Un-value of an MBA 3

[kelowna]

I am curious about the experience of other engineers out there. Currently I am doing a part-time MBA. I had my annual review with the VP (and good friend) of the company I work for and I got a good raise and very positive feedback. He did not mention the MBA which he knows I am doing although the company does not support it (in fact ignoring is a better description), so I did. During the review I asked if the fact that I am taking an MBA was valued/considered/appreciated by the company. The answer was no.

Fun part is that the positive comments and feedback I received were all about my managerial and soft skills and none about technical skills. So MBA not valued but managerial capabilities needed?

 

[Ashereng]

Having a degree is not the same as having the skills.

Lots of people have engineering degrees, but are not very good at "engineering".

Lots of people without engineering degrees are very good at "engineering".

Maybe your friend is trying to say gently, stop throwing your "I have a MBA" up at everyone, and just do the job?



"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[cvg]

with an MBA your boss may expect that you will be interested in pursuing management track. If that is the case, would you be in line to take his position or another open one in management at the company? If not, then he may think that you might begin looking around for another job where you can use that MBA.

 

[TheTick]

The problem for your boss is that when you complete your MBA, you become more marketable to other companies. Yes, you have the skills, and he appreciates that. Soon you will also have the paper, and more outside employers will appreciate that.

 

[jpankask]

Ashereng is right, the degree probably means nothing to the company but the skills you have/are gaining mean a lot. As an engineer, having an MBA degree adds no value to you. The good news is that your company recognizes the skills you are learning and using. A lot of companies will not even do that. You say you received a good raise and very positive feedback, which is ultimately what you want. If you are looking for a large bump in salary just because you are an engineer who has an MBA, you will most likely be very disappointed. As cvg said, having the MBA really only gives you more clout to move into management or on to another job. Your boss may see your MBA as a way to move on when you graduate, in which case they really won't be too excited about your degree. It is partly for this reason that I switched from an MBA to MS. Companies see more value from a MS than from the MBA to your engineering work, whether that is valid or not.

 

[mechmama]

I had similar experiences when I completed a part-time MBA program. While my bosses were actually interested and supportive, saying things such as, "That will be really beneficial for you," nothing changed once I had the degree.

My thoughts were
1. I was in a pure engineering position. At the time I was several years away from enough experience to be a manager of anything. In an engineering position, MBA's aren't required, so why give me any special treatment for having one? I realized it was something I was doing for me only to move away from pure engineering work.

2. When I was ready for a management-level job or applied for an internal/external position with "MBA desired" in the description, the piece of paper would then have some value. I have found it useful in getting my next job, but remember that the shelf life is limited. If you stay in your current job and aren't able to apply the so-called MBA skill set for several years after receiving your degree, it won't help much if you then decide to find another job.

 

[corus]

I have to disagree with mechmama. Personally I think the MBA is Master of Bugger All, as we say in the UK, so applying it would be difficult anyway. The fact you have an MBA under your belt though is good for the rest of your career, whether you use part of it or none of it, the knowledge is still there (for what it's worth). Your boss is a total idiot for not saying the company appreciates your efforts to better yourself, as ultimately it must better the company either in practical terms or as an additional selling point for the ablilities of the company overall. The main fact is that it's a good selling point for yourself when looking for other work, and I'd consider moving to a company that appreciates you. Money isn't everything.

corus

 

[mechmama]

Corus - I don't disagree that having the MBA is good for the rest of your career. . .the knowledge is still there. Sure, you learned it, you own it, and the fact that you took the initiative to do it will always mean something.

But, there really is a shelf life for certain things learned in an MBA program. Some things learned, such as GAAP (accounting practices) and other fundamental-type courses will always be valid, or at least for many years. Here are some examples of things I'm talking about that expire:

MIS (managing information systems) courses: Computer technology changes rapidly. I'm sure courses 10 years ago were different than courses today. A big topic in my MIS class was the strategy of outsourcing IT. Was that a valid strategy 10 years ago? Will it be a valid strategy 10 years from now?

HR management: It doesn't get much more b.s. than this for engineers, but employment laws change. Plus, professionals' expectations change. Flex time, job sharing, and on-site daycare may have been reality for only forward-thinking companies 10 years ago, but a whole lot more companies implement these things today.

Global management: China wasn't much of a market force 10 years ago. Emerging markets are always changing. Political climates also change and affect global business practices.

Plus, I think employers who are paying for MBAs sometimes want employees who know all the right buzz words. I definitely disagree with implementing ops-management-strategy-de-jour, but there are still hiring managers who will expect you to know what the latest management guru has written some book about, and every 25 year old hot shot MBA will be able to recite it forwards and backwards.

I guess the future applicability of the MBA really hinges one how you are trying to leverage the degree. If it's just a checkbox on your job app to prove you're a management quality person, then it's probably good for a long time. But, if you were hoping to use that course in Global Strategic Management to position yourself for a management job with your favorite conglomerate's Bangkok office, you better make that job switch as soon as possible.

 

[csd72]

I believe an MBA is more aligned with running a company, I have heard a number of people say that a project management qualification would be more relevant for most engineers.

An MBA may open opportunities outside of engineering though. My wifes former director was a former industrial chemist with an MBA.

csd

 

[corus]

mechmama,
You may be right that what you have learnt goes out of date but I have a MSc from 30 years ago and no one says it's worthless now. Having qualifications not only shows you know the subject, or knew the subject then, but you have the ability to learn. An ability to learn and take in new and changing things is of more value, especially these days with ever changing technology, and management ideas. A qualification, whatever that is, shows that ability.

corus

 

[plasgears]

The best engineering company I worked for had MME and MAE assigned as unit managers. Everybody spoke the same language. This was a good application of advanced degrees.

The worst company I worked for had HS grads supervising graduate engineers. This was a QS certified organization!

 

[cvg]

note that the original poster asked about an MBA which is completely different from MSC, MME or MAE. MBA is strictly for business administration, no focus on engineering at all. Only useful for running a company and only useful for a company looking for an upper manager.

I think all would agree that a Masters in Engineering / Science could be a huge benefit to any engineer regardless of how old it is or what field.