Mba?

guitarman001

A lot of good replies, thanks. Like I said, it's partly about money (not that I'm too badly off) and partly about learning new things. However the time and money it would consume, with no guarantee of better prospects - perhaps I should, in future (happy for now - this is all conjecture about what to do in later years) look at what I can get with what I have first / move to where my skills are better rewarded (engineering). The reality is, 'losing' tens of thousands whilst studying... that would be a big chunk of a mortgage - better to pay something like that down and when it's all gone, I'll have much more money - and likely more free time as I wont have MBA responsibilities etc. I know, wanting more can be a curse - coming from nothing, I've always pushed for more, very ambitious. Can't help compare to others - must stop this!


European MBA - I have heard INSEAD is meant to be great. I think that if ever this will benefit me, I will have to get the employer to stump up for a large part of it, otherwise leave it. In the meantime, I may just read the notes I have for general knowledge-building purposes.

Not living an expesnive lifestyle - I do have one holiday a year but stay at home and try to save as much as possible. Housing still very expensive IMO.

DKLS

The big corp I work for has a salary ceiling you hit without an MBA, once you have your MBA your are in the chosen few and headed for a Director role at 6 figures plus package.

InsideInsurance

DKLS wrote: »

once you have your MBA your are in the chosen few

Really? I wouldnt say they are ten a penny but there are many Business Analysts, Project Managers, Marketing Analyst and other lower management people I know with them. Salary wise most are around £60k but in the south east so probably comparable to the OPs salary for up north.

Hell, even had an applicant for a Junior Data Analyst wanting £28k who not only had an MA but just completed their MBA.

I agree that a larger proportion of higher management and execs have them but by no means is even 50% of the people with them in those sorts of roles from my experience

TopQuark

OP why not consider the OU's part-time MBA? This is what I've done and whilst it's hard work studying and having a full-time job, it is possible if you are disciplined. It costs around £20K and I've paid for it myself. It's highly rated and the standard of teaching is excellent in my opinion. Fellow students are literally from every 'corner' of the world and my network of contacts has grown massively.

My motivation for doing it was to acquire more business skills as I'm a scientist by training (PhD chemistry) but have moved into the business side of science. I'm a similar age to you and I live and work in Switzerland; my salary is in the 6-figure range.

If you enjoy learning and meeting new people then it's a great experience, but I wouldn't do it for the potential salary increase alone as you'll find it very difficult to get through.

Good luck!

Linda_D_2

guitarman001 wrote: »

Have been toying with the thought of doign an MBA for a few years now... currently just under 30 and probably hitting a ceiling in my profession with near 50k income. Work-life balance is ok, live in Scotland. I know people who've graduated from LSE (cost £50k over two years full-time) and Strathclyde (£24k over one year though not as prestigious) who went onto starting salaries of £75k (edging toward half million for a few of the guys), admittedly in the banking side of things. I don't know if I'd go into that or something more commercial - but I'm wondering if it'd all be a waste of time or not... and money! Take Strathclyde... cost £24k and lost income that year of £50k plus £10k living costs = £84k down the swanny? LSE more like £170k+. It's ridiculous, but I though that when I reached my current level of salary, I'd feel well off - but I don't - housing is still so unnaffordable, and when I hear what some of my othe rgraduate friends earn... ok, so it's a lot compared to the average Joe, but I'm not the average Joe! So, any thoughts? Main advice I've always been given is that if you do one, do the best one (LSE). It's not all about the money - working in a technical job, I think I'd quite like a change and find the subject matter pretty interesting. I actually have some MBA notes and have been reading them in my spare time, regardless.

You need to look at your money management skills, 50k is an extremely good wage but you still feel housing is unaffordable. My job is roughly around min wage and I've managed to pay off my mortgage and am now mortgage free. It's all about being good with money, you can do it

Bonnie151

I'd ditto the suggestion of dong a p/t MBA. I did the p/t MBA course at Edinburgh many years ago. I think it's in the middle of changing its format, but at the time it took 2.5 years of term time classes 2 evenings per week plus the final dissertation and was very manageable on top of a demanding full time job.

valk_scot

Why not do it part time while continuing to work? You can kiss the rest of your life goodbye in the 3 years it takes to do it but that in itself will probably save you enough money to cover the fees. But it's a hard slog, you've got to be really motivated.

guitarman001

More great replies!

I've actually been advised always to stay technical as in my line of work, it's easier to chop middle management than the engineers who make things. Hell, I may never do it - just a thought for future.

Good point about those having an MBA not always being in high paying roles. Depends on the industry? For sure if you're in London you'd be looking at 6-figures? Looking at my type of job in Switzerland, €100k looks to be about right for my level - maybe I should just try that in a few years while improving my language skills! Top_Quark - what do you do now and do you enjoy it?

Linda_D - well done! Did you buy around the bubble time or when houses were affordable (!)? I'd agree that my wage up here has the effect of a higher quality of living than the same wage down south...

Funny you mention the OU MBA - I looked at both that, Edinburgh Uni and the Heriot-Watt (online) MBAs. I think I'll plod on as I am for now and keep this all in the back of my mind - I realise the time commitment would be massive... Many thanks! Any more input from those who've done it (experiences doing it, paid off in terms of salary and job satisfaction?) much appreciated!

OllysMum_2

I did the OU MBA and it was the best thing I have ever done. It is triple accredited, the support was superb and I was on the course with MDs of multinational businesses, senior nurses, entrepreneurs, engineers. A great mix and many have remained friends. Because I was mainly self -financing (one employer contributed via salary sacrifice i.e. I asked not to take a pay rise but get some modules paid instead thus saving 40% on the tax I'd have paid) it took me quite a while to finish.I think there was a tremendous benefit studying while "on the job" - my assignments were all real life and my project turned into a superb experience.

I know I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now had I not invested that time and money in study. 10 years ago I was just another wage slave, half way through the MBA I got my first board position. Now I do work that I absolutely love, I'm a non exec with some fantastic companies, and I'm seen as one of very few experts in my field.

It was very hard work, I regularly thought of giving up, but thoroughly recommend it.

guitarman001

What industry? I'd probably have to change industry to see any real benefit. Salary increase? How did your day-to-day duties change and did your location of work change?

Thanks!!

EDIT - I should also add... I thought getting an MBA would be good from an industry-shifting perspective. So if things went downhill in my industry, I could move into another without too many problems.