a very good school will do the trick. I recommend looking at the WSJ's recruiter rankings as it gives a very nice overview of who recruiters are clamoring for. If you're in Texas, you have a great option right there in Austin and, to a much lesser extent, in Houston (Rice). Outside of that, I'd say forget an MBA from anywhere else.</p>
<p>kay dubya, I agree with you to an extent. However, I have spoke with potential employers (those I want to work for) and even my current employer, and they have told me that even with leadership demonstration, strong business knowledge, great technical skills, and solid communication skills that they wouldn't even consider me for the jobs I want without an MBA. In fact, they told me that they wouldn't consider anyone who didn't have an MBA mainly because there were so many qualified candidates with an MBA, and that set them apart. </p>
<p>The MBA is a guarantee to the employer, and that's about it. Also, any guarantee is only really worth the cost of the paper its printed on I guess top 20 schools use really expensive paper.</p>
<p>Regardless, the MBA will help me get that first job in the field I want to be in. Will I regret getting an MBA from a non-top 20 school? Probably not, since I wont even be considered for that job without one. I will probably just resent the fact that I was forced to pay all that money for a degree that taught me nothing. Still, jumping though hoops seems to be half of everything these days.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I will probably just resent the fact that I was forced to pay all that money for a degree that taught me nothing.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Japher, since you are an engineer, how can you say that an MBA which emphasizes business, strategies, finance, accounting, marketing won't teach you anything?</p>
<p>Like some other posters said, don't do HBU MBA.</p>
<p>UH isn't too bad. Rice is very good. UT Austin is also very good.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if you knew this, but UT has a Houston Executive program where they teach at the Houston City Club. It seems pretty intense, but the degree you get is NO different than a degree from Austin.</p>
<p>However, if you're able to move around, go to the best school possible!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Japher, since you are an engineer, how can you say that an MBA which emphasizes business, strategies, finance, accounting, marketing won't teach you anything?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Just playing devils advocate (being hypothetical). The worse anyone can say about the education is that "I learned nothing". Even so, an MBA opens doors that wasn't there without it, regardless of you learned... That's what I was getting at. Me? It is really doubtful I will say something like that.</p>
<p>You can't do the A&M satellite MBA program? Why only HBU, UT, and Rice?</p>
<p>90% of business majors go into it because they think they are all gonna get MBAs and be CEOs and be loaded. Obviously this has flooded the market, getting an MBA from some random low tier school may help you to a certain point, but its not carring you to the top, you need a high ranked one to do this (obviously there are exceptions)</p>
<p>You don't even need an MBA to be a CEO. I know a lot of tech/engineering companies where the CEO's DO NOT have MBAs (like the company we all know, AMD).</p>
<p>bsw, you have a good point. If someone is planning on starting there own business (terrifying, yet the ultimate test of ability) then the bschool name does not matter, yet if you plan to work for a major corp that already exsistant, your better have the brand name school</p>
<p>
[quote]
You don't even need an MBA to be a CEO.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You don't even need a high school diploma to be a CEO.</p>
<p>Personally, I feel if you can get a CEO job or start a company and run it succesfully without a MBA or degree than great, go for it. However, the odds are in the favor of those with an MBA and/or other degree. I'm not a gambling man, but if I were, I would do anything to better my odds.</p>
<p>The house cheats.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Obviously this has flooded the market, getting an MBA from some random low tier school may help you to a certain point, but its not carring you to the top, you need a high ranked one to do this (obviously there are exceptions)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It takes about one second to think of so many exceptions to this that it's a useless point. Look at Mark Hurd, CEO of Hewlett Packard, bachelors in business from a non-descript college....If you want to "rise to the top" in consulting or i-banking, this gets to be more true. But the OP pretty much stated he has no interest in that...It's really not about where you went to school if you want to join corporate America, work hard, have the right personality, and want to rise through the ranks.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It's really not about where you went to school if you want to join corporate America, work hard, have the right personality, and want to rise through the ranks.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Like it's so easy to just "rise through the ranks" in corporate America. A better description of people that choose that route is: "willing to settle for mediocrity while MBAs are being hired to be my boss and my boss's boss."</p>
<p>It's by Patrick Stewart (if I remember correctly). He's a philosophy ph.d turned consultant who criticizes MBA programs for being nothing more than Rolodex builders. I think the article's called "The MBA Myth."</p>