Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Supply and Demand


Currently I am enrolled in the MBA program at Temple and this semester taking the graduate level economics course. This is all good, and professor seems to love the topic, which makes for a fun course.
However, for those thinking about doing your MBA, do it now don't put it off. I have had previous opportunities to go for my MBA before I had kids, and when I had employers that would cover a much bigger portion of the bill. Big mistake it only gets harder and I think you have less time to get the other benefits of networking and socializing that you might get if you can spend more time getting involved.
Also my guess is that if you mapped the value of an MBA relative to age, so your Y is value of MBA vs X being your age, value is much higher the younger you are maybe mid 20's? While this might be true and the value I receive might be diminished, it keeps me learning and that is worth it.

3 comments:

Greg Pavlik said...

Not sure I agree with the age, value tradeoff as shown, at least below some threshold, say, 45. My opinion: the optimal age for a working professional to do the MBA looks like its somewhere in the mid-30s, where the immediate transition to a higher value position within a company is much easier. I think one exception may be ibanking, where it is probably nice to get the MBA out of the way before taking a ground level position. As a statistical note, I think the mean age of entrants to the Wharton executive program is something 33-34, depending on the year.

Another key point: approaching the MBA with some significant experience makes the experience more meaningful, esp. if the peer group can bring a lot of insight to the table.

The pain, though, is definitely amplified the more responsibility you have at work and home.

Unknown said...

Greg, I had a moment in class tonight dealing with M&A and economics and agree my previous experiences put context around the lecture. That said maybe its more of a bell curve skewed to age 26-28.

CAVITEMYR-WORLD said...

Super good advice! Carlos