There is a craze going on for the past 15 years about MBA. Trading sereval years of savings as well as one to two years of a full time job for acquiring a “cream of the crop” network and one additional good line on your resume, but does really worth it?
It seems not, unless you want to escape for 1 o 2 years from your job without damaging your career track and even improve it thank to some spare money you have. But, for any other cases, there is actually a cheaper and more entertaining way to boost your life and career.
The world is vast, why not working abroad?
Changing context often triggers a change in mindset. That is one among other purposes that MBA student miss given this degree is more about getting updates on management and business skills instead of building a solid mindset.
Is your job easily remotely workable? Does the company you work for own subsidiaries overseas? Can’t you simply quit your job and find another one in another country?
Living overseas implies many personal and profesionnal management skills that are not often taught at MBAs. Acquiring a new language, knowing a different culture, adapting to a different lifestyle will be valuable assests in today’s world. Becoming agile will provide huge payoffs at a long-run instead of sitting in a class room with like-minded fellow students.
There is no better way to acquire new skills that dedicating time in a startup project
Having a side project can be the smartest idea you may take. Starting a business on your spare time could be the fastest way to gain experience and learn new skills, better actually than any scholarships. By having a start-up with friends on your own you’ll have to face challenges that you’re not currently facing at work. You may to be lean and excel in optimizing your finances and learn to sell your new product(s) and service(s).
If your timetable doesn’t allow you to such a investment in time, you could volunteer to advice existing start-ups and so expand your horizons. Investing in those ones will be the logical consequences when you find your champions.
Is a MBA the best way to make money?
Actually not really. There are indeed cheaper ways to invest in your own education. There are also cheaper ways to build a golden network. A MBA is just the life mapped out, you pay for security, to secure a job and a career. But, with the same amount of money you would have invested, you could actually reach financial independance without taking too much risk. It only depends on the person you are, if you are risk averse, investing in a MBA may be like investing in a saving account. But, on the other hand, if you are a bit risk taker, you know there are actually plenty of manners to invest your time and money.
