What are the benefits of Receiving an MBA when I already have a Masters in my current field?

Question

I already have a masters degree in Computer Science. I am currently working in the IT industry as a Software Engineer, but I want to move towards management.

so how would an MBA help me advance my career towards management?

Answer 1

It likely won't help you enough in getting that first level management job to be worth the money, but it is the ticket to higher management jobs. I say this because most of the first line managers I have worked with don't have an MBA, so it is very possible to break into the lower levels of management without one.

However, since you are not a manager now, I would hold off on spending the money until you get to the first line management job and find out if you really want to spend your career as a manager. I have seen too many people take that first management job and then move back to development because they hate the tasks that come along with management. Better to find this out before you spend more money on a degree you may not need if you decide management isn't for you.

However, once you are first line manager and see it is the career for you, then it will be valuable to get the the really high levels of of management. An experienced manager with development experience and an MBA and a Masters in CS would be very valuable in a CIO position.

The MBA will teach you about the financial and business things you need to know to move up the management chain.

Answer 2

An MBA could actually cost you employment opportunities. While the following sounds negative, the point is that there are people in senior management that have been burned by MBAs or MBA teams. There is a feeling, for instance, that the .COM bust was largely caused when the east coast MBAs started showing up in Silicon Valley, and the techs were replaced by 'money people'. One can trace a string of business disasters to MBAs that were long on doctrine and short on common sense. A lot of employers look particularly critically at MBAs, in part because some emphasize their school or contacts rather than their experience. At the very least, talk to people that have seen the bad actors at work, and learn in advance what not to do.

Answer 3

In theory an MBA will teach you to understand why a customer buys a product and how to market your product to a customer and how to actually get them to purchase that product. You already know how to make the product in theory, your undergraduate and graduate degree provided you that knowlege.

There are other skills an MBA can provide you depending on your background. If you already know accounting and economics for example then you already have those skills.

Answer 4

I don't know whether an MBA is better for you than any other degree or training. You have to consider the cost/benefit. Maybe it would be more beneficial to start with a certificate program rather then a full degree.

Any experience or additional education is good for you. Even doing something not related to your field is good for you. It shows that you're interested in learning more, and not just satisfied with coasting on what you learned in four years of college for the rest of your life.

The reason Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs could get away without the stamp of approval of formal training is that they are very self driven, and extraordinary people. They're rock stars in their fields. However, most people are just backup singers, and they need to do something extra to even get the gig.

I wouldn't hire anyone who has spent ten years in their field, and not demonstrated an interest in learning more. Instead, they've demonstrated an unwillingness to learn new things or adopt new things. My experience has taught me that such people are not able to adapt to change, they are a frustrating lot to work with, and they hold back the employees who do adapt to change.

Also, as you get older, it is important to have more education. Better to do it now than wait until you are in your 40s or 50s, and trying to pay a mortgage, and take care of children. I have friends in their 40s who have discovered that they need to go to graduate school just to be employable in their company, and it is very hard to do that at that stage of life.