Considering an MBA 1

[That1Guy]

I'm preparing to sit for my P.E. exam at the end of October and was considering what other options would help me professionally. I was looking at the possibility of obtaining an MBA and was curious how many members here have done so and how has it helped you. Ideally I'd like to get out of the design engineer role I'm in currently and move in to a more responsible position. Considering my current employment, I don't expect obtaining my license will accomplish this. I'd like to get into more of a project management role, or possibly an actual management role at some point.

Have any of the members here seen a marked improvement professionally from obtaining an MBA? Or, if you have seen a marked improvement with another avenue, what did you do? Was it an advanced degree? I'm considering my potential options and wondering which direction I should go. Thanks for any information.

Regards,
Byron T

 

[profengmen]

As soon as I got an MBA, I was promoted, and then again, and then again.

I found it a faster track to the top than a PE.

If you plan on going into management, it is the better bet.

 

[That1Guy]

Thanks Profengmen, I appreciate the feedback.

Did you find it mattered what school you got your MBA from? or do you think it mattered? There are a couple of universities around the area (Tulane, Loyola, University of New Orleans) that could have an MBA program. Two of the three are very expensive, and I'm not certain who offers a masters program. I'm just curious if I need to consider the relative merit of the school.


Byron T

 

[profengmen]

In general it does not matter, but there are some that are considered "diploma mills" and it's best to find the one with the best perceived quality. There are rankings you can find, and of course, the best are the most expensive. Some of the graduate schools specialize in just MBAs.

The larger the company you plan on working for, the more important the reputation of the school. check with your company to see if they will pay for it. I negoatiated with the company I worked for and set it up as a forgivable loan over 4 years.

 

[RDK]

It all depends on what you want to do for a living.

If you want to be a technical engineer then it will not help.

If you want to move into management then it will help.

I have stated in other threads that the purpose of a university education is not to teach you anything specific but to train you to think like an engineer or in this case a manager.

Engineers tend to have very linear thinking patterns. They think in an if then else construct. They like to have perfect information to plug into a formula to come up with a result.

Managers on the other hand tend to think in more circular terms. They may take information from many sources and weigh the validity and reliability of this information and come up with a decision.

Engineers think that if I take this piece of steel and treat it in such a manner then I will get predictable resultant material properties. Managers think that if I take this person and give them a warm moist place to grow and develop then I will end up with a better employee but I cannot precisely predict the type of person that will result.

Having both backgrounds requires you to differentiate in your problem solving approaches. The real trick to being an engineer with an MBA is knowing what sort of problem you are solving and the difference between a result of a formula and a managerial decision.

I like having both backgrounds. As an engineer I learned some analytical skills and thought processes that help in being a manager. This is especially true in technical management where you are doing something along the lines of industrial engineering (picking optimal numbers of servers in a queue problem for example.)

As a manager I have also learned to be more discriminating on the validity and reliability of technical information. This has avoided some costly mistakes.

Whatever you pick, good luck






Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

[That1Guy]

Again, thanks Profengmen and Rick for your helpful information. I think I will in fact pursue an MBA. Now the only question is timing, which will work itself out in some fashion or another.


Byron T.

 

[RDK]

It was the right decision for me. That does not make it the right decision for everyone.

I'm glad I got it. If nothing else it was a lot of fun. (If you consider 2.5 years of 80-100 hour weeks fun.)

I took mine in a combination of full and part time study. At one point I was holding down a professional job and a full time graduate student work load.

Don't have to be nuts to do that although I found that it helped.

Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com