Hi Sir. Out of curiosity. In fact I was to contact a guidance counselor at my university to find out more but its good to get input from many experienced people like yourself and MR AI and others.
Do you think it is good to do MBA after my engineering degree or try to do my masters then PHD ?(if my company provides a bursary) Is there a forum on this site that can better my understanding on this. Many senior people at work talk about MBA but I'm not too knowledgeable able this.

 

Hi Sir. Out of curiosity. In fact I was to contact a guidance counselor at my university to find out more but its good to get input from many experienced people like yourself and MR AI and others.
Do you think it is good to do MBA after my engineering degree or try to do my masters then PHD ?(if my company provides a bursary) Is there a forum on this site that can better my understanding on this. Many senior people at work talk about MBA but I'm not too knowledgeable able this.

How far you take your education (and what direction that education takes) depends on many factors, the biggest one being what your ultimate goals are.

And, as it turns out, we do have a forum on this site for Career Advice (it's quite new). Do you want me to split this off and create a new thread for you there?

 

Yes please Sir, only if it's not a problem with you and not to inconvenient you. Thank you.

 

Yes please Sir, only if it's not a problem with you and not to inconvenient you. Thank you.

Done -- Not a problem at all.

 

A PhD is only necessary if you want a job as a professor at a University, or as a researcher at a government funded laboratory. If you wnat to work in the technology business and build things the the Master's degree can be useful. The MBA is for people who want to push paper and find creative ways to uncover short term profits at the expense of building an organization. I think that two of those three options are not worth the investment of time or money. The number one compound question you should ask is how much debt will I have to take on, and how many years will it take to pay it off. Any answer north of $100,000 and 10 years seems like a really bad deal to me.

 

If you ever desire to be upper management, or go off on your own, an MBA is invaluable.

I wish I had the foresight to get one. I was too anxious to embark on my career. So I had to learn lots of things the hard, and expensive, way.

 

I had zip interest in management or the business end of a business, so I stayed with an engineering degree.
And I managed to avoid being a manager my whole career.

 

And I managed to avoid being a manager my whole career

Sorry to hear it. That means you spent your whole career getting pissed on, without ever getting to piss on someone else...

 

If you ever desire to be upper management, or go off on your own, an MBA is invaluable.

I wish I had the foresight to get one. I was too anxious to embark on my career. So I had to learn lots of things the hard, and expensive, way.

An MBA is certainly not a requirement to start your own business. I never pissed on anybody, just because I could have if I had wanted to.

 

An MBA is certainly not a requirement to start your own business.

Of course not. I thought I made it clear that I went that route without an MBA. Certain things would have been easier, like marketing and finance.

 

Of course not. I thought I made it clear that I went that route without an MBA. Certain things would have been easier, like marketing and finance.

I'm by no means convinced that the required debt load would have been manageable had I taken that route.

 

I'm by no means convinced that the required debt load would have been manageable had I taken that route.

What required debt load?

 

The short answer is, it depends on where you want go. An MBA is worthwhile if business and management are interesting to you, and if you might enjoy that sort of work in your future. If you enjoy hands-on research or engineering, an MBA won't hurt you but may not be the best use of your energy.

I had a background in the sciences and chemical engineering, but turned to an MBA when I saw how hard it was for companies to commercialize their R&D. I went on to manage the business development process for the company, to bring new biotechnology to market. I could never have filled that role without the MBA. But, it took me away from the lab and tech work I had a penchant for.

 

Hi Sir your answer makes sense to me since I'm studying computer systems engineering. I do like to manage and lead people but when im older like say 30 or 35 years old. But since i should finish my BTech when I'm 21. What do I do after this besides doing a MTech/Masters in engineering? The company that gave me the bursary stipulated that I should do Btech degree since its more practical.

 

Sorry to hear it. That means you spent your whole career getting pissed on, without ever getting to piss on someone else...

Nothing to be sorry about. I had mostly good managers and I avoided all the paperwork, which I hated with a passion -- budgeting forecasts, project overrun justifications, weekly progress reports, employee evaluations, periodic reorganizations, doling out raises, finding work for the group, and other crap that goes with being a manager.
And I never felt I missed out on not being able to piss on anyone else.
Sounds like you got that chance though.
Never regretted the route I took, not even for a day. I enjoyed doing engineering design work and that's what I did for most of my career.

 

To successfully complete a Masters/Mtech degree in computer engineering what do I have to do? Is it full research?

 

What required debt load?

Most people who get an MBA acquire a substantial student loan debt, unless they have wealthy and indulgent parents, or they convince somebody else to pay for it. Had I made that choice, those would have been my options. Neither one of the no/low cost options was even remotely possible.

 

MBA's are popular in many professions, such as teachers and professors (department chairs and those who aspire to be), lawyers, and physicians. One characteristic is that the person first establishes himself in the chosen profession, then he/she gets the MBA or "Executive" MBA. The latter is a short term course (e.g., 12 weeks) that focuses on what is needed for those advancing into management. There are not a lot of "C" students in such courses.

As a corollary, if you are competent in your chosen field, I see little need for an MBA immediately. In fact, an MBA immediately after a Bachelors' degree -- particularly if it is not at a prestigious school -- may be viewed by some as indicative of someone who barely got through a more rigorous technical course of study.

A friend of mine once referred to getting his MBA as a mid-life crisis.

John

 

Thank you all, so MBA is out of the question for me. (for now)
As I am working and studying at the moment and I am a bursary student so I think I will follow the Masters in engineering route.
MBA is very expensive, I just found out now from the university were I am studying.

I think once I am 30-35 or older I will do it by then I will have enough money saved up.

Can I pose another question?

Do you think since I am studying engineering degree in computer system. And I am working in the IT field. Will it be good to do those smaller certifications e.g Java programming, C programming, Unix etc?

Do most/Other companies look at those smaller certificates?

Or will it be advisable to pursue another degree in Information Technology?

thank you and sorry asking so much of questions.

 

Most people who get an MBA acquire a substantial student loan debt, unless they have wealthy and indulgent parents, or they convince somebody else to pay for it. Had I made that choice, those would have been my options. Neither one of the no/low cost options was even remotely possible.

Well, we cash flowed my wife's MBA on just my salary, which was $58k/yr at the time, which was only a little bit above the national median household income at the time. I also cash flowed by PhD. In fact, the last two years of my PhD overlapped with the first two years of her MBA. There was no eating out at our house during that time.