EMBA, business certificate, or something else?
June 29, 2015 5:00 PM Subscribe
I've been working in the public sector for about eight years, aside from a stint at the start of my career in the IT and nonprofit sectors. I started my public sector career right after graduate school in public administration (in 2007), and I have been in government ever since. I'm thinking about the value of an EMBA or some other sort of business certification that can build some of the skills I didn't get.
I have a Masters in Public Administration, which I finished in 2007. While I enjoyed it, I didn't take a lot of the classes that I think would have benefitted me in my current career - I'm lacking a lot of the finance and accounting coursework that would have been helpful, since I did my MPA so early (finished when I was 26).
I'm 34 right now. I am interested in a program that builds skills, that would offer a part-time or weekend opportunity to study, and that is full of people further along in their careers, not people fresh out of undergrad or with only 1-2 years of experience. Less concerned about program prestige, and more about the ability to learn from an experienced cohort and gain skills/experience.
I have a solid career and make an excellent salary, and a huge salary jump isn't the primary reason to seek this out, which is why I'd lean towards cheaper programs or a certificate (particularly because I work in the public sector). I'm open to switching to private, though.
MeFi, any experiences or thoughts from doing a similar track? From those that have done EMBA programs, did you feel like they were worth it? And for those in the public sector - given the lesser chance of ROI, how did you decide to go or not?
I have a Masters in Public Administration, which I finished in 2007. While I enjoyed it, I didn't take a lot of the classes that I think would have benefitted me in my current career - I'm lacking a lot of the finance and accounting coursework that would have been helpful, since I did my MPA so early (finished when I was 26).
I'm 34 right now. I am interested in a program that builds skills, that would offer a part-time or weekend opportunity to study, and that is full of people further along in their careers, not people fresh out of undergrad or with only 1-2 years of experience. Less concerned about program prestige, and more about the ability to learn from an experienced cohort and gain skills/experience.
I have a solid career and make an excellent salary, and a huge salary jump isn't the primary reason to seek this out, which is why I'd lean towards cheaper programs or a certificate (particularly because I work in the public sector). I'm open to switching to private, though.
MeFi, any experiences or thoughts from doing a similar track? From those that have done EMBA programs, did you feel like they were worth it? And for those in the public sector - given the lesser chance of ROI, how did you decide to go or not?
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Also, consider a real weekend MBA, with the full MBA curriculum, not the usually quite diluted (in quant-heavy) stuff of an EMBA.
posted by MattD at 9:00 PM on June 29, 2015