Denise,
I went back to school to get an Executive MBA (that means night school)
when I was 37. My employer relocated to Houston the very week I
finished, putting me on the street looking for a job. At first, my MBA
was more of an hindrance than a help. Some prospective employers were
openly intimidated that I had more education than them. Others admitted
that they did not want an MBA to intimidate the rest of their staff. It
was frustrating. Finally, I applied at a place with an MBA in charge. He
hired me over a long list of others because of my MBA. That I had gone
back to school to get my MBA was a real plus in his eyes. He was the
exception, but it started something good. That was 16 years ago. Now, I
own my own accounting software company. We successfully compete with the
biggest software companies in the world and we are making great progress
on them. At the request of the United States Small Business
Administration I began presenting seminars to small businesses called
The 90-Minute MBA. In time I got the name registered with the US
Trademark and Patent Office. Over the past few years I have done
seminars coast to coast and border to border.
Now, here's the interesting part. The school I chose, the one I could
afford, was not expensive. It was the University of Phoenix. Contrary to
the image some attach to it, it was hard work. It was not a degree mill.
When I graduated, only 25% of my MBA group made it. The rest failed or
dropped out from sheer exhaustion. My masters thesis went to the
governor's office and resulted in huge changes in the state's economic
development strategy. When I finally got that first job, I was working
in an office next to another MBA, his degree was from a bigger
university. When I started, he had half a dozen direct employees and I
had one. In six months, the situation was reversed. My MBA got me in the
door, but my work ethic, drive, and enthusiasm moved me ahead of the
laid back, entrenched MBA. We had actually worked together while I was
getting my MBA, at the company that relocated to Houston. He observed
that his "MBA is Mickey Mouse compared to what you did to earn yours."
Just this week another friend that graduated from another business
school commented that he considered his MBA a joke. That reflects on his
effort too.
This is the bottom line: What you get out of your MBA is directly
proportional to what you put into it. If you slide by, you will not get
much out of it. If you go the extra mile, take on bigger projects, take
the lead in group assignments, work for perfect grades (I managed
straight A's with the exception of a single A-), you will eventually
receive the benefits you seek. Like life, you get out based on what you
put in. Just having an MBA guarantees nothing.
Just my thoughts.
Arnold
