How valuable is MBA 10 years from now

Question

My employer is sponsoring part of my education and I plan on staying here for the next few years (part time mba). I was wondering, how valuable is an MBA 5 or 10 years after you earned your degree? I'll be 28 when I graduate, so how valuable is it when I'm in my mid 30s and am looking to move around?

Also, does your school matter as much then? I get the feeling that the rankings or brand name really plays a big part for full time programs when you graduate and are looking for your first post MBA job. But what about your 2nd or 3rd post MBA job? How much does where you got your MBA really matter then?

bakfed · Answer

I think once you're 5 years out from b-school, it'll matter a lot less to where you're going than what you've achieved since you had graduated. But another interest point is that most folks look to switch career and the better the b-school, the better the type of recruiters. Of course, being "better" is subjective but I'm sure you get what I'm saying. I think by the time you're 35, it wouldn't matter whether you're a harvard grad or a pepperdine grad and that it's all about maximizing the chances of you getting into the company you want to join post-MBA.

bb · Answer

I think it is one of those impossible questions. Imagine for a minute, I am trying to sell you an inflatable rubber boat for $100,000 - would you buy it? (probably not if you are sane). Now imagine, 10 years later you are on board of Titanic. Now is that rubber boat for $100K a good investment? (YES, it most likely is). Now it is 10 years later again, would you buy another rubber boat from me? Probably not.... it really depends on the situation you in and if you have not bought the boat from me on board of Titanic, you probably would not be around.

By the time you are in mid 30's-40's and when you are reaching the VP levels, it does not matter which BSchool you went to on paper. It may still mean quite a bit when you get an offer from an HBS grad to be his right hand man and my wild guess will be that there are a lot more HBS grads at the top than Pepperdine.

The only people that school does not matter to are those who will be at the very top regardless of their school or at the very bottom. If you don't stand out, I'd say it will be very helpful for growth and networking. If you are planning to work for the same company for a long time or run a family business, perhaps not. But going to Pepperdine is not the end of the world - you will learn quite a bit, just won't be able to rely on their Alum network which is greatly inflated by all the campuses they have.

bakfed · Answer

Just an fyi - I was definitely NOT trying to insult pepperdine or its MBAs. I simply just grabbed something out of my head and used it to compare to HBS. My longstanding perspective for an MBA has always and will remain the same - as long as it gets you to where you want to go, you did well for yourself. Sorry if I offended anyone with my pepperdine statement.

tutoring · Answer

Management education will be around for decades to come. Companies are getting larger and more complex, and shareholders want people with qualifications to run them. An MBA is the ticket.

How valuable is MBA 10 years from now

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