发表于 2009-2-27 20:46:00
I have just applied to a leading business school,and have been called for interview. But instead of feeling excited, I’m getting cold feet. If I get a place I would have to leave my current job in a professional services firm, and would pay up the whacking £45,000 for a year-and-a-half’s teaching.
However, thanks to the recession, there is no guarantee of a job at the end of it, and in taking up the position I would be losing a safe (if somewhat dead-end) job. Is this one of the worst returns on investment going? Or is it worth it for what I would learn, for the long-term career boost and for the hope that the economy will be looking better when I graduate?
Professional, female, 31
Lucy’s answer
Yes, it’s a terrible investment: if you get out your calculator and run one of those discounted cash flow calculations that MBAs favour, you’ll find it hard to come up with a positive number. Many people leaving business school now are not only failing to change career, they are crawling back to their old jobs with their old employers.
The odd thing is that MBAs still claim the experience was worth it. If you read the replies below you will see every single MBA is breathless with admiration: how stretching, how great the contacts, etc.
I find this a bit suspicious. I can think of no other form of education that inspires such fervent devotion from its graduates. Is it that, having parted with so much money, they are obliged to say it was good? More likely it is that being cooped up for 18 months with clever, like-minded thrusters means they all reinforce the others’ belief in the value of the qualification.
Lots of readers suggest you keep your job and do the degree part-time. This may be the most sensible way out, but I can’t sincerely recommend this as I once tried to do an evening MA in economics while working full time, and it was far too much like hard work.
Perhaps you are made of sterner stuff. But if you aren’t, there is another thing to make your cold feet colder: the value of the MBA may be changing. I fancy that the new fashion in business is to rate common sense and experience more highly than Swot analysis. So stay put and bide your time. If you are bored, try evening classes. I’ve always wanted to learn upholstery, and courses near me start at £130.
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