Looking for advice: is a Harvard/Stanford MBA worth the time and expenses?
I recently joined Google as L3 with zero work experience. My long term goal (in 15 years) is to be a Director/VP at Google (maybe a different team). I may also decide to pursue a venture of my own after the said time period. Will an MBA be helpful towards this goal (consider 2 years of time investment and resulting debt)? I have been talking to a lot of folks and I get mixed responses. Any advice/opinion is appreciated. Thanks
Assuming you can get into HBS or GSB, probably since you are young and the opportunity cost is low-ish.
Why not go part time and have google pay for it? Just take whatever max they reimburse a year so no out of pocket. If you plan on staying at google then it doesn’t matter how long it takes
Definitely don’t quit google to do an mba. No one cares about the school once you have experience. Literally no one has ever asked me what school I went to
I second this. If you can get great roles any great tech companies without an MBA then definitely do it. If you find that you hit a ceiling at those companies then maybe an MBA makes sense. Although I believe that leveraging that experience to go to a great startup is even better experience than an MBA. In summary, work really hard and ride the wave. When that wave runs out then get an MBA.
May I ask what’s your title?
MBA will take you to places. Coding won’t get most of the folks past an architect role by the time they retire. And people who say that MBA is all about networking, don’t know what they are talking about
Hey F5, Care to elaborate? Given a B.S in Computer Science, what is the value add to pursue MBA aside from expanding valuable network? I am genuinely curious
How would you assess how big an opportunity is? Which projects to invest in given different financial structures and cash flow? How many times have you lost money in the stock market? Do you know which company to join based on their financials? BS in computer science is good but skills you learn in MBA are different and quite valuable. Most of the companies in SV fail as they aren’t able to invest wisely. All the above and more is what you learn in MBA.
I asked myself this question for years and years. So, some advice. Don’t talk yourself out of it. You don’t even have the option yet. It’s tough to get in, period. The fact that you’re asking this question means you likely don’t have many ties to the alumni network or connections, which yes, will make it harder. I interviewed at HBS and attended a few interviewee events - and it is painfully clear how many folks were accepted the day they were born. You’re going to have to fight for it, and get a little lucky too. At 24, 25, 26 years old, it is absolutely worth it. Hands down. Not because it will get you to VP at Google, but because it will expose you to people, problems, and opportunities you can’t even think of now. If you stay in the Bay Area/tech, you’ll be leaps ahead in terms of how you present yourself and who you know. And if you ever choose to leave tech, you’ve got a great foundation to stand on. It’s more than a stepping stone, it’s a life experience. And it doesn’t make much of a career difference at 30, but at 40, 45, 50 - it will. It’s absolutely worth it while you’re single, your opportunity cost is low, and you’re open to relocating. I waited too long. I applied at 29, with TC at almost $400k. The opportunity cost was huge. I would be 31 when I graduated and tried to re-enter the market. It would have lowered my market value, not raised it. Now my ceiling will likely be Dir/VP level. If that’s your goal, no, you definitely don’t need it. But like the others here said: think bigger. Make an impact over the next 2-3 years, kick ass on your GMATs, and put your full effort towards your application when the time comes. Put the work in and stop second-guessing yourself.
Where did u go ? And why didn’t you do emba instead? Did you graduate or not? What’s your title now?
Harvard MBA yes. Stanford MBA not so much. Both are top tier if you want to do an MBA. If MBA is only a optional need for you then do it from Harvard. This assumes you can get into both. Once you reach GM or Director role in any of the FAANG then incremental value MBA adds is much lesser.
Getting into both are freaking hard.
You must be some big shot who thinks GSB isn’t worth it.
Create a poll dude
I thought about trying to get into a top MBA program a couple years ago. I got a 730 on the GMAT, but the opportunity cost is so high I don’t think I’ll do it.
Love this thread!
Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But more importantly, I think it's kind of sad that your 15 year goal in life is to be a director / vp at Google. Really? You need to dream a little bigger kid.
I would agree here
Lol