Are MBAs valuable?

Are MBA's still of value?

Valuable to whom? Salaries are comparable or up at least at the top tier schools. An MBA was never an MBA was an MBA. Like doctors or lawyers or any person working, some do it better than others. Some schools’ graduates have commanded higher starting salaries for many years.

Valuable to you? Do you understand economics? Finance? Accounting? Operations? Marketing? Building teams and designing helping not hindering organizations? Nuances of communicating by voice and written word? Strategy? Managing Change? Ethical decision making? Data analysis and decision making? Do you know how to start and build a new company? If you answered no to any of these, I think an MBA would be valuable to you. Half of it is the wisdom and understanding you’ll gain, the other half is the connections and networking you can do.

I still believe a high quality MBA is one of the best foundations for a successful career—building value and becoming a net contributor to the world—that one can pursue. It’s only 21 months in a top rated residential program. And that can change your life, open a multitude of doors, and more importantly, help you see more clearly how the world works.

A good MBA is still highly valuable to the person who wants to know how things work. To the person who just wants a certificate and is hoping to make more money, maybe not so much. To the person who doesn’t understand the business news but is quick to judge, not so much. If you are the former, learning all of the above on your own would take a lot more than 21 months—if ever.