I am a student in college right now with a little more than 1 year work experience in the real world, through my co-ops (paid internships). My graduation date is coming soon, and no one is short on advice. After working for a while, I can definitely see myself taking the management track. So now I am wondering, what next?
Simply put, should a fresh graduate wait a few years before starting an MBA program? If so, how long? Or is it better to get one right after undergrad is finished?
If you are really going to the management track then get your MBA as soon as possible.
Depends on what type of management you want. MBAs are useful for those getting into true business management. People management, like managing a development team, really experience and personality will state a lot more then anything else.
Honestly the only "programmers" I end up seeing with MBAs are young kids from Accenture.
I think MBA is one of those degrees whose value is dropping like a rock and will continue to do so. It might have been a great way to get yourself closer to the revenue stream working for a financial institution, but I don't think it's nearly the golden ticket that it used to be.
What they teach you won't make you any more able to start and run a business than you are now. It might be valuable to have a basic understanding of accounting and finance, but if you want real expertise in those areas you're better off hiring someone who's good at it than relying on the meager skills the degree will give you.
I know a lot of people who thought that an MBA would be a way to branch out from engineering. All of them got MBAs part-time at night - and then went back to doing the same engineering stuff they'd always done.
After observing that, I concluded that it'd be best to quit your job and go full-time to the best MBA school you could afford if that was your goal. My one data point supporting the wisdom of this approach got an MBA from Univ. of Chicago. He made a pile in finance, lost that job, and then became owner and CEO of a firm that makes hydraulic equipment. He's doing well.
Now I don't think MBAs are worth much at all. Better to learn real skills and contribute something tangible to the economy.
When you're young, employers will consider a diploma more important than experience. Once you're older (about 40+), employers will start to look more at your experience and less at your diploma's. Real experience isn't something you can just learn, but it's something you build up over the years. Right now, you have little experience and no MBA diploma. Having both will make you a valuable employee, but getting both is a lot of work. Can you do both?
There are a few questions you have to answer. First, do you want management track at a financial services company? If not, your MBA will be of limited value at this point. Among people on the management side (ie those who would be hiring you) there is little respect for "precocious" MBAs with little work experience. That is to say, you're not going to walk into a senior position on the merits of your MBA, and most likely whatever job you get it will hang around your neck like a boat anchor because it looks like you're overtly ambitious, which is not well thought of among management.
Dedication and initiative will get you much farther, and demonstrated good judgment will go farthest of all. You would be much better off working your way up to middle management then getting your MBA and using that to land your first VP job. That will help you get into senior management because it demonstrates dedication and initiative above ambition.
The exception is financial services, where you've got to have an MBA from Harvard, Wharton, etc. to have a shot at a top tier job. And all the good MBA program care a lot about your experience when it comes to admissions. Most of those programs won't even consider applicants without 2-3 years related experience. Related meaning in business or finance, not coding.
Second, do you want to work close to technology? You're going to have a hard time being an effective manager of developers unless you've worked as one. You won't have credibility with the developers nor will you understand what is really involved in shipping production software.
The bottom line is, getting an MBA right away is unlikely to help you, and may in fact hurt you. Whatever you decide, good luck.
Being a software Engineer I am going through that same situation and similar trans. In fact we are not alone. The new generation specially the "Real" IT professionals feel the same way, since you cant make money being just a programmer. As far as my work in concerned I am quite satisfied. I am assigned with different problems and I solve them is pinch of time. But when it comes to salary and incentives...ehmmmm...the reason behind this is the growing number of IT professional in Pakistan at least. Even a BCom or simple Diploma holder can take up software development and with experience he/she grows. Well I have decided not to indulge in this mud further rather pursue a full time MBA and change the field.I have other point too that compel me to change the field or to diversify it to 90 degree. we can have a word on this if u feel necessary. beta take a decision now Take care
One of the biggest problems right now is the push to find people who understand infrastructure and development and how to make it work for the businesses best use. In particular, a person who can both communicate and lead on both sides of the house. This is why Enterprise Architects are starting to get so much attention. Mostly just lead developers in the past, now there is starting to develop a solid, separate discipline that requires development chops and near-middle management business skills. I would concentrate on doing this first. While it is kind of the same advice in principle that everyone else is giving, it is more focused in delivering the maximum yield off of what will eventually be both skillsets. Start with building Business Intelligence experience, then Architect Certification, then and MBA. Commonly if you Use SAS or Microsoft BI solution [Excel Services, Sharepoint, and SQL/SISS + SRSS] you will get to some form of Architect title in short order, while being highly visible outside of the development unit.
Raw programming and an MBA too soon with no direction gets you locked many of these mine-fields of perception that people talk about. But once you have a specialization that seems to make sense, show some higher level experience and then get your MBA, it begins to fit together like a puzzle. Why business intelligence? Well I hate to sound silly, but it is in the name. A person who may have to evaluate your resume prior to it actually getting the hiring manager will get it right away, even if they know bumpkis about development. In addition, while you are working in that area, you probably be doing menial dashboards -- but guess what -- Senior Management will see some of that stuff and there is a good possibility they will get to know your name. After pound it in my girlfriend's head, she finally took my advice and guess what -- she just got an award her firms top award ceremony [she works for one of the big four credit card firms, just so you know] just this past friday. She is now revisiting and refining her development skills and has 1 class left in her MBA. Trust me it works.
BTW -- Just make sure you pick and MBA that your industry recruits from and lets you go to school part-time [online preferrably]. Why? ROI for one [as in you are still adding years to your development experience while completing your education and you may be able to use some news skills to take more of a leadership position on a project], and 2 anyone that can complete a decent MBA program [no matter how long it takes] and is still holding there own as a programmer is a monster and deserves a leadership role somewhere.
http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=1363435
The following article goes overboard with over-valuing education vs. experience, but they do make a good point about how experience in certain technologies can quickly become out of vogue, so keep in mind that IT pros giving you advice are not always looking at the situation from all sides. That said, MBA's only add to you war chest when in Engineering and IT, not solidify it. This is why it is important to look a programs that allow you to continue working, no matter how long it takes. You have to have staying power, and that is what BROAD experience will give you.