Is an MBA worth it?

Came across an interesting discussion on the Businessweek's Debate Room on the pros and cons of doing an MBA. The main article is followed by a lot of comments on both sides of the argument. If you are in the MBA market, this is probably a worth a quick look. However, if you've already done your research, talked to current and past MBA graduates and made up your minds, this article will not come across as something new or ground-breaking. Infact, it was downright frustrating to see people without an MBA degree commenting on the futility of an MBA program. There were a few comments from those pursuing online programs or some that are not even in the top 100. I'm not sure how these people are qualified to comment on the topic, or worse, reject MBA programs outright.

I'm sure the question of whether an MBA is worth it or not is as old as the degree itself. I'm certainly not going to attempt to address this here. But I would say this much - If you are in a top 10 MBA program and wish to follow one of the usual post-MBA tracks (mgmt consulting, investment banking, PE, marketing etc.) the ROI quite certainly makes it worth it. But if you are a wannabe entrepreneur, there's no saying if a business school would help foster your creativity. At the end of the day, its a very personal and subjective decision. A lot of factors need to be taken into consideration:
- where you are in your personal and professional life?
- would you be able to absorb the opportunity cost?
- is your payscale already comparable to that of a post-MBA guy?
- etc etc.

In my case, I seem to have hit a wall in my career. And I was bored of doing the same IT/telecom stuff. And more importantly, I knew I wasn't using those skills that I was actually good at. Business school seemed something exciting to do while rejuvenating my career and injecting a fresh lease of life. It would open a lot more doors in a variety of industries. And I personally think I'm better at managing people than doing the work myself :-) But more than anything else, the payscales at top 10 MBA programs sounded very very attractive. An MBA from Kellogg has the ability to put me in a completely different career and payscale trajectory.

Ofcourse, its not always chocolates and strawberries. MBA recruitment - more than any other degree - depends heavily on the current economy. So if things go downhill by 2009 when I graduate, I might come to rue the decision. Also, I'll be paying off those loans for quite a few years.

The other thing that could potentially go wrong is the fact that I don't have a GC yet. So unless my wife gets her GC before I graduate, I will be left to the vagaries of the whole H1 quota thing going around. Another excellent article here about the issues international students face after graduating from top MBA programs because of the H1 quota. So this is definitely somewhat of a gamble. But I couldn't wait forever for my GC before I start my MBA. Age is a factor as well as the right moment in your career to jump on to the MBA bandwagon. As the article mentions, I could always take an international assignment for a year before I get a fresh H1B. As I write this article, there is a lot of talk about the senate reaching an agreement on a new bipartisan immigration bill. Whether this will help educated legal immigrants - like most Indians - is still up in the air and should become clear soon.

Yes, there are a lot of impediments along the way. But I feel these are cosmetic issues, and can always be circumvented with some planning and foresight. When you think about it, not too many people get an opportunity to do a top 10 MBA program. It requires a lot of dedication and concerted effort to get admitted into one. In the long run, I do believe that my decision will be vindicated.