NashvilleDiva_83

Okay. So...it has always been my intention to get my master's degree and I plan on starting a MBA program in August. My employer pays for most of it, and so it's perfect really...I won't have to go much in debt for it - maybe about $5,000 but that's not bad.

NOW...part of the reason I want a grad degree is so that I can teach on the side to earn extra spending money (for lovely luxury items and also for investment property). My boss got the same MBA that I was planning on getting...and she teaches at night at a local community college. She said it would help me do what I want to do.

THEN!! I come to find out that she has an extra masters in accounting, which is how she can teach on the side. I talked to my cousin's wife, who is getting her doctorate and teaches at several schools around Michigan, and although she doesn't know much about business (her PhD is in history or something like that) but you need 18 grad hours in your specialty to teach.

SO...I don't know what to do. I am a CPA and have another accounting certification as well, so I don't know what an MBA will do for me in terms of increase pay, etc. I want to do the MBA program, but don't know if I need to find something else, such as an online AACSB accredited (it's a big deal for business schools to be AACSB accredited) accounting program or if I should just do my MBA.

I can't do a normal program - as I work full time and cannot afford to quit. I have to have a night program, and even that is tricky because sometimes I have to stay late to get things done. So there goes the average 4-year universities in the area.

What would you do? Would you just do the MBA program, since the company pays for it and then after that do the other...I kind of wanted to be able to supplement my income with teaching and build a second career possiblity - that way when I get burned out (which I will because I work hard and get rode hard)

This is all too hard for a 24 year old to decide **sigh** ANy ideas? I'm freaking out.

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Maeveyblue

Extra degrees are always helpful.
Just follow your heart. Are you prepared to take this on right now? Will you want to do it once you start having children, etc...

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NashvilleDiva_83

1) only 2 years out of life, not a big deal.

2) It's a lot of work, but I need the extra $$$ once I get done

3) I am not going to have kids. If I did, i would rather be a college professor anyways because I would have summers off.

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NashvilleDiva_83

I guess what I am asking is what should I do...get the degree that can earn me more money or do the one I have signed up to do starting in April.

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pingping

Hmm...if your goal is to be able to teach on the side, then maybe you shouldn't go for the MBA and go for something else, since it seems that the MBA won't necessarily be what you need to teach on the side. Even though you've signed up already for the other one, can you get out of it? Better to get the degree that earns you more money!

VivaLaJuicy

. Since you say the company will pay for most of your education... I would go for my MBA. Good Luck!

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boysRsmelly

I say don't go with the MBA. So what if your company pays for it, if it won't get you anywhere then it won't get you anywhere... period. I would check out the online programs, they have great stuff for business degrees (not so good for Biology )!

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Maeveyblue

I would go with the MBA. This will boost your salary immediately and help you if a recession hits (which it will if November goes Democrat). My father has an MBA, CPA and CFP and does quite well even with his own business. When he was working for IMG, he was in the 6 figures within 3 years of his MBA. This was years before his CFP.

And then of course you could get your MBA through this company and then go for the next one after that. Like I said, you can never have too many degrees.

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brandieforever

Get your MBA!

NashvilleDiva_83

Now, I re-read my post and it doesn't sound as clear as I thought it did when I wrote it.

The company will pay for any degree I do, so should I do an online Accounting program, then do the MBA...I just want to supplement my income. What will the MBA do for me? Oh well.

I can teach ONLINE!!! I could do that sitting at my desk at work or at home on the weekend and the pay isn't too bad...$1,000 + per course which is 6 weeks...

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boysRsmelly

Nashville - I, by no means, am an expert on the subject... actually I hate business classes. Anyway, I googled MBAs and what they can do for people. Basically what I found was that the degree itself really doesn't do much unless you're wanting to work for a fortune 500 company or something. Its just a piece of paper that makes you better able to compete with other applicants (a foot in the door kind of thing)... but the classes that need to be taken really don't teach most people any more about business then they've already learned. Now note that this is not my opinion... just stuff I read when I googled it. LOL! I didn't see anything about teaching though, sorry!
So your company will pay for any schooling? What are your other options then?

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Maeveyblue

Can you go back to one of your professors from college and ask them what they think and what they have as degrees? That way you can tell what is working for others.

Also, this is great news if they will pay for any degree. Can you have them pay for one and then the other? And if so, will they expect you to commit to a certain amount of time in their company after you complete the course load?

The MBA will/should get you more money immediately.

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NashvilleDiva_83

Well, I talked to my undergrad advisor who is the Dean of Accounting at the school where I got my bachelors degree...she tried to get me to come back to that school to get my master's...which...it's a great program but ... I would like to learn from some other professors. Plus, the distance program that is driving distance from me is an MBA program which...I am back at the beginning. I felt bad asking her about other schools, since it's like asking somoen in a Louis Vuitton store if you should buy a Chanel instead.

I mean...you tend to learn different things from each professor, so if you have the same five professors over and over again, you basically become a professional replica of their school of thought. On the other side, if you have five professors at one school, then five more at the other you have ten different ways of looking at things and you become unique in your thinking.

It is very rare that a CPA would not have a master's, as most states have a 150 hour requirement, which is met by a 126 hour bachelors plus a 30 hour master's program. However, I was exceptionally bright in high school and took a bunch of AP classes that I got credits for and so I graduated in 4 years with exactly 150 hours. BUT!! I am a horrible standardized test taker and my GMAT score sucks - even though I passed all four parts of the CPA exam within a year. That's why I cannot go to just any school I want to without retaking the exam.

My husband's suggestion was to get the MBA. We planned on moving back to the town where I got my undergrad degree in the next five years anyways (unless I get a job as a controller at one of the plants in my company or get a chance to be expatriate and live in Asia or Latin America)

The MBA will only set me back $3,500 out of pocket over 3 calander years. There will be tax benefits on those $3,500 and most of it will be claimed as lifetime learning credit, so it will help wipe out some of my tax liability. So, in true dollars it will prob cost around $1,500. The program itself takes place in 24 months, bu tthe way I am taking them I will take classes in 2008, 2009 and 2010 so I will get up to $4,000 each year tax-free to fund teh classes.

My employer gives up to $4,000 each year for tuition reimbursement. You have to be employed for a year to qualify, and after you are reimbursed when you pass a class, you could quit the next day with no liability to the company. There's no cap on what you can take, just the annual benefit.

My husbands suggestion was to get the MBA, then see if it helps land me a promotion at one of the facilities and then when I get there, get a MS in Accounting or Finance.

The MBA is only one night per week, and it's face to face. The Masters, if I went to the university in my city, isn't a work-friendly program meaning I would ahve to take classes in the middle of the day sometimes (not always, there are night classes)

I don't know. You guys have been helping, though.

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Maeveyblue

Sounds like you are moving in the right direction.

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susieq

here's what i think:

- MBAs are over-rated...unless you plan on really using it for (as someone said above) a Fortune 500 company. I know plenty of people with an MBA and it's not being used.
- If you got the MBA through your current company (as in, they are paying) then I wouldn't expect any promotion/raise. Basically they will pay for your education so they get more out of your new knowledge without spending the $$ to promote you (which can be at times more $$ than the tuition).
- In the case that you get the MBA, your best bet would to be to up and go to a new company with that. However in most companies, you need to STAY with the company for a certain amount of time to get the full tuition refund from them, if you bail within a certain amount of time, they will charge you for the $$ they spent on your education.

those are my random thoughts.

haha i'm 23 and certainly glad to be OUT of school

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