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MBA in Boston

CTGuy

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I know several people who have gone to Suffolk and have been pleased. I wouldn't do it unless I was getting some kind of tuition reimbursement from work though.
 

dhc905

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I'm surprised people put sloan in the same category as HBS. I think Sloan is certainly of the 2nd tier, in the company of Kellogg, Booth, etc. I think the only schools in cohort with HBS is Wharton and GSB (and I think the most important metric, avg salary post MBA, supports this).
 

Flambeur

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Originally Posted by makewayhomer
b/c I know people who got good jobs in asset management (w/ no prior finance experience) from a "blah" school?

your posts in this thread are 100% ignorant


I know people too dude. I know my starbucks barista and a guy who won some money playing scratch-off tickets. What's your point?

Are there people from ****** schools who get into great jobs? Absolutely. Is is a regular occurence? Hell no. Also, asset management encompasses a huge industry with a huge variety of jobs and companies ranging from amazing to tiny and ******, so without specifics I can't even tell if it's something you'd consider good or "blah". And we aren't even discussing the individual here, his particular experience, skillsets, etc.

But hey, you know a dude, and I'm 100% ignorant because I wouldn't advise someone to bet his future on a ****** and very expensive piece of paper.
 

makewayhomer

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Also, asset management encompasses a huge industry with a huge variety of jobs and companies ranging from amazing to tiny and ******, so without specifics I can't even tell if it's something you'd consider good or "blah"

fortunately I do know, so whatever you don't know is irrelevant

Are there people from ****** schools who get into great jobs? Absolutely. Is is a regular occurence? Hell no.

again, ignorance.

an HBS grad will make on average $121k after graduation - and on average that came into the program making $77k, so that 2 years of school gives them am immediate lift, on average of $44k.

grads from 2nd tier schools (say Georgetown or Yale or even BU - they are all pretty similar) go on average from making about $55k to about $95k. far fewer of them are going into I Banking or working for Mckinsey/Bain/BCG, but if you look at their salaries their careers are given nearly as big a boost, $40k. % wise they get an even bigger boost. it's many of these people - career switchers, people looking to make a big jump outside of the typical i banking track, that an MBA can benefit the most. the "average salaries stats" are greatly skewed by the fact that most people at H/W/S already had great jobs and experience, which gives them a huge leg up in getting an even better job.

sure, if your only goal in life is to work at McKinsey then going to Boston College probably isn't a good investment. but if your goal is to improve your career, then it can be a very good idea

and I can tell you firsthand that once you get your first job and get a few years experience, where you got your degree won't matter. at my last company the 2 marketing VP's had MBA's from Sloan and Uconn, and the Uconn MBA ran circles around her in every way in the company, and has basically squeezed her out out a meaningful job. it's her beautiful degree that is now worthless.


I'm 100% ignorant

agreed
 

CTGuy

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This is a ridiculous thread. Without context I feel like the advice is meaningless.
 

crazyquik

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Originally Posted by makewayhomer
and I can tell you firsthand that once you get your first job and get a few years experience, where you got your degree won't matter. at my last company the 2 marketing VP's had MBA's from Sloan and Uconn, and the Uconn MBA ran circles around her in every way in the company, and has basically squeezed her out out a meaningful job. it's her beautiful degree that is now worthless.
I don't doubt this advice at all. I hear it all the time from people 40 or over. Former managers, professors, etc. This advice is given out all the time to undergraduates, MBAs, law students, etc. But right now, in 2010, it's pretty competitive to get that "first job and a few years of experience." It was in 2005, and it still will be in 2012. Particularly in a market flooded with talent, including at the Ivy League levels, that can't get any paying, professional job.
 

Flambeur

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Originally Posted by makewayhomer
fortunately I do know, so whatever you don't know is irrelevant

again, ignorance.

an HBS grad will make on average $121k after graduation - and on average that came into the program making $77k, so that 2 years of school gives them am immediate lift, on average of $44k.

grads from 2nd tier schools (say Georgetown or Yale or even BU - they are all pretty similar) go on average from making about $55k to about $95k. far fewer of them are going into I Banking or working for Mckinsey/Bain/BCG, but if you look at their salaries their careers are given nearly as big a boost, $40k. % wise they get an even bigger boost. it's many of these people - career switchers, people looking to make a big jump outside of the typical i banking track, that an MBA can benefit the most. the "average salaries stats" are greatly skewed by the fact that most people at H/W/S already had great jobs and experience, which gives them a huge leg up in getting an even better job.

sure, if your only goal in life is to work at McKinsey then going to Boston College probably isn't a good investment. but if your goal is to improve your career, then it can be a very good idea

and I can tell you firsthand that once you get your first job and get a few years experience, where you got your degree won't matter. at my last company the 2 marketing VP's had MBA's from Sloan and Uconn, and the Uconn MBA ran circles around her in every way in the company, and has basically squeezed her out out a meaningful job. it's her beautiful degree that is now worthless.

agreed


That's great man. I've never worked a day in my life, never set foot in any business school, never had any experiences with schools, MBAs, recruiting or any of that. Carry on and keep giving advice, you seem to have all the personal experience you would ever need to make sweeping generalizations.

I actually agree that individual characterstics, experience, and all that make a difference, that's why I qualified my statements. But once again, don't let me stop you from generalizing.
 

makewayhomer

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Originally Posted by Flambeur
don't let me stop you from generalizing.

I'd say you're the one generalizing

I'm not sure how you'd do better than a "blah" banking job with an MBA from a "blah" school.
 

makewayhomer

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Originally Posted by crazyquik
I don't doubt this advice at all. I hear it all the time from people 40 or over. Former managers, professors, etc. This advice is given out all the time to undergraduates, MBAs, law students, etc.

But right now, in 2010, it's pretty competitive to get that "first job and a few years of experience." It was in 2005, and it still will be in 2012. Particularly in a market flooded with talent, including at the Ivy League levels, that can't get any paying, professional job.


sure, I'm not saying that it's not helpful to go to the best school, or to try your hardest to accomplish that goal.

I'm just railing against the "if you can't go to H/W/S then give up all hope of a meaningful existence, you might as well tuck yourself into the fetal position in the corner" advice
 

dunkin

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I received an MBA from a second/third tier program in NYC about five years ago. My previous job was with a once prestigious company but was pretty dead end. The piece of paper definitely helped me in getting jobs here in NYC, particularly when interviewing. My salary has doubled since I graduated five years ago. Like I said, the degree helped, especially in the interview process, but nothing will increase your salary faster than getting a new job.
I would say if you have nothing else going on or can do it part time while working (and it wont add on a tremendous amount of debt), do it. An MBA (even from a non top-tier schools) still gives you a bit of an edge over someone who does not have one and in today's market, every little bit helps.
 

syn

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Originally Posted by makewayhomer
I'm just railing against the "if you can't go to H/W/S then give up all hope of a meaningful existence, you might as well tuck yourself into the fetal position in the corner" advice

I don't think anyone was making that point. In fact, going to any particular school including Harvard, Wharton, and Stanford doesn't reflect accurately on your intelligence or leadership abilities (as I'm sure you've seen). The truth is that certain MBA programs have a cachet and that enables them to open a few more doors than other programs. If you're able to get your foot in the door with an MBA from another (perhaps, less prestigious) school, then that's great. However, this might be more of an exception than the rule.

On paper, if you have two comparable candidates and one of them went to Harvard and the other went to UConn, which one do you think the hiring manager will choose? Will it be the right choice? Perhaps not, but the brand name is sort of a filter. You assume a certain amount of quality from a graduate. Of course, if that's all you look at it, you're going to missing out on a lot of great talent from other schools that don't have a constant presence in the top rankings.
 

makewayhomer

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The truth is that certain MBA programs have a cachet and that enables them to open a few more doors than other programs.
of course. and again, if it's your only goal to get into an elite PE/VC/Strat Consulting company, then yeah it's going to be hard without going to an elite school. but if a) that's your goal and b) those schools are out of reach, then c) you need a new goal. I have friends who have graduated from HBS, GSB, and Tuck and they all had opportunities I didn't. however, my MBA offered me opportunities I previously had no shot at. so again, it's about relevant goals and how you can best achieve them.

On paper, if you have two comparable candidates and one of them went to Harvard and the other went to UConn, which one do you think the hiring manager will choose?
first year out of B School, the truth is that not many people will be making a choice between 2 candidates like this. it will be a small crossover anyways. down the road 5 - 10 years, the experience and achievements will start to carry as much or more weight. I'm not trying to say Uconn is just as good or that it doesn't matter where you go, I'm saying that depending on your goals and background a 2nd tier MBA can still be very valuable.

again, if you can get into a top tier school then good for you and go for it. that's great. but if you can't, don't give up hope b/c of people who say "Don't bother with anything else", or "If you go full-time outside of the super elite, make sure to get a scholarship. Otherwise, sadly, I don't think it is worth it" or even most ludicrously "Even with a scholarship it might not be worth it'. as blanket advice, this is horrible.
 

CTGuy

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Originally Posted by dunkin
I received an MBA from a second/third tier program in NYC about five years ago. My previous job was with a once prestigious company but was pretty dead end. The piece of paper definitely helped me in getting jobs here in NYC, particularly when interviewing. My salary has doubled since I graduated five years ago. Like I said, the degree helped, especially in the interview process, but nothing will increase your salary faster than getting a new job.
I would say if you have nothing else going on or can do it part time while working (and it wont add on a tremendous amount of debt), do it. An MBA (even from a non top-tier schools) still gives you a bit of an edge over someone who does not have one and in today's market, every little bit helps.


Good story. I think too many guys on here are looking for the "golden ticket" though.
 

pebblegrain

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good story but is it typical?

thats what you never know about the lower tier schools.

there is always some story about "yeah this guy I know went to BC and he got his dream ibanking job", what about the 40 other sad saps in his class who didn't get **** and went back to their same pre-mba jobs with a $5k raise.
 

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