Comments on: MBA or no MBA??

By: Rajesh Setty

Rajesh Setty — Sat, 16 May 2009 19:39:02 +0000

On a lighter note – you say “everyone is doing MBA” so if that’s true there won’t be anyone left behind to discuss whether they should or not???

All the very best.

In my opinion, it is not whether you should do an MBA or NOT. People can succeed either way. The eBook is for people who wanted to do an MBA but for some reason (probably financial) they can’t afford to do it.

Cheers,
Raj

By: kuntal

kuntal — Sat, 16 May 2009 19:31:55 +0000

everyone this days is doing MBA, the people who are not, are discussing whether they should or not. Its just like a trend in students like computer engineering, when job options will decrease in this field it will be abandoned, people think they will land a good job with this degree, command a team, sit in a ac office, but in my opinion better be a mba then not.

By: yinka olaito

yinka olaito — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:53:45 +0000

Rajesh, this debate has being ongoing for years. It all depends on what we are gunning for as an individuals. For some environments where emphasis is placed on paper qualifications, MBA will be great. But where emphasis is placed on skills demonstration it may not be essential. Though the networking opportunities presented by MBA is not small and the leverage it offers.
So let each determines what he is looking for and go for it.

By: PR

PR — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:17:10 +0000

Amazing Blog, Amazing Comments :

My 2 cents if I may. 1) If you want to be an Entrepreneur(Ravi $ Ant) screw MBA. When you start a small company. 2)Want to strike big in the corporate world , MBA is the mantra. Also if u wanna start here and then do point 1(above).

I am doing the talk but I am actually at no where. I want a number 2(above) but I cannot get into top 5 B schools as I wasn’t that mature when I was in school and have low grades.

By: Rajesh Setty

Rajesh Setty — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:34:22 +0000

Hello Anthony,

Thank you for your kind comments.

One thing to remember is that whatever path you take (MBA or No MBA) – there are ways to realize your dream. MBA is not a bad thing nor it is a good thing, especially, if you can achieve your dreams without having an MBA.

Without knowing your complete situation, it is hard for me to give a generic advice as to whether you should or should not pursue an MBA.

If startups are your passion, then here is a starter list of articles on that topic on my blog:

http://blog.lifebeyondcode.com/2006/10/11/blast-from-the-past-entrepreneur-pack/

The first thing I would suggest you look at is “with whom are you starting the business”. The structure and configuration to execute is the biggest challenge (bigger than the idea itself) .

Have a great week ahead.

Best,
Raj

By: Anthony

Anthony — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:01:18 +0000

Hi Rajesh, I think this is the first blog i have ever fully read, very intriguing. I’d like to ask your opinion; I have had few e-business ideas but I just can never start them up! Maybe I don’t know a structured way of going about it or I don’t have the right people on my side; that’s why I am thinking of pursuing an MBA. It’s not that I don’t have business knowledge, I have computer science and economics degrees plus more than 10 years in IT and project management. But perhaps I’m lacking confidence to start-up a business on my own without having an MBA to back me up. Should I pursue an MBA in hopes of coming out with skills and right people on my side or just put all that effort, time, and investment into starting something now?? Thanks.

By: Rajesh Setty

Rajesh Setty — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:15:51 +0000

Thank you for your comment and question Ravi.

There is a reason you thought of doing an MBA. Kelloggs would be a great school to achieve that objective. However, if you are looking for options outside of an MBA, there are many that exist. It requires more discipline on your end to make that alternative option work – because unlike in an MBA program, “do it on your own” programs won’t have someone to enforce the structure and discipline. On the positive side, if you get the right help, you can achieve those objectives without spending a fortune.

If you want me to explain this further, please send me a note offline with your contact details.

Best,
Raj

By: Ravi

Ravi — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:03:51 +0000

Hi Rajesh,

Great Blog… I was looking for information regarding why I should do an MBA and got the information. I am 28 years old, have MS in Computer Science with 4 years of work experience for a pharma company in Chicago area and I have my own consulting business(with 5 employees),I am thinking of doing MBA from Kellogs(or top 20 schools) as they just started parttime MBA, which we can finish in 2.5 years. But my big dilemma is instead of doing an MBA should I concentrate on my consulting company and grow it? which I don’t know if I will succed in because of the competition. Any suggestion/help will be greatly appreciated

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:25:00 +0000

Thanks Valentine. Good points. Agree with you on everything especially on the point that learning is a life long endeavour

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:17:00 +0000

It really depends on what you want to do. As noted, getting an MBA does not mean effectiveness or success.
I have my MBA. I remember most of my MBA stuff because I had an idea of what I wanted to do before my MBA. A lot of MBAers go to get the paper for a job or move up in the organisation. There are a lot of lawyers, accountants and engineers in MBAs.
What MBA does give you are the tools of the business trade. It can help you quickly analyse the competitive environment. The methodologies are sound and well structured (Porter’s Competitive analysis, as an example). But, everyone using the same tools do not necessarily come to the same conclusion. This is where the individuals make the difference like everything else in life.
While a lot of the MBA material can be self-learned, how many of us are disciplined enough to do that?
It is interesting that two of the most successful techies do not even have an undergrad degree in Applied Science or whatever, Bill Gates and Ellison. Will an MBA make you a Bill Gates? A well trained MBA will see too much in the risk analysis and tend to be more cautious.
If you are an entrepreneur (like Azim Premji) and feel the need to polish up on your business skills, think about hiring an MBA instead of doing it yourself. If you are a professional and would like to expand your scope of business, an MBA might be the right thing. Know what you want and you will get more out of the program. For engineers, knowing a bit about finance and mareketing is always a good thing.
Education is a life long endeavour. Learning from one’s own experience is only one data point in life. Education can help you expand those data points. Education in universities is the cumulative knowledge of man for your consumption. What you do with it and how succesful you are depends on you.