The MBA Thread - Page 47

Pretty bollocks organisation if you need an MBA JUST to progress past middle management. Experience speaks for itself. I remember talking to a senior underwriter and we got onto the topic of qualifications / business qualifications and I asked if he had any, he replied: 'no', I have experience instead. Maybe what you said is true for some of the dinosaur companies out there.

Are you talking about an Underwriter at a P&C company? If so, a Senior Underwriter is a peon. Besides, insurance is a horribly backwards industry. 3 teeth and a high school diploma can get you an Underwriting job at most companies. Shit, a CPCU is considered "advanced training"

What a monumentally stupid post. Either way, deflecting the point by attacking an entire industry is pretty obtuse.

Hardly. I work in insurance (5B/Year EP), and know plenty of underwriters...

I'm not saying that an MBA is great, or required, or anything (I would never consider getting one). I am saying that insurance is a shitty backwards industry, and a horrible example for you to use. Do you actually think a CPCU, or FCAS for that matter, brings anything to the table?

I have no idea because they're American associations. I'm work in The City (London, that is). London is far more renowned for insurance than anywhere in the United States (Wall Street for banking, Lime Street for insurance, as they say), so I really don't know - perhaps it's different over there. Insurance is different to banking in that it's far more personable, but that's more of a product of the way business is conducted, particularly in London and especially at Lloyds. Backwards? Maybe, if you venerate the way in which bankers conduct themselves - highly centralised and electronic; I know that there's resistance to that in the insurance world. But there's still a lot of money floating about in insurance - especially reinsurance - and you can actually be an entrepreneur in it. Suffice to say, you need a bit more savvy than what is evinced in a high school education to get a post at a underwriters or even a brokers in London - but that savvy and gumption is usually expected in qualifications, which to my mind isn't necessarily a good thing.

I agree with you. Insurance in Europe is far far different than the US. I didn't realize we were arguing different points. My characterization of US insurance is harsh, but not far off the mark. Reinsurance is indeed an interesting and money making field.

If you consider F100 organizations with billions in net income dinosaurs, sure. I am actually all for some sort of an MBA as a requirement for higher levels of organization - I want people I work with to speak the same language, not have to explain the basic concepts, etc. You need to be able to see how businesses operate outside of your own department, see implications of different actions on externally and internally, etc. It doesn't have to be a top 2 year full-time MBA, but it has to be something that at least covers the MBA core with some depth to it.

And an MBA without extensive (at least 2-4 years full time) experience is pretty worthless.

I'm a young engineer working with a very large EPCM company (Engineering Procurement Construction Management). I've worked for about a year in a technical engineering role, and have now made a shift to Project Controls. Essentially for the capacity of these projects (~ $1 billion dollars) they require an entire team to assist the Project Manager, which is the Project Controls team. Unlike most engineers I have very well developed interpersonal skills and have always envisioned myself in a client communications/sales role.

I've never enjoyed the technical aspect of engineering, and feel like my skills would be better utilized in a different facet, more so towards business logistics.

What should my next step be to get to a PM role? MBA or CFA? Or should I focus on getting back to an engineering position for a while to develop a better technical foundation. I went to a pretty prestigious and competitive University and being in a faculty I never really enjoyed resulted in me having a sub-par GPA (2.7). I'm worried about being unable to get into any good MBA schools because of this, despite how I perform on the GMAT. Should I consider taking classes to boost my GPA? Or just try to score really high on the GMAT?

do both.

why the hell would he want to do a CFA in his situation?

i meant both for the last two items in his question (i skimmed the last paragraph)

Hey all, recent graduate in Organisational Development, I've had a couple of job interviews, one of which is a very good one and I hope to get the job (which I think I will). Question though: I maintained quite a high GPA throughout my bachelor's and I am pondering whether or not to do an MSc in Administration (management). Those with experience in MBA/MSc, do you think it would be possible to do it part-time whilst working full-time? I know the school offers part-time courses, but I just want to be sure it wouldn't be overwhelming.. then again I perform pretty well under pressure. Thanks

I've probably still got a couple years of experience to accrue as I have only been out of University for about a year. What do you think is the best method to prepare for GMAT? Courses? Online material? Purchasing study guides? Also, I think I may have spoke a little prematurely. I'm not entirely sure what if PM is the ending point for me, hence why I was considering CFA. Maybe ibanking (though I'm not sure the lifestyle of 80 hours a week is right for me). Essentially I just want to get away from the technical portion of engineering and more towards business? Maybe some sort of high-level sales? If anyone could provide some ideas I might want to look at that would be greatly appreciated.

For the GMAT, I think whatever works best for you is the best method. I'm the type of person who learns through interactions and sometimes self-study doesn't help me when I have random questions. I personally recommend online studying because you don't have to worry about geographic limitations (ie. class being 30 minutes away)

Quick question.

I'm in Montreal.
Last year I graduated in a communication bachelor(strategies of cultural and media production). I tried a internship in an ad agency and loved it, they offered me a contract after the internship then had to let me go because of budget but I found another small contract in a big agency that led to a permanent job in january of this year.

I plan to do a specialized graduate diploma in communication-marketing (bachelor +1 that takes 2 mandatory years to finish) in HEC Montreal that could let me make a bridge for a MBA (with a year saved).

My question is:

Is it easy to do a MBA in NYC? NYU or Columbia.
Paperwise (french and canadian passports), admission (grades + experience, which I'll have and good grades as well)... I know how much it cost roughly and I have 2 or 3 years to save a lot.

I might not even need a MBA or a specialized seeing how I got my situation in this agency but that's a goal I've set earlier. I really want to have this experience and these diplomas. I also know that you can work in the US one year after you graduate in a US school.

Am I dreaming or planning way too ahead?