Anonymous wrote:I work in technology at five different companies and I see a similar pattern at all five:

- CEO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC;  Master at Oxford, UCLA, UNC; JD at Harvard, MBA at Booth from U. of Chicago, Wharton, UVA Darden school, UMD Smith school, etc...
- CIO:  Undergrad in CS or Biomedical at UVA, VT, UMD.  MBA at Georgetown, UVA Darden, UMD Smith
- CFO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC; MBA at Booth, Wharton, Stanford, UVA, Georgetown

It looks like the MBA is the ticket to senior leadership, in addition to "networking".

I don't know whether the MBA is important, but there's no 'pattern' to where people study.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/lists/tech/

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/business/

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/biotech-pharma/

Anonymous wrote:My DS is interested in business/finance/marketing. Do you need specific undergrad major to do MBA later? Are there some undergrad degrees that make it so you don't need an MBA?

Depends on what he wants immediately after college. A job in IB/Finance/Accounting? He isn't getting that job with a history major. Any job in business in say marketing, hr, operations, events? he can land a job but in the big ticket companies he will compete with others who have an undergrad degree in the specialization.

Study what you love and will do well at. Rule #1 for undergrad. If dc loves business and will do well that is better than many other outcomes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in technology at five different companies and I see a similar pattern at all five:

- CEO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC;  Master at Oxford, UCLA, UNC; JD at Harvard, MBA at Booth from U. of Chicago, Wharton, UVA Darden school, UMD Smith school, etc...
- CIO:  Undergrad in CS or Biomedical at UVA, VT, UMD.  MBA at Georgetown, UVA Darden, UMD Smith
- CFO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC; MBA at Booth, Wharton, Stanford, UVA, Georgetown

It looks like the MBA is the ticket to senior leadership, in addition to "networking".

I agree. The C-suite jobs that I follow (I don't pay attention to all industries) usually have a path of T20 college (more often, top 10/Ivy) => 3-5 years in consulting => MBA at top 5 program.

I am the PPP and just want to point out that the "networking" is ten times more important than that credential. Just keep that in mind.

Anonymous wrote:I work in technology at five different companies and I see a similar pattern at all five:

- CEO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC;  Master at Oxford, UCLA, UNC; JD at Harvard, MBA at Booth from U. of Chicago, Wharton, UVA Darden school, UMD Smith school, etc...
- CIO:  Undergrad in CS or Biomedical at UVA, VT, UMD.  MBA at Georgetown, UVA Darden, UMD Smith
- CFO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC; MBA at Booth, Wharton, Stanford, UVA, Georgetown

It looks like the MBA is the ticket to senior leadership, in addition to "networking".

I agree. The C-suite jobs that I follow (I don't pay attention to all industries) usually have a path of T20 college (more often, top 10/Ivy) => 3-5 years in consulting => MBA at top 5 program.

I work in technology at five different companies and I see a similar pattern at all five:

- CEO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC;  Master at Oxford, UCLA, UNC; JD at Harvard, MBA at Booth from U. of Chicago, Wharton, UVA Darden school, UMD Smith school, etc...
- CIO:  Undergrad in CS or Biomedical at UVA, VT, UMD.  MBA at Georgetown, UVA Darden, UMD Smith
- CFO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC; MBA at Booth, Wharton, Stanford, UVA, Georgetown

It looks like the MBA is the ticket to senior leadership, in addition to "networking".

Anonymous wrote:Business undergrad is lower end trade skills. Good for working in G&A (HR, Accounting), not for career growth.

For becoming a leader in a business, business degrees pair much better with skill in the company's subject matter , so double major or ugrad in a "product" subject and then MBA.

Totally not true.
If a school has undegrad business program, its usually a premium major - UPenn, Cornell, NYU, Emory, ND, UVA, MIT, etc.

It depends what field she wants to go into. Does she want to be an entrepreneur and run her own business? Is she going to take over a family business? No need for an MBA -- get an undergraduate business degree and take classes in accounting, finance, marketing, etc., so she knows a little bit about everything.

If she wants to go into investment banking, VC, equity research: focus less on getting a business degree and more on getting into a target school and majoring in math or econ, and pursue a summer internship one of those firms. Work for a few years and then get an MBA (or don't get one at all -- it depends on where she lands after graduation and what track she's on.)

If she wants a marketing job with an agency, or something "mid range" like that, get a business degree.

Business undergrad is lower end trade skills. Good for working in G&A (HR, Accounting), not for career growth.

For becoming a leader in a business, business degrees pair much better with skill in the company's subject matter , so double major or ugrad in a "product" subject and then MBA.

Anonymous wrote:MBA is much more valuable with a different major for undergrad: STEM especially.

No, it doesn't really matter.

You don't need to consider MBA now.

Get into a good undergrad business.

MBA is much more valuable with a different major for undergrad: STEM especially.

Yes, reduces the number of credits needed for MBA because you can usually wave the generic classes and focus on the specialty you are pursuing. So 1 year vs 2 year program.

Yes, business degree is worth it. If you want MBA, you can major in anything, really, though tbh, I don't know that an MBA is worth it if you get an undergrad business degree.

My DS is interested in business/finance/marketing. Do you need specific undergrad major to do MBA later? Are there some undergrad degrees that make it so you don't need an MBA?