Was The MBA Worth It?

Having submitted the last assignment of my MBA studies in mid-December, the dust is only now beginning to settle on what was three years of hard work. Having completed the course, for the first time I feel qualified to offer a view on whether the knowledge I have acquired is worth the immense time and effort necessary to attain it. Although it may not be until the end of my career that I can fully answer this question, I feel I can now reflect with some initial insight for those considering an MBA themselves.

I presume there are many people like me who start on a career path with training in a specific discipline, which in my case was Civil Engineering. However, along the way they progress into a management role and beyond before eventually finding themselves in executive meetings surrounded by qualified lawyers, accountants and other senior figures. Suddenly it is no longer enough to be expert in one’s own field, but it becomes necessary to understand every other discipline that contributes to the running of the business and comprehend how they all interact and cooperate.

I have felt out of my depth on numerous occasions in my career to date, but have generally reassured myself that this means I’m learning at a good pace and pushing myself beyond what I already know. My knee jerk reaction to address my gaps in business knowledge at the most senior level was to (among other things) acquire an MBA. My feeling was that a broad business qualification coupled with good quality work experience would set me on the right path. 

I certainly believe academic study has a part to play in building knowledge and capabilities relevant to one’s own career. Course tutors in my experience take pride in the high standards they set and their professional reputations are judged on it. OK, getting marked down for incorrect Harvard referencing because you didn’t enter the peer reviewed journal title in italics (or some such detail) is hardly going to define your success as a business manager in the real world. But if you can look beyond the finicky nature of academic housekeeping and focus on the big issues you are forced to think about and learn, there is a lot of knowledge that can be applied directly to running a business. Plus the academic discipline teaches good habits about being detail oriented and exacting in what you do. 

Because the job market is so competitive and an MBA is so vocational, a minority of students I found were only interested in acquiring the title. Others simply wanted a good grade, but didn’t mind if this was achieved in a mechanical nature without being a true reflection of good quality learning. On reflection I’m comfortable I did the degree for the right reasons and genuinely wanted to learn and become a better decision maker. I think in part this is because I didn’t do it in my early twenties. I would have had no practical experience to offer in group discussions and projects and I would certainly have been out of my depth. I’m also much more aware now of how I learn and work most effectively, compared to when I did my undergraduate degree. That’s not to say that everyone in this age bracket would be the same as I was!

So my thoughts are:

• Whatever your age, an MBA is best done when one has plenty of practical experience to bring to the table. It makes for a better learning environment where all students bring and share knowledge.
• It should be done for the right reasons i.e. to actually learn and not just for the title. An MBA on its own is no guarantee a candidate will be capable in the real world. Although it shows commitment to learning and self-improvement. 
• It's a huge personal challenge and anyone attempting it (especially with a full time job and family) has my respect.   
• Both “hands on” experience and a formal qualification should be valued. I think the two complement each other and both contribute to becoming more effective professionally.

There are some who are dismissive of MBAs and others who believe they are the golden ticket. My feeling is that the truth lies somewhere in between. The options for how we learn are growing and changing and this can give people cause to disregard a formal qualification as an out of date method of acquiring knowledge. Having walked a mile as a University student (for the first time in fifteen years) I believe it is still a rigorous, engaging and challenging way to improve oneself. It was hard, it pushed me and it has certainly given me new knowledge and perspective on business. So if you are committed to lifelong learning and want a tough challenge that will give you practical skills and a formally recognised qualification, an accredited MBA is certainly something to consider. Having said that, I will happily leave it another fifteen years before doing another degree! And it will be in something like bee keeping or something else purely for pleasure with no professional agenda attached!    

I know I’m sitting on the fence a little with my thoughts on MBAs, but this is not a simple “yes” or “no” sort of question and I’d be interested in other people’s thoughts…..