What, exactly, does one do with an MBA?
June 29, 2004 4:47 PM Subscribe
What, exactly, does one do with an MBA?
I tried Googling, but this is obviously a tough question for Google to answer. I'm hoping someone that has one can explain what they use it for, and why they got it.
Merci!
I tried Googling, but this is obviously a tough question for Google to answer. I'm hoping someone that has one can explain what they use it for, and why they got it.
Merci!
Manage/organize corporations/things/people, I would have assumed.
posted by carter at 5:28 PM on June 29, 2004
posted by carter at 5:28 PM on June 29, 2004
Draw up charts, objectify human resources, get fired last, and like to make PowerPoint presentations where the last bullet says something along the lines of: PROFIT!
They are also very boring to listen to when you have a project to finish coding, failing to realize most engineers could care less about the busines structure so long as they get to do their job and are appreciated and supported for it.
In other words, I have no idea what they do, either... but a lot of them sure failed at whatever they were doing back in 2000.
posted by linux at 5:40 PM on June 29, 2004
They are also very boring to listen to when you have a project to finish coding, failing to realize most engineers could care less about the busines structure so long as they get to do their job and are appreciated and supported for it.
In other words, I have no idea what they do, either... but a lot of them sure failed at whatever they were doing back in 2000.
posted by linux at 5:40 PM on June 29, 2004
also, they make valuable contacts/friends while getting one, which later proves really really helpful.
posted by amberglow at 5:54 PM on June 29, 2004
posted by amberglow at 5:54 PM on June 29, 2004
Somehow avoid becoming as despised as lawyers/politicians/journalists while arguably doing more damage to people's lives than all three.
When the Thought Police is finally established it will be composed of MBAs
posted by bonaldi at 6:17 PM on June 29, 2004
When the Thought Police is finally established it will be composed of MBAs
posted by bonaldi at 6:17 PM on June 29, 2004
One gets it matted and framed -- a nice classic frame, dark wood, classy but not ostentatious, mahogany's nice -- and then mounts it in one's office.
Seriously though, I gather that MBA programs provide preparation for business administration, focusing on developing skills & studying innovations in finance, supply chain management, business information administration systems development, etc. What I've gleaned from the MBA students I've known at the important US programs is that what happens is networking. Lots and lots and lots of networking.
posted by .kobayashi. at 6:18 PM on June 29, 2004 [1 favorite]
Seriously though, I gather that MBA programs provide preparation for business administration, focusing on developing skills & studying innovations in finance, supply chain management, business information administration systems development, etc. What I've gleaned from the MBA students I've known at the important US programs is that what happens is networking. Lots and lots and lots of networking.
posted by .kobayashi. at 6:18 PM on June 29, 2004 [1 favorite]
It's a degree in schmoozing. Seriously. The reason to go to a "great" MBA program instead of just a "good" one is to meet the other students, not to get better instruction. The coursework is not that hard.
posted by zpousman at 6:25 PM on June 29, 2004
posted by zpousman at 6:25 PM on June 29, 2004
You know when you're at work, and faced with some major problem, and you wing it and hope it works out? Having an MBA makes you less risk-prone, less likely to wing it, and more likely to know what the actual best path to a real solution is. That's it, in a nutshell. I know it sounds stupid, but when you're running a big business and are attempting to undergo a major initiative, you always want to minimize your risk. Who are you going to trust?
And yeah, the schmoozing.
posted by mkultra at 9:04 PM on June 29, 2004 [2 favorites]
And yeah, the schmoozing.
posted by mkultra at 9:04 PM on June 29, 2004 [2 favorites]
Maybe I'm a bit biased because I'm in the middle of a summer undergraduate program at Tuck (Dartmouth), but you guys aren't giving MBAs nearly enough credit, nor are you accurately describing what one would do with an MBA. From what I've seen, MBAs learn a shitload of advanced Accounting, Economics, Finance, Marketing, Spreadsheet Modeling, etc. So far I have yet to hear about any classes on mission statements or other such nonsense. Yes, they use powerpoint a lot, yes, they are charismatic, yes, they make org charts. All of these things are necessary in order to present/apply the actual work they do to people who don't understand the basis for it. i.e. for every powerpoint slide, there's a not insignificant amount of accounting/marketing/financial information and analysis that supports it. The workload is enormous, and many students drop out or suffer severe nervous breakdowns in their first year. Despite what everyone's said about making contacts, a lot of the students tend to be extremely competitive, and really could give a fuck about their fellow classmates. This is especially true at the best institutions. If anything, contacts are important to get you into a big name school, and after that the jobs find you. The big investment banks and consulting firms tend to send their analysts off to b-school after 2-3 years with an open job offer (typically as an Associate, who manages a team of analysts) for them when they get back. From what I can tell, this is what the majority of MBAs do after they graduate, but they will likely have many other job offers available to them. Essentially, an MBA from a top school signifies that you are qualified for most executive positions at most companies. So, what do you do with an MBA? Whatever the fuck you want, and you'll likely make a shitload of money doing it.
[on preview: what mkultra said too]
posted by rorycberger at 9:32 PM on June 29, 2004 [1 favorite]
[on preview: what mkultra said too]
posted by rorycberger at 9:32 PM on June 29, 2004 [1 favorite]
So, what do you do with an MBA? Whatever the fuck you want, and you'll likely make a shitload of money doing it.
Your absolutist hyperbole should fit in well at most investment banks. Nice job. (Most MBA grads don't go to Tuck, Wharton, Harvard, or Stanford, and many face substantial difficulties finding a job that either utilizes their degree or pays commensurate to it.)
posted by PrinceValium at 9:45 PM on June 29, 2004
Your absolutist hyperbole should fit in well at most investment banks. Nice job. (Most MBA grads don't go to Tuck, Wharton, Harvard, or Stanford, and many face substantial difficulties finding a job that either utilizes their degree or pays commensurate to it.)
posted by PrinceValium at 9:45 PM on June 29, 2004
Most of the people I know with MBAs get turned on by Marimekko charts.
posted by birdherder at 10:10 PM on June 29, 2004
posted by birdherder at 10:10 PM on June 29, 2004
Your absolutist hyperbole should fit in well at most investment banks. Nice job. (Most MBA grads don't go to Tuck, Wharton, Harvard, or Stanford, and many face substantial difficulties finding a job that either utilizes their degree or pays commensurate to it.)
Fair enough, as I said, i'm biased. I guess that in that last line I was more accurately answering the question of "what does one hope to do with an MBA?" rather than the actual question at hand. My main point was that it's not a degree in schmoozing, it's not a degree in powerpoint, and has little to do with teambuilding and casual fridays and Who Moved my Cheese and all that is wrong with cubicle culture. From where I stand (a 4-week undergrad program that gives a tiny tiny taste of b-school), getting an MBA looks like a big scary proposition that deserves a lot more respect than people in this thread have been giving it.
posted by rorycberger at 10:27 PM on June 29, 2004
Fair enough, as I said, i'm biased. I guess that in that last line I was more accurately answering the question of "what does one hope to do with an MBA?" rather than the actual question at hand. My main point was that it's not a degree in schmoozing, it's not a degree in powerpoint, and has little to do with teambuilding and casual fridays and Who Moved my Cheese and all that is wrong with cubicle culture. From where I stand (a 4-week undergrad program that gives a tiny tiny taste of b-school), getting an MBA looks like a big scary proposition that deserves a lot more respect than people in this thread have been giving it.
posted by rorycberger at 10:27 PM on June 29, 2004
A standard curriculum includes at a minimum: Financial Accounting, Budgets, Economics, Strategic Management, Organizational Behavior, Operations, Marketing, Statistics, Management Information Systems, and several electives. Typical concentrations: International Business, Management, Marketing, Human Resources, Entrepreneurship, Accounting, or Finance. A lot of graduates get offers from brokerage houses, especially if their concentration was Finance or Econ. What you do after graduation is largely a function of your network, work/internship experience, degree concentration, personal interests, salesmanship, and (especially) negotiating skills. (The quality of the school's alumni network and job placement office are also not to be underestimated as variables.) Intellect and effort are, in my experience, not really part of the equation. I met a lot of people in B-school who had no business being let out of high school, let alone into a graduate program. But they were there, and successful, and no doubt will go one to make billions running the next Enron into the ground. (To be fair, there were also tremendously smart, talented, hard-working people there too. Though I'm not convinced that was helping them get ahead. B-school is a lot like "the real world" in that shallowness and dishonesty work a lot better than they're alleged to.)
And we spent a lot of time doing PowerPoint b.s. (several of my teachers used it as their exclusive lecture medium, even handing out thick photocopies of their slides as "notes", and making PP a requirement for all student presentations).
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 1:14 AM on June 30, 2004
And we spent a lot of time doing PowerPoint b.s. (several of my teachers used it as their exclusive lecture medium, even handing out thick photocopies of their slides as "notes", and making PP a requirement for all student presentations).
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 1:14 AM on June 30, 2004
An interesting book to read about management consultants and MBAs is The Witch Doctors by two editors from the Economist. Unsurprisingly, it is a negative (although IMO mostly fair) view of the area, its strengths and weaknesses and intense obsession with fads like re-engineering.
posted by adrianhon at 1:54 AM on June 30, 2004
posted by adrianhon at 1:54 AM on June 30, 2004
What to do with an MBA? I married him :-)
What does he do with it? He's manages IT projects/departments for a corporate giant that is also pretty good to work for. Fast-track on advancement. But he's got a master's in computer science to go with it, is fluent in 4 languages, international experience, and most amazingly, is not full of ego. And, contrary to some of the bullshit above, he's not very good at networking. (top 1% of his class at GWU).
posted by Goofyy at 2:59 AM on June 30, 2004
What does he do with it? He's manages IT projects/departments for a corporate giant that is also pretty good to work for. Fast-track on advancement. But he's got a master's in computer science to go with it, is fluent in 4 languages, international experience, and most amazingly, is not full of ego. And, contrary to some of the bullshit above, he's not very good at networking. (top 1% of his class at GWU).
posted by Goofyy at 2:59 AM on June 30, 2004
Another good read on this subject is Peter Robinson's Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA.
posted by rory at 3:23 AM on June 30, 2004
posted by rory at 3:23 AM on June 30, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by stbalbach at 5:03 PM on June 29, 2004