Would you get an MBA?

[Anonymous]

If you had to go back in time or ancedotes from people you know

For context, my DD is graduating this year with a corporate communications Bachelor of Arts degree. If she wants to pivot into leadership roles in corporate or be in investor relations, would this be a good idea to do after around 5 years of post-grad work experience.

She is interested in investor relations as well but is lacking the financial and analytical background required for these roles (many want bachelors in finance or accounting and 2-3 years of work experience in IB/consulting/private equity etc

[Anonymous]

I did get an MBA.

If I had to go back in time, I would have only gotten it, if from an elite B-school.

Having an MBA from an average state school isn't really that helpful. I can't say that I regret it, my work at the time paid for it, but, hindsight is 20-20, and if I'd go back in time, I'd target the elite schools, if I were to still pursue an MBA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you had to go back in time or ancedotes from people you know

For context, my DD is graduating this year with a corporate communications Bachelor of Arts degree. If she wants to pivot into leadership roles in corporate or be in investor relations, would this be a good idea to do after around 5 years of post-grad work experience.

She is interested in investor relations as well but is lacking the financial and analytical background required for these roles (many want bachelors in finance or accounting and 2-3 years of work experience in IB/consulting/private equity etc

So, if your DD can get into a Top 5 or Top 10 MBA program, sure, i think it might help...

[Anonymous]

There is a headline that 24% of the 2024 Harvard MBA class still doesn’t have a job.

Thats the worst of any of the top 10, though MIT is at 22% and 2nd worst.

Apparently, the folks trying to change industries are having the hardest time vs the ones that worked in banking and now want to work in PE (as an example).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did get an MBA.

If I had to go back in time, I would have only gotten it, if from an elite B-school.

Having an MBA from an average state school isn't really that helpful. I can't say that I regret it, my work at the time paid for it, but, hindsight is 20-20, and if I'd go back in time, I'd target the elite schools, if I were to still pursue an MBA.

This is the answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a headline that 24% of the 2024 Harvard MBA class still doesn’t have a job.

Thats the worst of any of the top 10, though MIT is at 22% and 2nd worst.

Apparently, the folks trying to change industries are having the hardest time vs the ones that worked in banking and now want to work in PE (as an example).

This. It could be useful but the MBA market has not been good. Some of these factors seem structural rather than cyclical so I would assess in a few years.

[Anonymous]

No, I wouldn't.

I work at a "Big 4" consulting firm (not an MBB, where I know a lot of the MBA's want to land, but still a decent and desirable place to work).

I work with someone who has an HYP MBA. Their start date was delayed over a year, and (from what I have gathered/heard) their performance is average and they don't really care for the work. I have no MBA and am a higher rank / I assume higher salary than this person. So to me, it doesn't seem worth it.

[Anonymous]

I work for a consulting firm (not management consulting) that in the last five years has hired a lot of MBAs into high-level positions. These individuals are the most overpaid, overconfident, lease self-aware people I've ever met. If they are any indication of what business schools produce, I can't imagine a less useful degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a headline that 24% of the 2024 Harvard MBA class still doesn’t have a job.

Thats the worst of any of the top 10, though MIT is at 22% and 2nd worst.

Apparently, the folks trying to change industries are having the hardest time vs the ones that worked in banking and now want to work in PE (as an example).

Maybe they are just being picky...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did get an MBA.

If I had to go back in time, I would have only gotten it, if from an elite B-school.

Having an MBA from an average state school isn't really that helpful. I can't say that I regret it, my work at the time paid for it, but, hindsight is 20-20, and if I'd go back in time, I'd target the elite schools, if I were to still pursue an MBA.

Not that helpful because other people weren't impressed so doors didn't open, or the education itself wasn't of high enough quality or pertinent to your work so you weren't able to apply it to your work in a way that benefitted you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a headline that 24% of the 2024 Harvard MBA class still doesn’t have a job.

Thats the worst of any of the top 10, though MIT is at 22% and 2nd worst.

Apparently, the folks trying to change industries are having the hardest time vs the ones that worked in banking and now want to work in PE (as an example).

This. It could be useful but the MBA market has not been good. Some of these factors seem structural rather than cyclical so I would assess in a few years.

PP. The Economist just covered this.

https://www.economist.com/business/2025/01/14/why-elite-mba-graduates-are-struggling-to-find-jobs

“At the top 15 business schools, the share of students in 2024 who sought and accepted a job offer within three months of graduating, a standard measure of career outcomes, fell by six percentage points, to 84%. Compared with the average over the past five years, that share declined by eight points.

Some declines are jaw-dropping. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit) has a decent claim to be the world’s top university. But at its business school, named after Alfred Sloan, a giant of the car industry during the 20th century, the wheels are coming off. During the decade to 2022, on average 82% of its students searching for a job had accepted one at graduation, and 93% had done so three months later. In 2024 those figures were 62% and 77%, respectively. At some elite schools the reality may be even worse than it looks. One professor worries that some students who are counted as entrepreneurs are in fact unemployed.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I wouldn't.

I work at a "Big 4" consulting firm (not an MBB, where I know a lot of the MBA's want to land, but still a decent and desirable place to work).

I work with someone who has an HYP MBA. Their start date was delayed over a year, and (from what I have gathered/heard) their performance is average and they don't really care for the work. I have no MBA and am a higher rank / I assume higher salary than this person. So to me, it doesn't seem worth it.

Princeton doesn't have a business school.

I have a relative who was a partner at a "Big 4" consulting firm. Undergrad Ivy and went to a top business school (not Ivy).

He is very successful, traveled a ton, and worked insane hours. That life is not for everyone. He is very extroverted, but he can be arrogant. I honestly was shocked he was so successful by the way I saw him act for decades. He was on the recruiting side for a bit and said (at that time) they preferred recruiting from top business schools. Because he wasn't at an MBB he said they couldn't be as selective.

Another friend who was a political appointee went to policy grad school then to an MBB. Had to take some extra course or something the firm offered, but they had top undergrad and Ivy for their policy school.

I do think at some point you might hit a ceiling and need another degree. Some companies offer to pay for them and there are more "Executive MBAs" nowadays, but those might also be looked down on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did get an MBA.

If I had to go back in time, I would have only gotten it, if from an elite B-school.

Having an MBA from an average state school isn't really that helpful. I can't say that I regret it, my work at the time paid for it, but, hindsight is 20-20, and if I'd go back in time, I'd target the elite schools, if I were to still pursue an MBA.

On DCUM people often say the same about law schools—don’t bother unless it’s elite.

Even if this is true for MBAs & law degrees in the Boston-Washington corridor & coastal California, there are a lot of MBAs & JDs west of Pittsburgh & east of California who are doing fine with degrees from mundane universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you had to go back in time or ancedotes from people you know

For context, my DD is graduating this year with a corporate communications Bachelor of Arts degree. If she wants to pivot into leadership roles in corporate or be in investor relations, would this be a good idea to do after around 5 years of post-grad work experience.

She is interested in investor relations as well but is lacking the financial and analytical background required for these roles (many want bachelors in finance or accounting and 2-3 years of work experience in IB/consulting/private equity etc

An advanced degree never hurts.

The people who are telling you not to get a MBA - already have one. 🙂

Don't listen to them. Get yours.

Best wishes.

Signed, a MBA and CPA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did get an MBA.

If I had to go back in time, I would have only gotten it, if from an elite B-school.

Having an MBA from an average state school isn't really that helpful. I can't say that I regret it, my work at the time paid for it, but, hindsight is 20-20, and if I'd go back in time, I'd target the elite schools, if I were to still pursue an MBA.

On DCUM people often say the same about law schools—don’t bother unless it’s elite.

Even if this is true for MBAs & law degrees in the Boston-Washington corridor & coastal California, there are a lot of MBAs & JDs west of Pittsburgh & east of California who are doing fine with degrees from mundane universities.

For Chicago biglaw, you need a top law school.
Maybe no name law schools are ok in Pittsburgh but…