MBAs Without Jobs

from the effects-of-the-downturn dept

Back during the tech boom, a lot of people I knew didn't want to get their MBA because they were doing so well without one. Now that everyone's returning to business school to "wait out" the downturn, some of the folks who actually did make it through are having trouble finding jobs. Plenty who got job offers have had them rescinded or "pushed back" almost a year. The funniest part is how one of the companies spins the deferred start date, saying how they're giving their new hires an opportunity to do something different for a year. Of course, people who spent $80,000 for a two year program often can't afford to "do something different" unless that something different pays a pretty nice salary. I know, among techies, it's a popular past time to trash folks with MBAs (until they sell out and get one), but there are plenty of good MBA graduates out there, and this isn't a good sign. Of course, there's also the part of me that says a good MBA program teaches the students to be able to deal with change and react well to it - so here's their first opportunity. The person quoted saying she's afraid that her MBA will be less valuable a year from now seems to have done a very funny sort of NPV calculation when she decided to go to business school. An MBA should be valuable no matter what you do for the rest of your career. If you think it's only going to be valuable for one year, why would you spend $80k and two years to get it?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    sb, 27 Aug 2001 @ 2:10pm

    No Subject Given

    >. If you think it's only going to be valuable for one year, why would you spend $80k and two years to get it?< br>

    ha, why dont you ask that to the million of females with advanced degrees? Spend upwards of $300,000 on undergrad, and masters, MBA, whatever., then work for 2 years, save $30k,,,
    Still stuck with $270k of debt that the poor fucking husband has to deal with.

    hit 30, have kids....toss degree in garbage
    women should have their god dmaned ovaries removed once they sign up for ANY schooling after high school,,,,otherwise, practice changing diapers, reading childrens books, and cooking dinner , and changing light bulbs, until you start popping them out,

    Only in fucking america are people allowed to be this shortsighted and financially irresponsible.

    long live Jehova!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mike (profile), 27 Aug 2001 @ 3:19pm

      Re: No Subject Given

      Hey sb. I've been trying to give you the benefit of the doubt throughout all of your posts here on techdirt, but I'm beginning to get the feeling you actually are as childish and dimwitted as your posts make you look.

      Have you ever figured out how to actually defend one of your ridiculous arguments with actual stats or facts?

      The only other thing I can think of is that your wild, baseless generalizations are the product of some 12 year old kid who's looking to troll. If that's your game, go back to Slashdot. We don't need that crap here.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Duffman, 27 Aug 2001 @ 3:45pm

        Re: No Subject Given

        Yes, sb, please quit posting if you will continue like this. We don't need postings like this, or the majority of yours - they take away from my surfing experience. You DO sound like the -1 dregs of Slashdot.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        sb, 27 Aug 2001 @ 5:31pm

        Re: No Subject Given

        Ok, fair enough.
        But what is the main gripe with my postings?
        Is the wild, ranting, maniacal nature of the posts? Yes, one can say that my "overexertion" is not necessary to make my points., But that�s what makes me unique., In this realm ,when 99% of transient web writing mostly disappears into the black hole of google's cache within days of its writing (DISCLAIMER: no stats to prove that), , did it occur to you some people may actually enjoy reading wild fired up postings that couldn't care about its 'properness' ? I have no agenda...I am not looking for web traffic of advertizing,,,i am giving it from the gut....This is the best writing of all...I have nothing to gain from spending my valuable time to post my viewpoint to techdirt.,
        Or is it the actual content of the post? If so, yes, my last post could have been construed as very sexist. that is fine., I am a realist. Yet another facet that I FELT was the essence of techdirt. a sarcastic , albeit pragmatic commentary on the of ludicrous business of technology today.
        You made a point about people overpaying for their degrees, and I feel I gave an great example. One that is more common, yet less spoken about. Let's discuss my actual point. Yes, I can cite examples of women who have FLUSHED 200k+ on degrees, only to never even get a dayjob. I also can cite cases where the younger brothers never went on the college, b/c the entire nest egg was used to pay for this eldest sisters PHD. You want intelligent discussion? Lets' discuss that. Id like to know what was so damn "off" about that comment.. B/c id sure love to hear your justification of blowing 200k on degrees , and then having 5 babies right after graduation.
        Somewhat taboo to even MENTION in this egalitarian society, but reality has its place. . This contrarian thinking is what I believed the essence of Techdirt was. I felt I was complementing the commentary of Techdirt, noting silly human behavior on a mass scale (which often makes it hard to see the lunacy of).
        Or are you miffed that I took a rare swipe directly back at you, in a recent posting ? I don�t recall the topic, but it was a rare instance where I disagreed with you.
        in any case, if you don�t want me to post, fine, just say so, whatever your higher pedagogical goals of this web log are, I don�t want to interfere...I like the site, and will not interfere, if that�s what im doing.
        PS: 12 year old slashdot'er? please, read my comments again,,no 12 year old possesses my perspective and cynical wisdom. I am not familiar with slashdot. I thought it was for bearded linux clones, who have no concept whatsoever of the computing needs of the masses, the other 99%. When is NSCP taking over IE? Did Redhat replace windows yet? whatever.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Mike (profile), 27 Aug 2001 @ 5:51pm

          Re: No Subject Given

          I have no problem with people who disagree with me (come on, most people seem to disagree with me fairly frequently). I have no problem with a contrarian viewpoint. I have no problem with "a sarcastic, albeit pragmatic commentary on the of ludicrous business of technology today". I encourage such things.

          However, what I do have a problem is someone who just spouts off stuff with no support and uses bad language because he thinks he's making a point.

          If you want to discuss things intelligently, then I'm all for it. I don't care how wild the assertions are so long as you explain why you think so and what your support is. I have no problem with how people use language until that language gets in the way of their argument - as yours does. If you want to curse, go ahead and curse, but realize that it distracts from any argument you're making most of the time.

          Simply calling something stupid or making wild assertions without any backup data or willingness to talk about it doesn't make for a very interesting or intelligent discussion. Your comments don't leave any room for discussion, and you declare your points as if they were fact. Extraordinary claims need extraordinary proof, and your proof seems to consist of cursing.

          You can post whatever you want. If you want to stick around and post, you're certainly welcome (and encouraged to). My point is simply that your arguments make you look stupid and don't seem to fit in with most of the rest of Techdirt - and I wanted to make sure you realized that.

          link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.