The Coming B-School Collapse

Got it, I missed the fact that he is just saying that relatively speaking competition will continue to go up so a lesser percentage of people will get high profile jobs.

Sounds ominous.

People, I know it looks dark on the horizons, and I do think things will get worse.

However, don't let what is outside your control keep you from remaining positive and committed to pursuing your goals. You may have to adapt to the new environment and rely on your strengths (i.e., past experience) to land a job. Therefore, you may have to revise your short-term goals. Realize that there are different roads to the ultimate path you are trying to pursue.

With that said, don't be bummed. There are industries today, besides MC and IB, that are offering six figure salaries and signing bonuses and full relocation and many more benefits. Look outside the box you have constructed for yourself. There are many possibilities still to find a rewarding post-MBA job in this environment. And partially, this also requires a change in mindset to be adaptable to the current and unforeseen changes.

Good luck!

-MBA Graduate, Class of 2009

That's a somewhat defeatist and fatal view of b-school education. For me the education is a long term investment, it only pays off in 5-10 years. Very few people get high profile jobs because very few people had high profile jobs coming in - very simple cause and effect.

Top name MBA's will always be in demand but I think there is a glut of MBA's in general now. There are so many schools giving out MBAs that the overall prestige of the degree isnt what it was years ago. However, an MBA from a top 20 still gets tons of respect and will continue to be hired and payed well. Saying you have an MBA doesnt have a wow factor anymore but saying you have one from a top 5 will get lots of attention on a resume.

Exactly...you are buying a brand..I personally would not spend 100K+ on any MBA program above Top 20 Ranking..unless I was doing it 100% just for the learning experience...ROI would just not be there for me personally.....

when i first told my recommenders about my plans to apply to b-school, 2 of them gave me a similar warning. apparently, there was also an article in the NY times recently that had the same sort of message. i think if i don't get into a top 10 school, i'll probably reapply next year. i dont want to find myself in the unenviable position of being 150k in debt and not having a good job after i'm done with the program. i realize that going to a T10 school won't guarantee a good job, but it's certainly a safer bet

a pessimistic attitude probably isnt the attitude an mba graduate should have. remember this is about getting trained to face difficult times, and getting paid for that. This is the time when you've got to prove you are worthy to a firm.

The author of that article should realize that the most competition is for Top Business Schools, not the dime-a-dozen schools in every street. Yes the jobs may dry up in 2012 or 2013 or whatever. But if anyone thinksthat in 2015 or 2020, the Top 10 MBA brand will fall then they're nuts.
My friend quit his Cisco IT job and went to McCombs a couple of years ago. After graduating, he got into Bear Stearns and got the axe. However, he soon found a job in a real estate company doing valuations and asset appraisal, is an assistant to the COO.
I doubt he'd have gotten that job without an MBA. And mind you I'm not even talking H/S/W/K here...I'm talkin McCombs.
If you're not looking at the B-school education as a long term investment then you have to be scared. Else these articles should not change your mind.
I bought GE last year at the stock market bottom. I consider investing in business education quite similar to that.

I found this article to be a bit too "sky is falling" as well. While I am sure the author is eminently more qualified than I am to intelligently comment, he seems about a year late jumping on the "coming MBA disaster" dogpile, much like the end stats of last year really did not reveal the apocalypse.

More people will probably take the GMAT each year, just like the increase of part-time MBA programs will certainly result in more students each year. These are not historic dams waiting to burst, they are incremental changes with some peaks and valleys. Everyone here knows where they want to go to school, whats realisitic, and what they can reasonably expect for jobs when they graduate.

This article is on the Huffington Post.......

I found this article a bit too alarmist. It's as if the only way to define success is through an MBA. Such an inflexible mindset is bound to cause problems if things don't go as planned.

With that said, it's always good to know what's going on in the world - especially when it directly concerns you.

Thanks for the heads-up!

The craze in certain industries has led to the MBA being slightly commoditized - look at what happened to the Bachelor's degree.

I trust the market for both supply and demand of a "new" thing that keeps people competitive. The Bachelor's degree used to give you a huge edge over high school students. Now it's essentially a given. You don't see anyone complaining about that, do you? The ante is raised, that's all.

As for the deluge of apps in 2008, that's one of the reasons I'm staying in the workforce just a little longer. Emotionally I'm completely ready to enroll, but there are certain advantages to waiting out the masses, watch the b-school craze subside somewhat, rack up some savings, and then go... I'm going because of a specific industry I want to switch into, plus acquiring a specific set of skills. I'm not going for the good job with perks... I already have that. I want something very specific.

I don't know if you can call it a "collapse", since that seems a little permanent to me. I do think that the class of '08 and '09 did get screwed over, since they went in with unrealistic expectations bc of the boom market only to graduate during the recession. What I think will happen is a gradual adjustment. A lot of the lesser know MBA programs see a drop in the number of applicants. Fewer students from the top schools will be gunning for banking, PE or HF jobs. Instead, they might look at corp development, mutual funds or marketing etc. Keep in mind those positions offer a decent salary, but not the huge bonuses of the boom.

People were saying the same things about the computer science industry in 2003, but I think it bounced back nicely. Yes, a lot of less well known institutions saw a big drop in the number of students applying for computer science majors, but enrollment at the top schools remained steady. These graduates were no longer looking to work for a startup, IPO and then make millions of dollars. Instead, they found jobs at established companies. Those who went the startup route, did it bc they are actually interested in developing something new, rather than because they think they will get tons of money through an IPO. I think the same thing will happen for finance.

As economy slows rebounds (even though the Wall St job market isn't expected to rebound to pre-recession levels any time soon), more bschool students are leaning towards finance jobs, even if he or she was hesitant when he/she was applying.

MBA Students Still Banking on Finance

https://www.fins.com/Finance/Articles/SB ... pe=0&idx=1