MBA - undergraduate degree first?

[944fan]

I am wanting to complete an MBA. I currently work in senior IT management and have a view of moving up to board level positions in the next five years.

I don't have an undergraduate degree. My father in law used to be a Vice Chancellor of a big uni and he has said that I wouldn't need one as I could APEL on to most MBA courses due to my management experience.

That sounds fine, but I wonder how it would look CV wise if I only had an MBA an no undergraduate degree? Doing one now will add years and thousands to the overall cost. I don't want to do anything IT related, I have enough experience there, was thinking of maybe something like Law or Business, something that would be useful to more senior roles and to the MBA.

What do the powerfully built director types think? Should I just go straight for the MBA?

[944fan]

Thanks. The OU course looks good, and is triple accredited. They don't seem to accept an APEL route but there is an alternate entry where you do a management diploma first.

Looking at the league tables on the FT for online providers and a lot of the top ones still want an undergraduate degree. Bradford Management school accept entries with "significant" management experience.

[944fan]

Bradford University School of Management.

Ranked 4th on the FT list of online MBAs:

http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/brad...

I appreciate it isn't HBS, but I don't have the time or funding (or background) for that. Likely to be funding this myself so somewhere less than £20K would be good.

[944fan]

zbc said:

Bradford isn't a bad school but that link just takes me to an Alphabetical listing of online MBAs.

The Management Diploma from the OU might be a good starting place though if you don't have a first degree.

Doh, you are right. For the proper MBA schools they are ranked, with HBS at the top. The online list just has them alphabetically.

The OU course takes about a year and costs £3K. It only looks worthwhile I think if I wanted to carry on and do the OU MBA. Not sure it will satisfy the entry requirements for other schools.

[944fan]

STW2010 said:

How about Cranfield? (I am an academic at Cranfield, but not in the School of Management)

From their website-

A good degree and/or professional qualification. Applicants who do not have a degree will also be considered provided they can demonstrate high levels of achievement, exceptional career progression or evidence of leadership potential.

http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/Content.aspx?Pa...

Cranfield is about 5 miles from me and I have heard good things about them. Only problem is their course costs mucho denirio so would only be possible if I was getting some additional support from an employer. At this stage I don't know if that will be possible or not.

[944fan]

johnfm said:

This is the joke that tertiary education. How could you expect to get a 'masters' without having a degree?

The answer, of course, is that education is now a business. The more students you can attract, the more money you can make.

This is the crux of my concern. Would people view an MBA only as only done half the work or achievement, would it look like I have bought one off the Internet without really putting the effort in. I suppose picking the right course and right business school would offset this a lot.

LooneyTunes said:

OP: several comments/suggestions/things to think about.

1. What you think you want to do post-MBA could well change when you start the course
2. As has been said, the networking side is important
3. Not all schools are as well recognised internationally
4. Different schools have different strengths (in terms of programme, recruiters, and network)
5. The fees seem to keep going up: LBS is now £60k, Oxford/Cambridge/MBS/Cranfield £35-45k
6. It is possible to borrow the fees (whether you think they're worth is it a different matter)
7. Don't rule out US schools on cost: lots offer scholarships for UK students if they like your CV/GMAT

Cranfield sounds great, except the price. It also sounds like if you don't have a degree there is a fairly tough entry process. I could access the money probably but it is a huge undertaking.

I would not in all honesty say I am anything exceptional academically or currently an exceptional leader. I have been fortunate to have a few promotions through hard work, but it has taken me a few years to get there.

I am currently Head of IT for a medium sized firm. My ambitions for the next 10 years are to be IT Director, or CIO/CTO for a larger firm with a view to moving into larger corporates at that level. I am 33 now, so being at that senior position, with an MBA by the time I am in my early-mid forties is what I am aiming for.

I think it is unlikely I would move to work abroad but may well work for an international company so international recognition would be useful.

The Networking side of it does sound important. I used to loathe the idea of networking, party because I was bad at it, but have recently seen the power of it. As a programmer with a bit of experience it is easy to stand out during the recruitment process. However, at senior levels, there are less jobs and more competition and trying to get past the CV gatekeeper is hard.

I recently got a new position and a big part of it was via some networking I had done, which got my CV in front of the MD straight away.

[944fan]

conanius said:

I don't know what your home situation is like, but you really, really need the support of your family that you are living with. My wife has been a godsend in helping me get through even my degree, let alone the workload of an MBA.

This is a concern/consideration. I am married with two young kids. I have a daily commute of about an hour each way. The kids are still young enough that they go to bed early, but are too young to understand there are times when I will need peace and quiet to concentrate. I wonder if starting in five years or so would be better when our youngest would be 8.

[944fan]

Petrus1983 said:

944fan did you ever start an MBA in the end? I've started looking into it and would be in the same position as you when starting. At the moment I'm looking at Warwick and Newcastle on a 100% distance course. I don't feel I need it in the UK but there's a distinct possibility I may move Stateside in the future and they seem far more into your degrees/schools/college etc.

Not yet. With current work, commuting, kids, house, some exercise I barely have any spare time at all and so trying to do a masters on top of that isn't going to work.

I have also been re-assessing what I want to do with my career anyway. I am considering jacking in the management positions and going to be a contract developer. Haven't decided either way but if I go back to developing then I think I will up my technical qualifications.