The True Value of an MBA

I am over 2 months into an accelerated top 10 MBA program in France, HEC Paris. Here are themes apparent thus far.

What do you do after an MBA?

The MBA provides professionals with four career change dimensions:

• Location
• Sector
• Function
• Job level

Schools often highlight student proportions pursuing one or more change from the first three dimensions. My school states 70% of students pursue one and about 30% of students pursue all three changes. Post-MBA salary data tracks job level changers.

For those new to considering an MBA, the most reasonable and foundational MBA-search wisdom states you should select the university most suited to affect your desired outcome from these four dimensions.

This utilitarian calculus leads to resume “check box” thinking. Business classes are business classes no matter where you go — the first program half will be painful if you are comfortable with business concepts. You need a guiding light to incentivize the 6-figure cost and lifestyle sacrifices: selling home and belongings, spousal separation, cafeteria food, negative cash flow, etc. (Admittedly, gathering 5 euros in coins for laundry is one of my newfound greatest pleasures in life; I am even more tickled pink when I find a 50 cent piece so I do not overpay on the dryer. That is to say: expect a reduction in lifestyle.)

For me, I chose an international MBA to add value beyond these four factors: I had never been to Europe. The challenge of immersing myself into a rigorous program located in country with a native language other than my own is a long term value play few programs could offer. Which schools add a meaningful component to your education? There are a myriad of structural options adding value: exchange programs, double degrees, dual degrees, internships, MBA projects/thesis, professors, seminars, location, networking and more.

What do you learn during an MBA?

The primary learning outcomes of the MBA, subjectively ranked:

1. Selling ideas = presentations + case studies + group work + class discussion + preparation for strategy interviews + learning from cohort
2. Structuring problems = problem solving seminars + assignment evaluation criteria
3. Collaborative/leadership skills = team assignments + simulations + relying on cohort to figure out a new life
4. Behavioral change = class competition + surrounded by top performers + diverse professional profiles + lower standard of living + endless short term deadlines with nearly immediate feedback (grades)
5. Researching strategic topics = projects + internships + thesis (if applicable) + preparation for strategy interviews
6. Business acumen = business foundation + specialization/electives + internships
7. Technical skills = club participation + specialization/electives + internships + learning from cohort

I discovered a fallacy that is so well accepted that it practically has become truth: “I work or want to work in business, and I want to advance my career, therefore I should do an MBA.”

True… but not! Like any degree, the MBA education emphasizes certain skills that prepare a professional for specific jobs. A gilded reputation and prominent visibility made the MBA about more about network externalities coming from activities outside of class than the classes themselves.

An MBA education emphasizes structuring problems and selling ideas, along with related general management and soft skills, preparing students for roles as strategic managers. If your desire is not to be a strategic manager — i.e. strategy consultant, general manager, strategist, etc. — then maybe the MBA education is not for you.

Your post-MBA career. Source

I continue emphasizing a word education. I would assume a neuroscience PhD would give an education in neuroscience. A CPA educates about… accounting. However, a neuroscience PhD also teaches research skills and a CPA also indicates work ethic. MBA network externalities cater to human nature (relationships and narratives lead to deals, not knowledge) certifying the MBA as an ideal junior executive candidate.

Consider alternative educational paths to achieving your career goal if your goal:

• Does not involve one of the first three career change outcomes (sector, function, location)
• Long-term promotional potential does not require the MBA-specific education (problem structuring and selling ideas) or executive preparation

What is the big deal about networking?

The previous section should end with a massive “HOWEVER.” As technology automates low value-add tasks, competition within the knowledge-worker ranks increases. The MBA offers an additional value-add beyond technical skills practically essential for all business career advancement today: networking.

Networking is the quintessential business school cliché. As one adept at strengthening networks rather than expanding them, I was incredulous that mere MBA participation could result in the global relationships MBAs claim to have gained. Today, I am well on my journey to becoming a believer in this narrative, but I have discovered the potential network is heavily correlated to the MBA program structure.

• Consider the difference between a residential and city center campus. My school is outside the Paris suburbs, secluded in an ancient village. My cohort mostly lives in a single building on campus. We have a single MBA building for all classes. In contrast, city campuses may not lend to creating a homogeneous student lifestyle, but they likely have better access to employer networks.
• Consider cohort size. My cohort has 115 students. I know at least 105 names and their histories. I am taking all Term 1 classes with the same group of 50, and with a different group of 50 for all Term 2. Other top 10 MBA programs have closer to a thousand students, which requires relational intentionality with those you may never organically meet. However, you will connect with more people of the same background pursuing the same future.
• Consider cohort diversity. My cohort comes from 37 countries. We are divided into learning teams, 1 team for all classes per term. Each team of 6 members comes from 6 different countries. My cohort eats and sleeps in the same buildings. We explore Paris together. We fend off transportation strikes and the coronavirus together. We discuss controversial topics without taking offense. This is a competitive advantage of my school, known for training students to manage diverse teams anywhere in the world. Is this arrangement a make-or-break for you?
• Consider cohort targets. My cohort is comprised of explorers. Most did not know their target sectors, locations and functions upon program start, same as me. I have found the program to be highly collaborative and a natural fit. In contrast, students in other top programs tend to choose their school for its sector/industry/functional specialty — there, students are hunters, not explorers.
• Consider school employer networks. The most common, lucrative and competitive MBA jobs recruit right on campus through employer networking events and school-specific job postings. Difficulty is exponential should your target employer not recruit from your school. Attempt to balance long-term MBA value and the immediate post-MBA job.

What is the best school structure for you to build a network useful in accomplishing your goals?

Conclusion

Carefully evaluate your objectives and values. The MBA can create infinite opportunities or merely check a resume box. Carefully weigh the value exchange of career and education outcomes vs. the six figure and multiyear costs.

I wonder — especially with coronavirus shifting classes online — how would I rewrite this article a year after finishing the program?