The MBA Thread

[Lord-Barrington]



what do you mean by commercial?
also, would i be taking a pay cut moving from private to public?
my salary atm isn't stellar ($45K) but I would still like to maintain my current lifestyle...

Commercial means dealing with commerce in some facet, usually in a facing role with industry.

You probably wouldn't take a paycut if you transitioned to the federal government. 45K is the bare minimum for many agencies and departments.

 

[Joffrey]

^Right. With a ba/bs and two years relevant work experience you qualify for $55k or whatever a GS-11 is now (location specific of course so for DC it'd be a bit higher now maybe $60k).

 

[gomestar]

I've just started with Manhattan's GMAT class. So far so good.

Before that I (very) casually strolled through their math books but I didn't gain much from it besides a few good refreshers because 1) I was too causal, 2) I was working 80 hours a week, and 3) up til early October was wedding planning, and then the holidays, and on and on. Fortunately work is light right now I and I can focus on the class which pretty much forces you to work hard for 9 or so weeks.

I took one of their CAT exams online before the first session and scored 600. This kind of surprised me as I would have been happy with 550, and looking at the diagnostic I think I could have done better - some of my math mistakes were stupid, some were little things that I had just forgotten (hello, prime number tree), and even with absolutely zero verbal training I was consistently scoring in the low 80th percentiles until the last 8-10 questions where the dog kept on hounding me to get up on my lap (which she did, then promptly stuck her giant ears right in my line of sight). Hopefully this class gives me the kick I need to hash out a good score.


oh, and if any NYC people are interested I have the 8 Manhattan GMAT books that I can l let go for the cheap.

 

[constantine.]

Anyone know much about McCombs reputation with real estate finance concentration? Or any other Texas schools?

I'm interested in community development financing, and I currently work in the non-profit sector (affordable housing manager/developer with experience with financing tools like low-income housing tax credit, new market tax credit, and historic rehab tax credit).

I recognize that most people who go to b-school wont have an interest in affordable housing, but I'm working closer with large lenders that work within the community reinvestment act and some of these financial tools are complicated and laborious. I'm starting to think I need more of an finance background and I hear that getting a master's in real estate development is inferior to an MBA.

Thanks dudes.

 

[tadd]

Just saw this thread. New guy here, but I am currently towards the end of my first semester pursuing my MBA. It's amazing how much real world application stuff you can learn to apply.

 

[Calnell]

I completed my MBA a few years ago and am now considering going back for a phd. Any mba's out there that went this route?

 

[nerdykarim]



I completed my MBA a few years ago and am now considering going back for a phd.  Any mba's out there that went this route?

There's another thread for business PhD's; if you can't find it in a search, PM me and I'll dig up the link.

I'm finishing up my JD/MBA this spring and will roll straight into a doctoral program in Management Information Systems after taking the bar exam this July. Most of the people I know from various doctoral departments have MBAs; it seems to be a pretty common launching point into the PhD.

 

[Flambeur]



There's another thread for business PhD's; if you can't find it in a search, PM me and I'll dig up the link.
I'm finishing up my JD/MBA this spring and will roll straight into a doctoral program in Management Information Systems after taking the bar exam this July. Most of the people I know from various doctoral departments have MBAs; it seems to be a pretty common launching point into the PhD.

Which school are you going to, by the way?

And it seems that maybe 50% of incoming doctoral students have MBAs, but a harder masters that builds a better foundation for research/methods is probably better.

I need to make a new thread about the PhD thing. I think there is an actual Prof who graduated from Purdue lurking about, and probably some more graduates or current students.

 

[nerdykarim]



And it seems that maybe 50% of incoming doctoral students have MBAs, but a harder masters that builds a better foundation for research/methods is probably better.

This is definitely true. IME (current MBA student taking doctoral classes before jumping into my doctoral program), MBA programs are both easier and and also qualitatively very different from the methods courses that will take up 60% of your first two years in a PhD program.

I need to make a new thread about the PhD thing. I think there is an actual Prof who graduated from Purdue lurking about, and probably some more graduates or current students.

I updated it fairly recently when I was making my decision; iirc a couple professors have posted to it.

 

[Calnell]

There's another thread for business PhD's; if you can't find it in a search, PM me and I'll dig up the link.
I'm finishing up my JD/MBA this spring and will roll straight into a doctoral program in Management Information Systems after taking the bar exam this July. Most of the people I know from various doctoral departments have MBAs; it seems to be a pretty common launching point into the PhD.

Thanks, I'll search for the thread now. Congrats on finishing your jd/mba (well you're almost done!) and moving into your doctoral program. I'm thinking about a phd in organizational mgmt. Just found out my GMAT scores expired last Sept so that sucks

 

[Calnell]

Which school are you going to, by the way?
And it seems that maybe 50% of incoming doctoral students have MBAs, but a harder masters that builds a better foundation for research/methods is probably better.
I need to make a new thread about the PhD thing. I think there is an actual Prof who graduated from Purdue lurking about, and probably some more graduates or current students.

I agree that the MBA doesn't give you enough foundation for a phd program. I have a masters in a quantitative field so I'm hoping I'll be prepared

 

[furo]

Okay, so I decided to try for my MBA at 30yrs old. I'm already full-time employed, so looked only at part time programs. That being said, I've been accepted to UNC (Kenan-Flagler), and Indiana (Kelley), both of which offer MBA via distance learning (primarily online) with a few class trips and week-long-ish sessions.

The cost of UNC over Indiana, after I factor in my company's contribution, would be $20k higher to finish in 3 years, or $30k higher to finish in 2 years.

My goal is general management with a slight lean toward marketing, but at the present, not focused on a career change or bailing from my current company upon graduation. My current industry HQ is in the northeast. So knowing this, what do you guys think the better choice would be?

 

[Flambeur]

I would hesitate to recommend ANY online program.

 

[furo]



I would hesitate to recommend ANY online program.

 

[Calnell]

An MBA is one of those programs where you really benefit by going full time. Top schools focus more on networking and job placement than academics. Many classes are case-based and the benefits come from the in-class discussions and group projects.

To answer your question: I'd go with Kelley and save the money.