About four years ago I sat in my office at work (yes, I had an office at that time, four walls and a door!) considering my next developmental step. I had done a few institutes, attended a few conferences, and researched the various programs I could take advantage of through KU, including a graduate program. At the time I was leaning heavily toward a graduate degree, as my desire for structured education and learning was growing greater as the distance grew from my undergraduate days. But which way would I turn, and which program would I enroll?
There were few options, either through my own interest or through the assistance program at KU. It had been mentioned several times by several people that if I wanted to continue or progress at the university level, that I should consider the nationally ranked Public Administration program at KU. KU would assist by paying for one class per semester, which would still leave me on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars, however this was a program I was interested in. I considered continuing in line with my undergraduate degree of English, to which I would be able to more easily move careers, should I decide that. Then there was the ever popular MBA. At this time (circa 2008-09), the MBA was just becoming the new buzz word, or buzz degree. As the economy was tanking, schools and media started pushing the MBA, as a way to learn business, because everyone knows that business degrees are in demand and will guarantee you a job.
Why did the MBA appeal to me? When I started college back in 1995 at Iowa, my declared major was Accounting. Actually, it was Pre-Business, because I had not been accepted in the B-School yet. I grew up in the shadows of the giant Arthur Andersen, and was fairly good with numbers (not in the mathematical sense, but in the column and charts sense of Accounting). I left the Accounting program, but still the itch was there. And you have to know something about me, in that I have a wide reaching knowledge and craving for learning, so much that I had changed my major at Iowa several times.
And that is what appealed to me about the MBA, and other degrees like this, for example, CIS and MIS (Computer Information Systems and Management Information Systems). These degrees, along with MBAs, are the all-encompassing knowledge degrees: learn a little from column A, learn a little from Column B, maybe some overlap and using knowledge from A to work with B. It is a way to collaborate with a few of your peers, and in graduate programs this could mean a range of 20 to 30 years in age.
But really, they are not specialized. After looking at the course offerings, I liken these graduate degrees to the GRE of graduate degrees, or the undergraduate 'Degree of Liberal Arts.' No focus on one subject, but a well-rounded education. You can say you have a graduate degree now, but not a specific degree.
Which brings me to an essay in the Wall Street Journal: Why Getting an M.B.A. Isn't Worth It - WSJ.com. I will spare you the synopsis of the article and allow you to read it. I know about ten people who I consider friends who have or are in process, of obtaining their MBA, so this article has a possibility to offend some people I know, though this was not the intent. There are faults in the essay. However, I shared the essay in various media outlets as a warning to those people who are still considering a graduate degree. I strongly encourage everyone to consider furthering their education in many formats, yet to strongly weigh the options. If you are thinking about dropping tens of thousands of dollars on education, you need to think about what that education will get you, and where you will be at the end. Even considering in-state tuition, and a two year program: After $8,000 and two years of your personal life, will you be better off (regardless of the program you choose)? Will that time and money pay off immediately, after two years, after five, after ten? Are you in a career that requires a graduate degree in the field? Are you certain that you will stay in this career field? How will your resume compare to the thousands of other applicants who also have an MBA (or other degree like this)?
There are many things to look at, but those items that I listed above, the questions to ask are incredibly important when you look at finances and your future. Those questions are what turned me away from an MBA (because I am not in a field, nor am I interested in a career that needs a Business degree), turned me away from Public Admin (because I have little interest in some aspects of urban development, though other areas did entice), turned me away from English (mostly because the program at the nearest university did not provide the education I desired), and turned me away from MIS and CIS (because I can learn all of those topics and subjects on my own, much more inexpensively). Overall, in considering the MBA (as the topic of this article), what will bring you the best return on your investment? A good MBA student will realize this, but possibly too late.
By the way, I may have obtained one of the generic graduate degrees I derided above. I received a Masters of Liberal Arts, Management and Leadership. Why this degree? Aside from the reasons above for not selecting the other degrees, this degree offered a wonderful balance of subjects that I was looking for, while still focusing on a topic of which I have great interest: Management and Leadership. The course was not at KU, which made it slightly more expensive, however it did provide two fundamental aspects: higher education positions will routinely prefer graduate degrees (of any subject), and some of it was taught online (which made keeping my job and family much easier). Three years later, I found a new job, with greater possibilities and diversity where I am much happier than I was before. While the pay is the same and the move was lateral in career, the return on investment has been great. Had I chosen any of the other graduate degrees, I would not have been able to make the change, which has brought great happiness to me and my family, and peace of mind for my career, years to come.
