Why MBA after engineering?

<p>In the UK, general practitioners make over twice what mechanical engineers earn, a pay gap comparable to the one currently found here. In the US, federally employed doctors currently make about the same as private ones.</p>

<p>I can't imagine that demand for health care will decline when it is free for everyone.</p>

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In the UK, general practitioners make over twice what mechanical engineers earn, a pay gap comparable to the one currently found here. In the US,

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<p>Not the most unbiased source possible, but Michael Moore's Sicko a few years back had a nice piece on how much doctors get paid in the UK. </p>

<p>YouTube</a> - Sicko: Michael Moore interviews Doctor in UK</p>

<p>The demand won't change, just the amount paid to MD's for their services. Given the amount and cost of education to become an MD, the equation isn't quite as simple as what you present.</p>

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Consulting can be several different things. First there are technical consultants. So if a manufacturing plant has a problem with a compressor, and the company's internal engineers can't figure it out (or don't have the time to figure it out), the company will call engineering consultants. They are basically very specialized technical experts that come in and solve the problem. An example woulf be Fluor.</p>

<p>Then there are design consultants. If you're building a new plant or bridge, or whatnot, you'll call these companies. These engineers will spec out the new construction, including the technical aspects, the metallurgical aspects, the structural aspects, create all the draws and spec sheets, etc. Basically they'll design a plant of equipment on paper and hand it over for you to construct, or they'll have a construction group that takes over and makes what's on the drawings. An example is KBR.</p>

<p>Then there are technology consultants. These consultants perform R&D to design new technologies (new types of pumps, new types of measuring instruments, etc.) and then try to sell that technology to existing companies (the technical sales guy makes the pitch). These are usually smaller companies that have niche markets.

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<p>I take it these consultants are different from the ones usually referred in CC. About how much is their pay since they don't seem to require much of an MBA?</p>

<p>"I can't imagine that demand for health care will decline when it is free for everyone. "</p>

<p>Free? I guess if you don't pay taxes its free.</p>

<p>"Not the most unbiased source possible, but Michael Moore's Sicko a few years back had a nice piece on how much doctors get paid in the UK."</p>

<p>Bringing a Michael Moore argument into a debate automatically takes away any credibility you may have had.</p>

<p>Let's see here:
Doctors aren't making as much money
Engineers aren't making as much money
Financial/Wall Street workers aren't making as much money
A far left radical socialist, and the puppet of Bill Ayers and Moveon.org was just elected President. But I'm sure its just a coincidence.</p>

<p>Look, you can't pick a career or get a degree that will make you rich. An MBA doesn't get you into management, getting in with the right people and having them pay for your MBA can get you into management. If this country is truly headed down a far left path, then the only degree that can for sure make you rich is an Ivy League law degree, so you can become a tax attorney because everyone is going to need help figuring out this new Marxist tax code. Hell, Obama's own cabinet can't even figure out the tax code!!!</p>

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Bringing a Michael Moore argument into a debate automatically takes away any credibility you may have had.

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<p>Just because it's mentioned in a Michael Moore film doesn't make it false. I was simply mentioning the first time I had heard anything on the subject. He spins a lot of crap, but the first result on google shows that the NHS pays pretty darned good <a href="http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/Default.aspx?Id=553%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/Default.aspx?Id=553&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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Bringing a Michael Moore argument into a debate automatically takes away any credibility you may have had.

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A far left radical socialist, and the puppet of Bill Ayers and Moveon.org was just elected President. But I'm sure its just a coincidence

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There is a splinter in your eye.</p>

<p>Yeah, you're right lockn, I mean spending over $1 trillion on pork barrel spending aimed at giving money to ACORN (in his first month in office mind you), and aiming to nationalize banks and healthcare is totally a rational, centrist thing to do. And starting your political career in the living room of an unrepentant terrorist who bombed the pentagon, capitol and NYPD headquarters, then stomped on the American flag and yelled, "guilty as hell, free as a bird, what a great country," is the sure sign of a typical, centrist American.</p>

<p>Hahaha, he campaigned on mailing welfare checks to 45% of the country and called it a middle class tax cut. hahahaha. the guy is clever, no doubts there.</p>

<p>There's one woman who can save us, and her name is Sarah.</p>

<p>But then again, what do I know? I'm just a small town, bitter American clinging to my guns and religion with antipathy towards those who aren't like me.</p>

<p>......wow.......</p>

<p>No major or degree path guarantees anything. Bill Gates is rich as hell and he never graduated college. He had no degree at all. If you want to make a killing then start a business. Most millionaires started their own businesses. Who cares about banking. Read about Michael Dell too.</p>

<p>Everyone here is missing the fact that there is a difference between being Kobe Bryant, who is contracted by the Lakers and gets paid millions and millions of dollars per year, and being the guy writing his checks. </p>

<p>It is all about innovation.</p>

<p>Which career path is better towards getting into a Top MBA program eventually</p>

<p>Actuary or Engineering?</p>

<p>It doesn't matter. Your major doesn't matter, and what kind of work you do doesn't matter. If you get job and rise quickly and make a huge impact, what is the difference? </p>

<p>Warrent Buffet got rejected from the Harvard business school (I'm pretty sure he did undgergrad at the University of Nebraska, but I may be wrong). Your success isn't dependent on an MBA, your course of study shouldn't be guided toward getting a piece of paper later on that is contingent on your workplace performance. You need to step back and think about what you enjoy. The only way you will be able to get ahead is if you love what you are doing, and dedicate yourself to it. If engineering is what you love and what you know you can do well, then that is the best course. If it is being an actuary, then do that. There is no prescribed path.</p>

<p>Too many people in this post think they can check off items on a list and get what they want. The best way to get a great job isn't to rack up degrees and hope for the best. The best jobs aren't advertised for on monster.com, they are all in-house through people they know.</p>

<p>The best thing you can do is go into a field that you love, and that you are the best at. Impress others and develope a reputation. You don't want to be a resume in a pile with hundreds of others. The people on the inside recruit people who are proven. </p>

<p>I'm not saying, "don't get an MBA". However, the entire notion that an undergrad degree will somehow put you in position to getting an MBA from a top school is ridiculous. What you should be focusing on is how to put yourself in the best position to be succesfull. The top MBA programs only want winners, so if you pick a field where you can't be one because you have some preconcieved notion that it will give you an advantage, then you'll be out of luck.</p>

<p>Buffett:
"He first enrolled at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, (1947–1949), but then transferred to the University of Nebraska in 1950, where he received a B.S. in Economics.[19] He then received a M.S. in Economics, Columbia University, in 1951"</p>

<p>And yes he was turned down from HBS, and probably for the better. Benjamin Dodd and David Graham taught him at Columbia, security analysts. Buffett may had been something else entirely had he not gone to Columbia.</p>

<p>What do you guys think about a part time MBA? </p>

<p>I am currently going to Santa Clara University for my Evening Part MBA with a BS in Computer Engineering and Engineering Management. Alot of the comments said that going for an MBA right after school was a bad idea due to lack of work experience, but how about part time?</p>

<p>I am expecting to graduate with 3.5 years of work experience with an MBA at 27. what do you think? was this a mistake? </p>

<p>Also, here is the rankings for Santa Clara,
[Santa</a> Clara University - Leavey School of Business - About UsBusiness School Rankings](<a href=“http://www.scu.edu/business/about/rankings.cfm]Santa”>About Leavey - Leavey School of Business - SCU)
My undergrad degree was a no name school for engineering though.</p>

<p>“Somewhere around 5-8 years into a career, a person has to choose. Technical engineers are always in demand and have a more relaxed lifestyle, but they generally top out quickly on salary. Managers have the opportunity to run up the “ladder” and make the big bucks, but take a risky path to do so.” - G.P. Burdell</p>

<p>What exactly is the risky path? and why is it risky?</p>

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<p>If you go into management, your career is less secure. When a company is sold or goes through layoffs, the product managers, general managers, and other business positions are the first to go. Technical engineers and operators/technicians are the last to go. Also, most business units go through restructuring every few years, and there’s the potential to be made “redundant”. That doesn’t happen in technical positions unless a plant is closed (and if you work in a high-capital industry or one with a predictable life style, that is not a frequent occurrence). Finally, it is easier to hide your actual performance (or lack thereof) in a technical position. You can do nothing all day, and as long as people see you in the plant talking to people and looking at things, you can often hide your lack of performance (just call it “firefighting”). As long as you understand the process well, you will have some value to the company. On the other hand, a business manager’s performance is much easier to evaluate quantitatively, and he will be quickly fired for lack of performance.</p>

<p>I know it’s been a month…</p>

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<p>Part-time (often either night or weekend) degrees are very good options for many students, but there’s some sort of stigma against them on here. I’m not quite sure why. You’re correct in your argument that it allows you to earn a degree and experience simultaneously; in addition your employer will often pay for the degree.</p>

<p>There are two minor negatives to a night MBA: first, students do not network as much. In an MBA program, the real value is creating relationships and meeting people that can help your career eventually. Fulltime MBA students often work very closely, spend all day on campus together, and get to know each other in and outside of class. Part-time MBA students still work together and get to know each other outside of class, but not to the same extent.</p>

<p>Second, part-time MBA’s often require you to attend lower ranked schools (MBA rankings are important, and that’s been discussed in this thread already). Usually, the way a part-time MBA works is that you work in a certain city, then attend the best school with a part-time program in that city, regardless of qualifications. For instance, let’s say you happen to work in Orlando. Even if you had the stats for admission to HBS, Stanford, Wharton, etc., your options are Rollins College and UCF. Maybe you’re lucky and happen to work in a city next to a top ranked business program, but most people do not. More and more this is becoming less of an issue, though. Up until about 10 years ago, in Houston the best part-time MBA option was the University of Houston, and most people went there. Now Tulane, Rice, UT, and TAMU have added programs in Houston. Also, several top schools are offering distance MBA’s, like Cornell and Duke. Those programs are usually EMBA’s (which are much more expensive and require more work experience) but they are options for some.</p>

<p>^ Good points.</p>

<p>I just finished my evening MBA, and while my stats may have gotten me into a better school I chose a local school so I could keep my job and thus my family fed. However, getting laid off 6 months into the program didn’t help. I then had difficulties finding a job because as an engineer getting an MBA you find that the jobs you are qualified they don’t want to hire your for because of the pending degree and the jobs you will be qualified for won’t hire you because the degree is still pending. I was “forced” into a halfway decent job with crappy pay but it has kept food on the table as I finished my degree.</p>

<p>I took courses in a cohort and got to know all my classmates very well. Seeing as we are in Cincinnati a lot of the students were from the local large companies so that gave a good spin with good competition and raised the class standard some, as these companies tend to hire well educated people. Many people, especially the engineers in the class, expressed that they liked the evening option because it gave them the opportunity to test out the theory being taught as it was being taught, only able to do so because they worked at the same time. This was an interesting advantage to the program.</p>

<p>Another nice thing about the program I was in is that they gave full access to all services that full time students received, this is not true with all universities so check this out before attending. While the job placement services have been horrible I wonder how much of this owed to the economy. Well, in the meantime I will be freshening up my resume and looking, but because I was able to get a job before the economy tanked I am still able to keep food on the table, and that’s a plus in my, and my kids, book.</p>

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<p>On the other hand, with an MBA, one could become a ‘consultant’, whose value is notoriously difficult to quantify.</p>

<p>Why exactly would you need an MBA to be a consultant? I thought consultants would be more inclined to otherwise be technical managers, and my impression was that an MBA doesn’t necessarily lead to strictly being a technical manager (although I suppose any sort of higher degree could land you any sort of management job…).</p>