I work in a big tech company with over 100k employees as a developer. I have a masters in computer engineering. I have 6 years of experience and have been “moving up the ladder.” I am not really sure what I want to do with my career moving forward. I do like my job (not love) and like the people I work with. My question is if an MBA and an MSCE is marketable and if an MBA will help me with my career. I tried to look for data for mid career salary for people with a masters in computer engineering and an MBA and could not find anything. Any advise?
It really depends on what you think you might want to do. That combination of degrees can be very attractive, indeed necessary, if you would like to go into venture capital for example. If you want to move up where you are or in a developer role, probably not. If you would like to move to a different field (banking, consulting ), an MBA can make that possible.
If you simply want some additional skills, you might consider an executive program (and your employer might pay.) Night/weekend programs are a great way to get the credential. Full time programs can be a great way to build a network.
Ime, it is rarely a pure ROI matter in a given industry, but the flexibility and network as well. You need to figure out what you are looking for.
That is the problem, I am not sure what I want to do. So that is why I want to just focus on driving my career to the most financially profitable scenario until I figure out what to do. At least in that case I would be okay in case I do not figure out what I want to do.
My employer is going to foot half the bill if I do it over 4 years. If I want to do it in 2 years they would foot the quarter of the bill. So at the end of the day I would end up spending around $20K over 2 years. I can only do it part time/night (should have included that).
I would look at the programs you’re considering and try to assess how interesting they seem. Doing an MBA while working requires real commitment. The kind of commitment that’s a grind if you’re not genuinely into it.
An MBA can allow you to pivot more easily should you wish to do that. Given your ambivalence about your current path, that flexibility could be welcome. I don’t generally advocate letting dollars alone (paricularly future income, which can be so uncertain) determine whether an education is “worth it”; think about how your life will feel doing this.
My undergraduate degree is mechanical engineering. I got an MBA about 10 years after undergraduate. In my case, I think there are jobs that I have gotten that I would not have gotten had I not gotten an MBA. Unfortunately, you might need to leave your current company because other employers will value the MBA but your current employer may or may not
If you don’t known what you want to do, getting a graduate degree, ANY graduate degree, is a bad idea. If it’s a terminal or professional degree (JD, PhD, MBA, etc), it’s a *terrible * idea. Don’t spend 2-4 years and $40-60k if you don’t know that you want what comes at the end of it.
comicfish that is what I am asking. What comes after? Is there a market for that? Is something like that in demand? What kind of positions would be accessible to me with that background. That is what I am asking.
Wje914be What kind of careers opened up? I am open to looking at new employers in the future after I get my degree. My current company does not value an MBA for my position or even other positions higher up.
Management in a tech or manufacturing firm, venture capital, banking, project management. – management consulting, anything which might require financial and strategic expertise as well as engineering. If you wanted to do something entrepreneurial, you might be better positioned and networked to pitch your company, but not necessarily. If you stay with your current employer, it sounds like the degree won’t matter. Should you wish to wish to work for someone else, it could help. There are plenty of people who rise through the ranks without an MBA and pick up much of what they need along the way.
It doesn’t sound like this excites you for its own sake, and truly, whether it’ll pay off or not is a crapshoot. You may want to see who interviews at the career office of the school you’re considering to get an idea of the doors that will open for you.
Will your company require you continue to work for them a certain amount of time after the MBA if they’re partially footing the bill?
JustGradutae no I will not.