Started By
Message

OT: Would an MBA from Ga Southern be worth it?

Posted on 2/29/16 at 11:19 am
Posted by athenslife101
Member since Feb 2013
18551 posts
Posted on 2/29/16 at 11:19 am
I'm going to go ahead and guess that I couldn't get into Terry's program or Tech's. And at that point, I can at least work part time down here if I went to Southern over Georgia State. I would probably not remain in the region. Just curious if it would mean a damn thing to employers on a national level.
Posted by Broncothor
Member since Jul 2014
3050 posts
Posted on 2/29/16 at 11:38 am to
It's my opinion that an MBA is a worthy investment if you have limited work experience. As your experience grows, it becomes more important and your degrees become less. I have leaned towards hiring an MBA candidate over another one if all else is close. One from GSU might not carry as much weight as UGA or GT, but if it is in the field, it is still a degree from a quality school.
Posted by athenslife101
Member since Feb 2013
18551 posts
Posted on 2/29/16 at 11:45 am to
For the stuff I'm looking at, they really just want a professional degree as a baseline when considering applicants whether it be law, cpa, mba, etc. law is more my interest but the only way I'm doing law is if I got into uga and that ain't happening lol.
This post was edited on 2/29/16 at 11:46 am
Posted by tylerdurden24
Member since Sep 2009
46395 posts
Posted on 2/29/16 at 11:47 am to
I believe a lot of MBAs are low residency so you shouldn't have to move to south GA unless you want to (or unless you're already there). You can also pursue MBAs for UGA through the Griffin, Tifton, and Gwinnet campuses I believe.

But like Bronc said it's only worth it if you feel like you don't have sufficient business experience to this point to make yourself marketable on the level you're wanting. I'd contact all 3 schools' program directors for info on what exactly is taught and emphasized to determine if they will provide a skill set that you feel you are currently lacking; no point in doing a grade degree for the hell of it.
Posted by fibonaccisquared
The mystical waters of the Hooch
Member since Dec 2011
16898 posts
Posted on 2/29/16 at 12:17 pm to
quote:

I believe a lot of MBAs are low residency so you shouldn't have to move to south GA unless you want to (or unless you're already there). You can also pursue MBAs for UGA through the Griffin, Tifton, and Gwinnet campuses I believe.

But like Bronc said it's only worth it if you feel like you don't have sufficient business experience to this point to make yourself marketable on the level you're wanting. I'd contact all 3 schools' program directors for info on what exactly is taught and emphasized to determine if they will provide a skill set that you feel you are currently lacking; no point in doing a grade degree for the hell of it.

+1 to most of this. As a side note, many of the programs in the southeast offer in-state tuition supplements for neighboring states for MBA programs, so you're not limited to Georgia programs. (FSU is one for sure)

Generally speaking there are 2 value drivers for an MBA program...
1) Degree hurdle: For some jobs, it's simply a "do you have an MBA" sort of check. In those scenarios, the actual program that you went to matters less, but I would say that GSU degree would be a peg down from a UGA, FSU, UA, etc... not a deal breaker, but would be worth considering all options before you settled on a specific school.

2) The relationships that the university has with career fields and/or employers (do they funnel into certain job types/employers). Dunno what field you're looking to get into, but would definitely be doing some digging to see if the programs you're looking at are going to prepare you well from both a coursework perspective as well as a door opening one.

Third factor that sometimes gets overlooked is the connections you make while in the program. The people that you go to school with are a huge factor going forward. MBA programs are all about collaboration and group projects/work. Meeting and working with people that may later vouch for you or refer you (or that you may refer) is a lot more valuable if a good chunk of them are going into field(s) that you are interested in.
Posted by GregYoureMyBoyBlue
Member since Apr 2011
2960 posts
Posted on 2/29/16 at 3:19 pm to
quote:

1) Degree hurdle: For some jobs, it's simply a "do you have an MBA" sort of check. In those scenarios, the actual program that you went to matters less, but I would say that GSU degree would be a peg down from a UGA, FSU, UA, etc... not a deal breaker, but would be worth considering all options before you settled on a specific school.

2) The relationships that the university has with career fields and/or employers (do they funnel into certain job types/employers). Dunno what field you're looking to get into, but would definitely be doing some digging to see if the programs you're looking at are going to prepare you well from both a coursework perspective as well as a door opening one.

Third factor that sometimes gets overlooked is the connections you make while in the program. The people that you go to school with are a huge factor going forward. MBA programs are all about collaboration and group projects/work. Meeting and working with people that may later vouch for you or refer you (or that you may refer) is a lot more valuable if a good chunk of them are going into field(s) that you are interested in.



Great breakdown above. I'd add a couple of points.

The connections/network was by far the most important factor towards my career goals. Career I was pursuing wasn't available through traditional means (MBA job fairs, Internal and External MBA job boards, Career center, etc), so I had to network my arse off and alumni was a great avenue to pursue further education on career paths and ways to get internships and jobs. So if you do pursue an MBA, I'd take full advantage of the "student" moniker while you have it because it opens doors that are traditionally unavailable.

Definitely be sure that your career goals and potential fields have successfully been filled by your target school's MBA graduate program. I'd even ask the school's admissions/career center if they could connect you to some recently graduated students to get more information on the best ways to get connected.

Essentially, treat your grad school choices like you would an interviewee. Check the resume, call references, and make sure they're as good of a fit for you as you are for them.
Posted by Peter Buck
Member since Sep 2012
12413 posts
Posted on 2/29/16 at 10:47 pm to
We pay for our employees to get a MBA. An Exec type... Those are valuable. 10 years down the road, it doesn't matter where you got one, unless it was at Kellogg or something. Personally, I'd hitch on to a company that will do tuition pay back for MBA and other professional degrees. Get paid in the process.
Posted by fibonaccisquared
The mystical waters of the Hooch
Member since Dec 2011
16898 posts
Posted on 2/29/16 at 11:33 pm to
quote:

Personally, I'd hitch on to a company that will do tuition pay back for MBA and other professional degrees. Get paid in the process.

Dunno what you do for work, but if this is a possibility, it's *highly recommended*. I've got a relative doing it with Emory right now, fortunately his company doesn't have a cap on the tuition reimbursement cost, so as long as he puts his 2-3 years in after graduation, hell of a deal. If he looks elsewhere, he just knows that he has to factor those scaled tuition costs into any offer he considers.
Posted by WhopperDawg
Member since Aug 2013
3073 posts
Posted on 3/1/16 at 1:11 am to
quote:

the only way I'm doing law is if I got into uga and that ain't happening lol.


Why pray tell?
Posted by Peter Buck
Member since Sep 2012
12413 posts
Posted on 3/1/16 at 8:37 am to
It's actually pretty common in larger companies. We did it more organically before we sold to the big guys. Just don't be the DB who puts MBA on their business card
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 1Next pagelast page
refresh

Back to top
logoFollow SECRant for SEC Football News
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest updates on SEC Football and Recruiting.

FacebookTwitter