MBA - what knowledge gained
 

I've been thinking about MBA (mostly because I got denied from a job due to lack of, even though I had the skills necessary to do the work and had prior experience at a smaller scale doing similar type of work).

so my question: what knowledge is gained from completing an MBA? Specific examples appreciated so I can learn the gaps!

edit: talking about a generic business mba (no specific focus like IT, Fin, health, etc)

edit2: TLDR - specific knowledge gained:
Management of teams of different environments
Knowledge: You gain some modeling, decision-making tools that can be useful.
Teamwork: You learn to perform with others, making the total greater than the sum of its part. (believe it or not, a lot of people who do MBA are not business people).

Feel like i've responded to this question before.

Not really sure what field you're in, but 3 key points
1) experience trumps education / MBA
2) get a company to pay you for going to MBA if possible: i know 2 people who have had theirs paid for
3) to really answer your questions; one person who finished told me a really good tip. What you get out of it are the CONNECTIONS. The people in the course are also in their 40s-50s, and they all work in senior director / VP roles to become presidents. Ultimately, that's your sweet spot; doing the homework, getting ot know them, to open doors...

Super grateful insight. You think you are going to be epic smart from the MBA... well ... that's no different than thinking your BA is good to apply for all the jobs out there now that you have a 50k debt paper on the wall... oh how naive was I back then. no diff than MBA

I've been looking to get an MBA as well. As the video states, it depends on what you want to do with your career.

Thanks for the reply but doesn't answer the question.

We all know MBA is about connection but that is more based on the school you attend - not related to knowledge.

Experience trumps MBA - yes, after a certain number of years.

Get company to pay for mba - ok great but hows that related to specific knowledge?


I'm looking for specific knowledge, skills gained by doing an MBA. Normally to develop these skills it may take 5-6 years on job experience, but if you do MBA you will have these skills in 2-3 years.

From what I've researched so far, every school is different, especially those in the higher rankings in the US. In terms of what skills and programs they provide. It really depends on what you want. You're the one paying them to teach you things.

You might find better answers on GMAT forums. Links are in the videos above.

I have to get this off my chest firstly, year 2020 SKILLS > paper unless your going to be a doctor or lawyer etc LOL.

Back to serious note, I cannot speak on myself personally but I have worked with many VP and regular employees with MBA'. With all of them focused on attaining stronger skills in management of teams of different environments (what ever that means I don't really know because the type of work my former company did was quite complex since it was focused in different global cultures). That's what I noticed while working with them directly on a day to day basis. I know kind of vague, but hope it kinda of helps.

OP got denied a job because didn't have MBA, is that a 1-2 off type thing or is this a consistent situation where multiple employers are denying because of lack of. There's always going to be that 1-2 off employer that will look for something most other employers aren't looking for. End of the day, what goals are trying to achieve? E.g. Are you trying to get into a VP position down the road and if so, can your field attain that without an MBA. Or are you doing MBA purely for knowledge/experience.

Why don't you ask the schools offering the MBAs? Every school will have a different answer for you. Your question is too vague.

Your original post says you "had the skills and experience to do the job but didn't get it because you didn't have an MBA." If that's actually true, then getting "the knowledge" without actually doing an MBA isn't going to get you a job - it sounds like you need to actually tick that box. But with respect, you might well have been told that lack of an MBA was why you got the job when it was actually something else.

But the reality is that an MBA is a nice to have but not a must have for most roles - what is the job you are trying to get? Many roles need something post-undergrad but are negotiable as to what it is... CFA/CPA/MBA/? all interchangeable. I think this is especially true if you are looking for a general MBA, aka not actually obtaining something specific.

-Mark

so if we take something like "attaining stronger skills in management of teams of different environments" ..... basically I will review my own skills to see if i have these....

Fair enough.
Did I read properly or did I missed what profession you're talking about.

The one key and core example would be masters in teaching. An X had to do the masters in order to run programs / and leader / guide childcare. So yes, she had some experience, but did required to get official knowledge... which on to be specific...planning curriculum were a definite one.

Thought I'd keep it general to business profession (could be a salesman, a lawyer, finance, Marketing, etc).

A general MBA should teach all of these professionals some common and key things that only an MBA could. Meaning, a LLB/JD, CPA/CFA, BBA-Marketing would not have these knowledge included their programs.

What's your current skillset? Do you have management experience, or are you in sales?

What are you trying to achieve over the next 10-20 years? Are you looking to make the jump from middle management to senior management?

If you can't get your company to pay for it, are you willing to amortize the costs (~50K for a Canadian school) over a longer period of time?

Close friends of mine have recently done MBAs. They're engineers by trade who already make 6-figures but are looking to grow into senior management roles (200K+). I can see the value of an MBA for them because you can only make so much as a subject-matter expert without having something under your belt that shows you have some business acumen.

One of my friends is doing an online MBA and even though he isn't able to get it covered, he's able to do it for a fraction of the cost of in-person programs. With remote work becoming more popular, I see no issue in doing online MBA programs.

He works as a software development manager so the MBA he does isn't particularly tied to his field I believe. He's mainly doing it to up his resume for higher level executive positions.

whats he hoping to learn from it? given its remote the connections reasons may not be as good as attending physical school.....

RE: what he is hoping to learn - I'm not exactly sure but will ask him when I get the chance (likely not until after this crisis :fuckthatshit:) and PM you when I find out.

As for remote programs being inferior to physical schools for connections, I actually have a different opinion on that. Even though I didn't go to an MBA, I've gone through a professional Master's program in-person.

I think that regardless of whether it is an online or in-person program, there are people you will get along better with, and people you don't get along with. Seeing my classmates in-person really made it clear the types of people I want to connect with more, and those I don't.

ie. I connected better with people that I shared mutual values and interests with.

I think the misconception coming out of a grad program is that you're automatically going to be BFFs with every single classmate in the program, but the honest truth is that it's just a misconception. This goes, even if you're mr. popular.

Come to think of it, if I did my program online, the whole experience of having to work with people I didn't jive with, would have been a lot less painful.

Online or not, as long as you put in the effort to meet people offline, you're still going to connect with people that you will build lasting friendships with. At the end of the day, it's not about the quantity, it's the quality (cliche of the day).

Your cohort can be a mixed bag. It's a luck of the draw, like anything in life. You'll get some shitty people, you'll get some superstars, and you'll get some people who end up or may end up being at your wedding and your kids birthdays some day.

The one important thing I learned about an MBA is not what you learn from the program - It's the people and connections you make, regardless of whether it is online or in person. Let's stop and think for a second. Where do you think you'll be more successful? Doing your MBA at let's say UBC or University of Phoenix? Who are you likely to meet at these two schools? And which will be more recognized should you decide to take your personal and professional career outside of Canada?

My brother is doing a MBA program at USC. It's a mixed program both online and in person, but mostly online due to COVID-19 and he can't get across the border given the circumstances. It's been just fine, but think of the network of people he'll have access to, compared to if he had completed his MBA at UBC.

The one important thing I learned about an MBA is not what you learn from the program - It's the people and connections you make

the most shittiest reason to spend $20,000-$40,000+.

but at the end of the day it is true - it's not what you know but who you know.

okay

Maybe it's Monday and I don't think well. Wasn't the OP question asking what knowledge is gained from MBA as OP knows MBA is about the connections from the beginning. Then now the OP indicates it's not what you know but who you know. So what was the purpose of this discussion? LOL.

The point of the thread was pointless and doomed from the beginning. My first post in the thread somewhat alluded to that but I guess the thread took its natural path and went around in circle so here we are back to square one lol

Maybe on to a new subject, or maybe I should make a new thread.

Can anyone comment on how to approach the GMAT?

Start a new thread.

The purpose was to find out when an employer asks "do you have an MBA" and you say "no" ... what skills are you missing that can only be learned from an MBA.

It seems no one can really answer without turning it into a word salad.

So it seems the reason to spend 40k is to make connections....nothing else. There are plenty other ways to make connections (attend social events for designation, sales conferences etc)

The only skills discussed here is "attaining stronger skills in management of teams of different environments" ... so is one skills worth 40k?

Lets put it into perspective maybe...... you can spend 400k on a Ferrari or 80k on a BMW. both does the same. Would you spend 400k on a Ferrari just so you can drive faster than a honda on a highway? This is basically what I've taken away so far...

Maybe it's the end of the road for you with your existing employer. Have you thought of it that way?

can't comment on the ferrari and BMW, cause I've never driven the ferrari.

The 40k spent amount everything we acquire in life is always catch 22.. Assuming skills one acquire in the MBA was truly worthy, useful as well as executed at the right situation.