Back to School - Page 2

On October 01 2013 22:58 c0ldfusion wrote:
I hope this isn't too personal, but just wondering, how old are you roughly (over or under 30)? I always got the impression that you were an older guy, by TL standards at least.

Are you doing your MBA full-time? I've thought about doing it myself but I feel like the opportunity cost of not working for 2 years is a bit much.

Best of luck in B-school!

On October 02 2013 04:20 caelym wrote:
Any advice on getting into business school? I'm thinking of applying next year.

On October 01 2013 20:05 Erik.TheRed wrote:


First of all, thanks for the thorough reply! I really do appreciate the tips.

A lot of the things you say about middle-of-the-road degrees do resonate with me and I definitely agree that the opportunity cost for acquiring such degrees can be quite high. However, when I initially made the decision to pursue a masters I came up with a decent number of reasons that convinced me it was the best choice. Basically, in order of value/importance:

1) I'm half-Swedish so I get free tuition
2) Enables networking and potential internships with big IT companies (I'm basically studying in the silicon valley of Sweden)
3) Study-abroad/international experience and learning a foreign language (especially useful with Swedish-American businesses)
4) US economy still not in the best shape and no guarantee I would find work with room for growth. (Harder to prove because I didn't exactly apply to many jobs before graduating since I was preparing to study overseas).

I think the first two points alone are enough to justify spending 2 more years in school, especially since I have a great deal of flexibility when it comes to picking classes and a thesis that won't be a waste of time. I also agree with your advise that I should focus much more on business, which is what I plan on doing since my technical knowledge is about as good as it needs to be without actually wanting or expecting to do any actual coding on-the-job. Rather, I maintain a more managerial perspective -- that understanding the basics of how the IT systems work will lead to better decisions on the business-setup and organizational processes.

That being said, I would actually much rather be working and learning on the field but I can't really find evidence that not having a masters won't make a difference in finding a better starting position. All the evidence points to the contrary (especially #2 and #3 in my list) so I feel that it still makes more sense to just make the most of my situation and stay in school for a few more years.

On October 02 2013 06:56 thedeadhaji wrote:
>nath

I totally hear ya. I think it's always about the quality of the person rather than whatever degree she may have, especially with a business degree where seemingly everyone and their grandma has one these days. And I agree with you that the best people (who are the people you want) would have been just fine without getting such a degree.


I considered not going to MBA and just changing jobs again laterally until the very last moment, but in the end there were some concrete reasons for being here that I decided to act on. Without having tangible things you're trying to get out of a professional program, I agree that it can potentially be totally worthless. I'll eventually explain in a future blog, but I have some non-professional, life reasons for being here as well.

On October 02 2013 08:56 nath wrote:

ah i guess i must have really conveyed that sentiment of leaving school, lol.

i meant its better to specialize then learn the cross-disciplinary skills outside of school/in the field than 'majoring' in a cross-disciplinary field.
and the goal of "being between suits and hackers fighting for hackers" is always going to be a niche better filled by a business-savvy hacker than a 'hacker-savvy' businessman.

On October 02 2013 15:21 KlaCkoN wrote:
You sound cool, but should have come to berkeley instead, I want more cool friends lol.
Best of luck with your new degree. Try not to get assimilated by the sharks though, too many of those around already =p

On October 03 2013 02:17 hmsrenown wrote:
Well, I'm in law school with a biochem undergrad degree and I also want to be the guy between suits and scientists It's always great to see someone else with a similar idea

On October 03 2013 14:32 Disregard wrote:
Unfortunately there's a mysterious alluring force of greed and capitalism that consumes said suits.

On October 02 2013 06:56 thedeadhaji wrote:
>nath

I totally hear ya. I think it's always about the quality of the person rather than whatever degree she may have, especially with a business degree where seemingly everyone and their grandma has one these days. And I agree with you that the best people (who are the people you want) would have been just fine without getting such a degree.


I considered not going to MBA and just changing jobs again laterally until the very last moment, but in the end there were some concrete reasons for being here that I decided to act on. Without having tangible things you're trying to get out of a professional program, I agree that it can potentially be totally worthless. I'll eventually explain in a future blog, but I have some non-professional, life reasons for being here as well.