001 - When is an MBA worth it?
001 - When is an MBA worth it?
“I have been wondering whether or not it would be worth it to get an MBA. I am a Product Manager. I am not looking to switch careers, but I do desire to be Head of Product someday. I love the idea of building product organizations and coaching other Product Managers to be their best professional selves. I have looked at several programs which are sponsored through my workplace, which are respectable but not top tier schools. On the University websites, their starting salaries upon graduation are in-line with my current salary. If I were to go to a top tier school, debt could be significant. When is an MBA helpful for career advancement?”
— Matriculation, maybe?
First I’ll offer my general advice on MBA programs and then get to the specifics of your situation. MBAs are a popular graduate degree, and rightly so. On the learning front you get exposure to a broad range of business topics, go deep on teamwork and figure out how to work across personality types, backgrounds and cultures. All while tapping into a new network of peers and alumni and (hopefully) having a good time.
On the other hand, investing in an MBA program is costly on several dimensions. First, you have to pay for the program, some of which are quite expensive. If you opt for a full-time program you also have the opportunity cost of lost wages for the duration of the course.
In addition, a cost that isn’t discussed as frequently is the mental and emotional energy you put into it - you are typically committing several years to the process from GMAT through applications and study; these are years that will require tradeoff with something else. Energy is a zero sum game so if you’re spending it here you aren’t spending it with family, starting your own business, or chasing any other endeavor that might be important to you.
In terms of career advancement, MBAs can help you achieve a pivot in industry, geography or function by creating an on-ramp where you don’t otherwise have one. There are also some industries where an MBA is part of the career track (think: consulting, investment banking) and not having one will effectively limit your growth. If your drive has more to do with post-MBA salary, I offer a word of caution. There are nearly 200K MBA degrees conferred each year in the U.S., so the degree itself doesn’t pack as much attention-getting punch as it once did. If you are currently in a highly paid position, you might not want to bank on a big salary bump.
A word on sponsored MBAs (i.e. when a company pays for your program while you are still employed or under contract with them). On the plus side, you have less cost to factor into the decision equation and way less pressure to find an internship and post-MBA employment. On the other hand, you may be more inclined to choose an executive or part-time program which comes with a different experience and networking potential compared to a full time program. Finally, signing on with a company for sponsorship could mean a five-ish year commitment when you factor in the year to take the GMAT/apply, two years to do the actual program, and the two (or more) years you would be asked to stay with the company post-program. In today’s marketplace five years is a long time to effectively push pause on external options.
Now as promised, advice on how to approach your specific case. First things first, do some research on Head of Product roles and hone in on two things: 1) what skills are important to land the job and / or advance beyond this job and 2) what type of education is required or helpful.
My favorite approach is to do informational interviews with people who hold the position or have held it in the past. Find a few interesting candidates through your network, Linkedin or other groups and ask for 30 mins of their time. Offer to buy them coffee or the online equivalent. Use these meetings to gather info about what skills they use, what has been most helpful in advancement, what has held them back. Talk to some people with an MBA and some without and see how that has been a factor in their journey.
Second, review job postings for Head of Product at different companies to create a list of skills and education that different companies are looking for. This will give you insight into an ‘ideal candidate’. Finally, read biographies or memoirs from people who have excelled in the product industry. Anyone from inventors of new products to stars from the big tech companies. Try to suss out the same information - what skills were useful and how did education play a role in the path to success.
Once you have an idea of what it takes to get your desired career, bounce it against what you would expect to get from an MBA program. If an MBA is a good fit in closing the gaps for you - awesome, move forward! If it seems like your time might be better spent acquiring skills or experience in a different way, go do that. I don’t see an MBA as a one-size-fits all solution so spend some time really thinking about the options and determining what is the highest and best use of your learning and development time before making the final call.