Economy and that scary "R" word

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I was just teasing hooskins, since he was talking about classes he took. I wasn't really trying to have a pissing contest based on academic credentials. Probably came out sounding arrogant, so my bad on that.

But I went to Temple. Here in Philly, you've got your Wharton School at U Penn, which is one of the best in the country obviously. I definitely couldn't have gotten into Wharton, didn't have the grades in college (too much messin around!). Then after that, you've got your Villanova and you've got your Temple. Those are the other two programs in the area that are be considered strong.

I work for Temple Health System, so the tuition was free for me. Worked out well. They still made me apply like anybody else though.

I see you're from "the southeast." If you're in the DC area, Georgetown and George Washington are great programs. I think Maryland, American, and George Mason are good too.

Southeast is actually Knoxville, TN. The University of Tennessee apparently has a decent MBA program - I think it's somewhere in the top 100 worldwide, and top 25 in the U.S. depending on who you read.

My career is currently more in marketing, and UTK has a marketing concentration for the MBA program, so that would tend to be the logical choice. I find anything finance-related to be absolutely fascinating, however, so that's awfully tempting.

Did any of you do your MBA while maintaining a full-time job? And do you think it's helped at all in your career in terms of compensation or promotion?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by mheisig

Did any of you do your MBA while maintaining a full-time job?

We're on the verge of hijacking, so I'll answer here but will be more than willing to discuss further via PM.

Yes I was working full-time when I went for it. I did two classes each semester, and then one during the first summer session, and one during the second summer session. It amounted to two nights each week of 3-hour classes. With a full-time job, plus the classes, plus the homework, it was pretty intense. But I just burned through it and got it over with in less than two years, that was the plus side.

Originally Posted by mheisig

And do you think it's helped at all in your career in terms of compensation or promotion?

For me, yes. I finished the MBA in 2003 and was immediately promoted from staff financial analyst to senior financial analyst. In 2004 I got moved up to the next level, which required an MBA. Another analyst in my department was good, but remained at his level because he didn't have the MBA. I'm now managing a small group of analysts. Compensation went up accordingly.

The degree really has nothing to do with how good you are at your job. But if an exec has two good people on his hands, and he can only promote one, he'll go with the MBA.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by mheisig

Southeast is actually Knoxville, TN. The University of Tennessee apparently has a decent MBA program - I think it's somewhere in the top 100 worldwide, and top 25 in the U.S. depending on who you read.

My career is currently more in marketing, and UTK has a marketing concentration for the MBA program, so that would tend to be the logical choice. I find anything finance-related to be absolutely fascinating, however, so that's awfully tempting.

Did any of you do your MBA while maintaining a full-time job? And do you think it's helped at all in your career in terms of compensation or promotion?

I worked full-time while pursuing my MBA full-time. It's a challenge but it's not terribly difficult to do.

It has definitely helped me in my career. I got a nice promotion to management this past summer. While I did have a decent level of experience, I have no doubt it was my education that put me over the top and helped me leapfrog people with more experience but less education.