Sunday, April 19, 2009

MBA or not to MBA ?

Today, I went to Barnes & Noble to seek books which would answer the question haunting me for quite some time now, 'Should I do an MBA?". I found many books ranging from "MBA in a Book" to "How to get into the top B-schools", which tried to answer the question "Why you should do an MBA?" ,"What does a B-school teach?" ,"What kind of a job are you looking at once you do an MBA with a specific specialization?" ,etc etc. But I'd like to know something more specific, like what motivates someone from a technical background to do an MBA.Some of the reasons I could come up with are:
1. To get a job with a better salary
2. To get out of the technical field. Either one is bored with it or just does not like technical work anymore.
3. To move into the Management track of the technical profession itself.
4. You are genuinely interested in managing a business, or being a manager in a big corporation or want to be an entrepreneur.

Points 1 and 4 are not for me. Point 3 is a maybe. So lets discuss point 2.
I am not bored yet with what I do. But I can't imagine myself doing the same work for next ten years or more. Then is MBA the only option?
Having read about what is taught in B-schools and the culture there, I am sure I will enjoy it. It will be a good challenge ,and I'm quite certain I'll make the most of it. But that should be no reason to do it, or can it be?

As you can see, I am quite confused. Next step is going to be ask people who did an MBA, what motivated them to do.. hope they don't reply with the infamous MBA jargon ! :)



4 comments:

Nikhil Patil said...

you're not alone. i am doing phd because i thought mba was a fraud. now sometimes i think phd is a fraud, might as well do an mba after it :P

Sai said...

if its just for the degree... a part time mba shd suffice....
a full time mba is a lot more effort...sleepless nights...and breakneck days...and will be life-altering (provided its a good school)...are u prepared for that?

Sai said...

@NP phd is a fraud [:P]

UK said...

@NP & Sai.. thanks!
I hadnt seen your comments. Stupid blogger doesnt send updates. But yes, I think MBA needs more thinking and I have to be mentally prepared before I jump into it.