Self taught MBA? (1 Viewer)

[TripItUp]

I've had a number of MBAs tell me I should just buy the books and teach myself as opposed to forking out the big time cash and committing to the rigid time commitment that an MBA degree requires.

My questions is this, what are the best resources for the self taught MBA? Should I just find somebody in a good MBA program and get a list of textbooks and classes and start from there?

Thoughts?

P.S. Not interested in debating the merits of getting the degree.

 

[Sinn Fein]

I've had a number of MBAs tell me I should just buy the books and teach myself as opposed to forking out the big time cash and committing to the rigid time commitment that an MBA degree requires.

My questions is this, what are the best resources for the self taught MBA? Should I just find somebody in a good MBA program and get a list of textbooks and classes and start from there?

Thoughts?

P.S. Not interested in debating the merits of getting the degree.

There is very little value in getting an MBA education, without having the MBA degree. What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?

Rather than waste time on textbooks, find out what areas you want to learn more about - accounting, marketing, general management, etc. and find some on-line lectures or materials.

Nothing beats experience though...

 

[Chadstroma]

I started a free education thread a while back... it has tons of good resources in there.

The only thing with doing it by yourself vs the degree is that if you are trying to get hired- it is damn hard to show what you know. If you are just enriching yourself to do better in your current position or as a business owner then there is little/no reason to pay for a degree.

 

[TripItUp]

Rather than waste time on textbooks, find out what areas you want to learn more about - accounting, marketing, general management, etc. and find some on-line lectures or materials.

I'd like to get the curriculum, and start cherry picking the topics that would be useful for my career...looking for online materials or materials that I can buy.

I'd imagine the free online content isn't that great.

 

[TripItUp]

I started a free education thread a while back... it has tons of good resources in there.

The only thing with doing it by yourself vs the degree is that if you are trying to get hired- it is damn hard to show what you know.

Not trying to get hired, I'm already a partner at my firm with career well established which is why I'm not interested in debating the merits of the formal education.

Thanks for the heads up on the free education thread.

 

[TripItUp]

Here is the Harvard curriculum

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/academic-experience/curriculum/Pages/required-curriculum.aspx

1) Financial Reporting and Control

2) Leadership and Organizational Behavior

3) Marketing

4) Technology and Operations Management

5) Business, Government and the International Economy

6) Strategy

7) The Entrepreneurial Manager

8) Finance II

9) Leadership and Corporate Accountability

 

[Chadstroma]

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?/topic/581880-free-online-education/

Here is that thread. A lot of good stuff in there.

 

[TripItUp]

This site implies the following as the "core" courses:

• Accounting
• Business Strategy
• Economics
• Finance
• Human Resources
• Marketing Management
• Manufacturing and Production
• Operations Management
• Statistics
• Technology and Information Systems

http://businessmajors.about.com/od/programcomparison/a/CoreCurriculum.htm

 

[TripItUp]

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?/topic/581880-free-online-education/

Here is that thread. A lot of good stuff in there.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Absent the degree, I don't think an MBA is really what you want. (I know you don't want to debate the merits).

But, the curriculum you listed above is fairly common - 1st year has some core courses, 2nd year is mostly electives. But, an MBA program is designed to give people an overview of the subjects above.

If you want to have better understanding of accounting or financial reporting, you can focus on that area (or any area above). You may find you have skills and knowledge greater than an MBA in some areas, and not others (or that some areas really have no application for your future).

I have an MBA, and there is very little, if anything, that I learned in the classroom that I use today (or really at any time since I graduated). Most everything is learned via experience. Having an MBA opened a number of doors - but the actual book knowledge is not terribly useful.

 

[TripItUp]

Stanford Curriculum is here: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/mba/academic-experience/curriculum/first-year-curriculum

• Ethics in Management
• Financial Accounting
• Leadership Labs
• Managerial Skills
• Managing Groups and Teams
• Optimization and Stimulation Modeling
• Organizational Behavior
• Strategic Leadership
• Corporate Finance
• Data Analysis and Decision Making
• Human Resource Management
• Information Management
• Managerial Accounting
• Managerial Finance
• Marketing
• Microeconomics
• Operations
• Strategy Beyond Markets

 

[TripItUp]

Absent the degree, I don't think an MBA is really what you want. (I know you don't want to debate the merits).

But, the curriculum you listed above is fairly common - 1st year has some core courses, 2nd year is mostly electives. But, an MBA program is designed to give people an overview of the subjects above.

If you want to have better understanding of accounting or financial reporting, you can focus on that area (or any area above). You may find you have skills and knowledge greater than an MBA in some areas, and not others (or that some areas really have no application for your future).

I have an MBA, and there is very little, if anything, that I learned in the classroom that I use today (or really at any time since I graduated). Most everything is learned via experience. Having an MBA opened a number of doors - but the actual book knowledge is not terribly useful.

That's probably accurate, I really don't want an MBA per se, I just want to learn a lot more about several of the topics.

As I look at the Stanford curriculum, almost every topic is of some interest to me.

 

[Instinctive]

Absent the degree, I don't think an MBA is really what you want. (I know you don't want to debate the merits).

But, the curriculum you listed above is fairly common - 1st year has some core courses, 2nd year is mostly electives. But, an MBA program is designed to give people an overview of the subjects above.

If you want to have better understanding of accounting or financial reporting, you can focus on that area (or any area above). You may find you have skills and knowledge greater than an MBA in some areas, and not others (or that some areas really have no application for your future).

I have an MBA, and there is very little, if anything, that I learned in the classroom that I use today (or really at any time since I graduated). Most everything is learned via experience. Having an MBA opened a number of doors - but the actual book knowledge is not terribly useful.

That's probably accurate, I really don't want an MBA per se, I just want to learn a lot more about several of the topics.

As I look at the Stanford curriculum, almost every topic is of some interest to me.

I think some of these will be learned much better from books (accounting or corporate finance, for example) than others (leadership is the obvious one).

A HUGE percentage of what I learn here is from other peoples' experiences and from going through cases/lessons/projects where those people are then able to critique or otherwise provide feedback.

If you're trying to develop the skills and knowledge, I'd say your best bet is to find a couple of other like-minded individuals (I bet the FFA is a decent place to do so) and spend some time gaining a little knowledge, with a majority of your time and resources on practical application and feedback cycles.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

Rather than waste time on textbooks, find out what areas you want to learn more about - accounting, marketing, general management, etc. and find some on-line lectures or materials.

I'd like to get the curriculum, and start cherry picking the topics that would be useful for my career...looking for online materials or materials that I can buy.

I'd imagine the free online content isn't that great.

I'd imagine that if you are serious, you'd be better off not relying on your imagination.

In this case, you are dead ### wrong.

EdX and Coursera have some great free online classes from a variety of universities.

Many top flight universities put their course materials online for free.

 

[TripItUp]

EdX and Coursera have some great free online classes from a variety of universities.

Many top flight universities put their course materials online for free.

Great, this is partially what I'm looking for!

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I have an MBA that I got from a traditional, well-regarded school.

I have taken one course from Coursera and am looking at taking several others in order to learn some new skills.

The great thing about Coursera and EdX are that the content is free, but you can pay a fairly nominal fee (about $50 per course) to get graded and receive a verified certificate of completion. And the verified certificates can be "hooked" into Linked In.

 

[johnnycakes]

I've had a number of MBAs tell me I should just buy the books and teach myself as opposed to forking out the big time cash and committing to the rigid time commitment that an MBA degree requires.

My questions is this, what are the best resources for the self taught MBA? Should I just find somebody in a good MBA program and get a list of textbooks and classes and start from there?

Thoughts?

P.S. Not interested in debating the merits of getting the degree.

There is very little value in getting an MBA education, without having the MBA degree. What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?

Exactly. It's like on Pawn Stars. Some guy comes walking in into the shop with a charcoal sketch done by some mook named Edward Hopper. Beautiful painting. Nice texture... unusual tone definition and attention to detail... and it's HUGE... but no provenance?

Unfortunately, without a signature from the artist on the sketch and no official authentication, there was no way to tell if the piece was legitimate.

And, because of that, shop owner Rick Harrison just had to turn it down.

So your degree is your provenance. Without it you're going to have a hard time getting off the ground. Unless you get lucky and cross paths with someone with a good eye who can spot a diamond in the rough.

 

[Hastur]

http://www.amazon.com/The-Personal-MBA-Master-Business/dp/1591845572

 

[Long Ball Larry]

And the verified certificates can be "hooked" into Linked In.

:thankyou:

I just have a couple, but I never noticed that.

 

[Fennis]

If you don't care about getting a degree, get an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Seems cheaper than Strayer or Capella U and your friends will respect you more.

 

[Fennis]

If anyone needs an operation, I'm a self taught MD. During the first six seasons, I watched every episode of ER and also saw most every Quincy.

 

[Fennis]

it's in my LinkedIn.

 

[Sinn Fein]

If anyone needs an operation, I'm a self taught MD. During the first six seasons, I watched every episode of ER and also saw most every Quincy.

Quincy was an ME - he only worked on dead people...

 

[ragincajun]

If anyone needs an operation, I'm a self taught MD. During the first six seasons, I watched every episode of ER and also saw most every Quincy.

i only watched Dexter.

 

[cstu]

If you don't care about getting a degree, get an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

I don't do hiring, but getting an online MBA is worse IMO than no degree at all. Better to say you've studied all the books on your own than put one of those on your resume.

 

[ragincajun]

My Mom has an MBA from UofP and it has done nothing for her. She didn't consult me when she enrolled.

With that said I do not think there is anything wrong with an online MBA. I have been contemplating a few online but more along the lines of UT, etc.... LSU is only 20 minutes away so I could go in person however There is always the possibility of relocation with my position and not sure I want to mess with transferring credits etc. I am in the same boat as Trip as I am set at my company, or in other words busted my butt and my bosses love me for it. The main reason for me is to gain more knowledge, but with everything available for free now is it worth it?

 

[bentley]

I'm taking a marketing class from the UTexas executive education center in the spring. Lasts two full days. It's pricy, but worth it to me because I won't take the time to really gain that knowledge on my own. They offer courses on every topic you would find in an MBA program. It may be worth seeing if your local university does something similar.

 

[DaVinci]

If anyone needs an operation, I'm a self taught MD. During the first six seasons, I watched every episode of ER and also saw most every Quincy.

Quincy was an ME - he only worked on dead people...

If Fennis botches the operation, the autopsy is 50% off.

 

[ragincajun]

I'm taking a marketing class from the UTexas executive education center in the spring. Lasts two full days. It's pricy, but worth it to me because I won't take the time to really gain that knowledge on my own. They offer courses on every topic you would find in an MBA program. It may be worth seeing if your local university does something similar.

Interesting. I need to check that out.

 

[ragincajun]

If anyone needs an operation, I'm a self taught MD. During the first six seasons, I watched every episode of ER and also saw most every Quincy.

Quincy was an ME - he only worked on dead people...

If Fennis botches the operation, the autopsy is 50% off.

IN!

 

[(HULK)]

I used to work with a lady who got her MBA from U of Phoenix. I asked her an Excel question once an she got indignant that I didn't have several Excel courses as part of my MBA like she did.

 

[Hastur]

I used to work with a lady who got her MBA from U of Phoenix. I asked her an Excel question once an she got indignant that I didn't have several Excel courses as part of my MBA like she did.

Did she ultimately help you?

 

[(HULK)]

Yes, after laughing at the University of Maryland MBA program not having an Excel course in their core.

Fwiw, she was a terrible person.

 

[Baloney Sandwich]

Will Hunting was self taught

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

Yes, after laughing at the University of Maryland MBA program not having an Excel course in their core.

Fwiw, she was a terrible person.

 

[Nugget]

Most valuable parts of my MBA program was the group work. Working with smart people from other industries gave me different perspectives. Still keep in touch with 2 of them.

I am considering going back and getting a graduate certificate in Business Analytics. Big Data seems like a good place to hide when the driverless, ownerless cars try to put me on the streets.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I am considering going back and getting a graduate certificate in Business Analytics. Big Data seems like a good place to hide when the driverless, ownerless cars try to put me on the streets.

I have an MBA in finance, but have been looking at doing certificate programs (online or at night) in either/both Data Science and Computational Finance.

I started a certificate program in Data Science last year. I breezed through the overview course without breaking a sweat, but ended up having to abandon the R programming course. It was tough. I've never programmed before and the lectures and lecture notes weren't close to detailed enough for me to be able to catch on.

 

[Nugget]

I am considering going back and getting a graduate certificate in Business Analytics. Big Data seems like a good place to hide when the driverless, ownerless cars try to put me on the streets.

I have an MBA in finance, but have been looking at doing certificate programs (online or at night) in either/both Data Science and Computational Finance.

I started a certificate program in Data Science last year. I breezed through the overview course without breaking a sweat, but ended up having to abandon the R programming course. It was tough. I've never programmed before and the lectures and lecture notes weren't close to detailed enough for me to be able to catch on.

I don't think the program I am considering at Kansas requires programming classes or skills. I can get around a database OK, but my coding ends with simple macros in Excel. The emphasis on my MBA was Marketing.

Link to KU program

I will likely delay at least a year before starting- I need more of the classes to be available on line. 6-10PM on a Tuesday doesn't work with my travel schedule. I spoke the Admissions officer and she stated they should have online offerings next year. My employer will pay for the classes so I feel like I should take advantage.

 

[lumpy19]

If you don't care about getting a degree, get an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

I don't do hiring, but getting an online MBA is worse IMO than no degree at all. Better to say you've studied all the books on your own than put one of those on your resume.

Lol...are you from 1995?

 

[Native]

You can learn finance and economics and accounting anywhere. The principles are the same no matter what institution you learn at. The difference is what surrounds the theory - the network, the job opportunities, the experiential learning, etc. If you just want the knowledge any of the options listed above will help you meet your goal. I wonder if your friends who studied their MBA are giving you sound advice.

Good luck.

 

[cstu]

If you don't care about getting a degree, get an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

I don't do hiring, but getting an online MBA is worse IMO than no degree at all. Better to say you've studied all the books on your own than put one of those on your resume.

Lol...are you from 1995?

When I say 'books' I don't mean the physical media. I've taken online classes myself and they are useful but they aren't the same as in personal classes. Putting a degree from an online school on your resume is more of a negative than a positive to me.

 

[Native]

If you don't care about getting a degree, get an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

I don't do hiring, but getting an online MBA is worse IMO than no degree at all. Better to say you've studied all the books on your own than put one of those on your resume.

Lol...are you from 1995?

When I say 'books' I don't mean the physical media. I've taken online classes myself and they are useful but they aren't the same as in personal classes. Putting a degree from an online school on your resume is more of a negative than a positive to me.

I'd rather have a candidate who has an MBA from online institution vs someone who doesn't have an MBA at all.

 

[johnnycakes]

If you don't care about getting a degree, get an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

I don't do hiring, but getting an online MBA is worse IMO than no degree at all. Better to say you've studied all the books on your own than put one of those on your resume.

Lol...are you from 1995?

When I say 'books' I don't mean the physical media. I've taken online classes myself and they are useful but they aren't the same as in personal classes. Putting a degree from an online school on your resume is more of a negative than a positive to me.

I'd rather have a candidate who has an MBA from online institution vs someone who doesn't have an MBA at all.

Undergrad got his BS in finance from Wharton

Online MBA has a degree in something from somewhere you had to look up.

 

[cstu]

If you don't care about getting a degree, get an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

I don't do hiring, but getting an online MBA is worse IMO than no degree at all. Better to say you've studied all the books on your own than put one of those on your resume.

Lol...are you from 1995?

When I say 'books' I don't mean the physical media. I've taken online classes myself and they are useful but they aren't the same as in personal classes. Putting a degree from an online school on your resume is more of a negative than a positive to me.

I'd rather have a candidate who has an MBA from online institution vs someone who doesn't have an MBA at all.

If you hire a person with a bachelor's they can take evening MBA classes from a real school and learn a lot more. You hire someone with a 'degree' from an online school and WYSIWYG.

 

[(HULK)]

I think less of people with online degrees than people with no degrees at all. I just can't help it, my experiences have been nothing but unfavorable with the online folk.

 

[xulf]

I am considering going back and getting a graduate certificate in Business Analytics. Big Data seems like a good place to hide when the driverless, ownerless cars try to put me on the streets.

I have an MBA in finance, but have been looking at doing certificate programs (online or at night) in either/both Data Science and Computational Finance.

I started a certificate program in Data Science last year. I breezed through the overview course without breaking a sweat, but ended up having to abandon the R programming course. It was tough. I've never programmed before and the lectures and lecture notes weren't close to detailed enough for me to be able to catch on.

Not sure if you are doing the Coursera program or something else (Coursera provides a platform but doesn't hold much weight amongst HR...but that may be what you are looking for). But if you are not looking for a full degree Stanford has a certificate that runs ~ $10k to $12k last I checked. I got my masters in predictive analytics from Northwestern (online program) and Berkeley also has an online program. If you are looking to learn R, I can recommend several books and programs (Georgia R school). I am also a finance guy(and CPA) and am not a programmer. However, R is very intuitive once the light bulb turns on. Stay with it and you will get it.

 

[xulf]

I think less of people with online degrees than people with no degrees at all. I just can't help it, my experiences have been nothing but unfavorable with the online folk.

The world is changing. More and more places that are not online only meet once a month...what's the difference? Sure, some schools are ####ty whether online or not. I never would have had the opportunity to get a Master's from Northwestern if it didn't have an online program that I could do part time (20 hrs a week) while working full time. Are degrees from top institutions gotten online lesser to you? And if so, how do you know its an online degree? Mine says Northwestern...

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I am considering going back and getting a graduate certificate in Business Analytics. Big Data seems like a good place to hide when the driverless, ownerless cars try to put me on the streets.

I have an MBA in finance, but have been looking at doing certificate programs (online or at night) in either/both Data Science and Computational Finance.

I started a certificate program in Data Science last year. I breezed through the overview course without breaking a sweat, but ended up having to abandon the R programming course. It was tough. I've never programmed before and the lectures and lecture notes weren't close to detailed enough for me to be able to catch on.

Not sure if you are doing the Coursera program or something else (Coursera provides a platform but doesn't hold much weight amongst HR...but that may be what you are looking for). But if you are not looking for a full degree Stanford has a certificate that runs ~ $10k to $12k last I checked. I got my masters in predictive analytics from Northwestern (online program) and Berkeley also has an online program. If you are looking to learn R, I can recommend several books and programs (Georgia R school). I am also a finance guy(and CPA) and am not a programmer. However, R is very intuitive once the light bulb turns on. Stay with it and you will get it.

The program I started on was actually from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. I am about as far away from health sciences as you can get in terms of industry, but it looks like a good, rigorous data science program.

I am certainly open to looking at others.

I would love to do Stanford or one at University of Washington (local to me), but I need to fit it around my regular job and the night program at UW has a waiting list that appears to be over a year long.

 

[xulf]

I am considering going back and getting a graduate certificate in Business Analytics. Big Data seems like a good place to hide when the driverless, ownerless cars try to put me on the streets.

I have an MBA in finance, but have been looking at doing certificate programs (online or at night) in either/both Data Science and Computational Finance.

I started a certificate program in Data Science last year. I breezed through the overview course without breaking a sweat, but ended up having to abandon the R programming course. It was tough. I've never programmed before and the lectures and lecture notes weren't close to detailed enough for me to be able to catch on.

Not sure if you are doing the Coursera program or something else (Coursera provides a platform but doesn't hold much weight amongst HR...but that may be what you are looking for). But if you are not looking for a full degree Stanford has a certificate that runs ~ $10k to $12k last I checked. I got my masters in predictive analytics from Northwestern (online program) and Berkeley also has an online program. If you are looking to learn R, I can recommend several books and programs (Georgia R school). I am also a finance guy(and CPA) and am not a programmer. However, R is very intuitive once the light bulb turns on. Stay with it and you will get it.

The program I started on was actually from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. I am about as far away from health sciences as you can get in terms of industry, but it looks like a good, rigorous data science program.

I am certainly open to looking at others.

I would love to do Stanford or one at University of Washington (local to me), but I need to fit it around my regular job and the night program at UW has a waiting list that appears to be over a year long.

Johns Hopkins is part of Coursera. Not sure the amount it overlaps with what you are/were doing. If you are interested in the fied, I would suggest getting on the wait list and doing some introductory reading to see if you like it. "Making Sense of Data" (1, 2, 3) are good, easy to follow reads, that explain many concepts and uses of data.