As to the MBA programs - which has a good record for their graduates hired at good pay by good companies? Bottom line is always the success rate of their graduates!

Hard or not just take your time in taking the classes! I took one at a time with the exception of taking a couple classes for two terms. But the classes were easy classes and I could handle to workload and work full time. By taking one class at a time I was able to maintain and graduate with a 3.85 GPA.

I know that at the end I was wanting to FINISH!!! When you graduate you have a BIG sigh of relief. But now I want to go back! I guess I'm a glutton for punishment! At the same time I was able to go for free!!! - and I couldn't pass the opportunity to get my MBA.

Unfortuantely, the economy is not very condusive to graduates of any kind securing employment. Where I am currently employed, there there is a hiring freeze as well as no promotions or advancement! I am at the point of seeking employment elsewhere but no one is hiring for any decent wages. Anothe ris the ability to gain experience TO advance!

Hope this is helpful!

I've just decided that I definitely want to pursue my MBA. I'm too late for Fall 09 enrollment, but I'm not going to let that deter me!

Here's what I found out from others, and the conclusions I came to.

1. You should get your MBA if you want to learn more about business. That passion will get you through the tough spots, and you'll never regret the time and money you spent. Because you learned something you really wanted more of.

2. Check out the programs side by side. I keep an Excel spreadsheet of the programs, costs, majors/concentrations, extracurricular opportunities, deadlines, admission requirements. I use BusinessWeek's ranking of MBA programs to find programs. It rocks. Then I check out the program's site.

3. Check out the faculty & start making connections. Nothing says you can't reach out to them, especially the newer ones. I like to find the ones who are into the area I most want to study. Ask them if it's right for you. They'd know best!

4. Get the preliminaries out of the way. Go ahead & study & take the GMAT. Get it out of the way. Then when you're ready, it'll be there. It's not a commitment, but it's movement.

Good luck, Andy!

One thing I would HIGHLY recommend while you are working on your MBA. Exchange business cards with the other students. If you don't have any - make some! If they don't have any write their name, number address, etc. on paper and transfer it to a nore perminiant place like a rolodex! You never know who you may run into that may be of some help in the job market!

Hi Andy, I've just come across this post through the Brazen Careerist homepage and felt the need to comment. In my day-to-day activities at TalentEgg, I'm constantly meeting students who are deciding to go to grad school because they think it's what they have to do in order to get a good job. It reminds me very much of what you're implying when you say you kind of just want to 'Get it over with'.

I'll share some advice from my own experience (I went to grad school right after my undergrad): You'll likely get a lot more out of your grad school education if you spend a few years in the workforce and away from an academic environment. First of all, you'll likely crave going back to school (grass is always greener) and second, you'll come to class armed with knowledge of the real world- not just academia.

Hi Andy - Here's my one thought. I'm in a Masters of Accounting program, but I have to take 12 credits of classes w/MBA students that aren't accounting related at all. Everyone else in my classes is ten years out of school (on average) and although it's interesting to listen to their stories/experiences, I don't feel like I'm really getting anything out of the classes because I can't contribute due to my minimal "real-world" experience. A few of my classmates decided to get their MBA almost immediately after undergrad and they've mentioned feeling useless in class for the same reason. Just another element to think about when you're deciding how soon to go back for your MBA. Good luck!

I do some part-time work as an MBA Admission Consultant and have been helping folks get into MBA programs for about 3 years. From reading your post, I can without a doubt say that you should not get an MBA right now.

You only get 1 MBA so you should pick carefully to make sure it's something that you want to do. Unless you never ever plan to work outside Iowa, you should also look outside the state. The main reason is that you are exposed to an overwhelming array of career choices in an MBA program and if you don't have a game plan of what you want to do, you will run yourself ragged checking out every option. Plus your classmates who are more focused will outcompete you for any jobs because they will have more time to focus on 1 area instead of 4 or 5.

If you get an MBA and don't really make a career move with it than future employers will wonder why you got it and spent all the time. And the answer, "it was free and I had the time" won't impress them.

I agree with you that it does provide an opportunity for networking - but there are other ways to network. Knowing what I know now, I personally wouldn't recommend starting an MBA for at least 5 years minimum after undergrad. I'm sure you'd feel more prepared and have more experiences to share after 2-3 years, but it'd still be far less than your classmates.

Humm...all this talk about getting a free MBA and money NOT being a deterrent. Fair enough. But what about the opportunity cost of getting an MBA versus what you learn (and gain) doing something else like say starting a business or like Helen says working overseas??

A few years back I was set on getting an MBA and went to a few informational evenings for local programs (I live in Sydney,Australia) and found that the return on investment was not there any more. 10 to 15 years ago having an MBA differentiated people from the pack - and was even a need to enter into certain professional circles. Today, from what the figures show, it really doesn't differentiate employees. Other things, like having experience as an entrepreneur and working overseas, are what give you an edge as an employee. And if you're doing it for the knowledge, well there's so much free stuff online these days (i.e. iTUNES universities and TED) that you're likely to get the information outside a classroom. And if you're doing it for the networking - there's many other ways to meet like-minded people and people who stand to benefit you 5 years down the track. Your job being one of them and even a Toastmasters club or a sports club or a cooking class at a community college or, or....

An MBA might very well be for you, but I'd hate to see people look at it as the be all and end all - as I did a few years back before I did some research and explored other options. Just some food for thought...

FYI - Silvana did a great follow up piece. Check it out: http://www.brazencareerist.com/2008/11/17/to-mba-or-not-to-mba-that-s-an...

Hey, all you MBA freaks---as the owner of my small business for 29 years, how come all you people think about is the size of the salary you will make? Don't any of you ever think about autonomy?

I haven't read any of the previous comments so my apologies if points are already mentioned.

1. If you just want to get it over with - you won't get much out of school anyway, so does it matter? The just-get-it-over-with attitude won't help you much :-) You should try to view this as an opportunity to learn a few more things and try out your ideas in a (somewhat) consequence free environment. You won't get this in "the real world"

2. When I started in grad school I only had six months of 'real world' experience as well. I worked full time through grad school and I was able to use real world examples in class. I was also able to use class projects as an opportunity to incubate ideas that I would take back to work with me. This helped a lot.

3. Don't shy away from a harder program. Compare the two programs side by side: required courses, elective courses, faculty. See which faculty appeal to you. Part of the deal in grad school is to get to know and study with faculty that have the same interests as you. Also, more credits doesn't necessarily mean more difficult. Some programs make you take more courses that you *may already* have experience with (those courses are easier to get through). To pick between the two look at which courses are the differentiators in each program, and which faculty you want to study with. That will tell you which program you should apply to.

4. I never put much stock in "top 10 schools". If the school is accredited by AASCB and they fit the criteria (see point #3) - go for it.

5. Having friends who are in the same program is definitely a plus, however you get to meet new people in the program AND you get to network throughout your graduate career. Having a minimum of 2 years of work experience makes it so that the classmates you meet and network with can provide you with better opportunities (possibly)

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Because inquiry is the last comments on here: Re: Online MBAs.

I am very positive on the notion of online education, however programs that are fully online cannot compete with brick and mortar institutions. I believe that some courses are best taught face to face, others are best taught online. This is true in an MBA program as well, however one thing about MBAs is that they need that human interaction. A lot of us are stuck behind a computer screen or blackberry and we shoot off emails to get stuff done. A manager needs to be a people person, and interacting with people over a computer is not the same as in person - thus if the Online MBA has a certain amount of courses that are face to face, you should look into it. If it's all online - then no.