[Anonymous]

In case you’re interested, NASBA posted a link to this article on their Facebook page….

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ronaldyeaple/2012/05/30/is-the-mba-obsolete/

[herbert7890]

I read that article earlier Today. As the article said, the MBA is far from being obsolete in the work marketplace. In this economy we have to diverify as much as possible tyo have an edge on the other potential employees. Example1: 2 persons apply for the same positions. A has Bachelor degree only. B has CPA. In most cases B will get the job, unless A has LOTS of experience that B doesn't.

If you take the example above (for a non public accounting job) and assume A has CPA and B has CPA, MBA, the same rule will apply………….. It will go on and on with different licenses like CMA and the like.

FAR 88 - BEC 86 - AUD 90 - REG 85

[Anonymous]

@herbert7890

That's not the reality, though.

[Peanut]

$$$$$ !!! People are struggling thinking about how much money they have to pay back for their BA, most of them wouldn't dream of adding more debt to their crazy school loans already! I have friends that owe 120K from their BA, they're definitely not thinking about pursuing their Masters… Just my opinion. Education is an expensive game

AUD 81 (X4) Previous scores 59, 72, 72
REG 80 (X3) Previous scores 59, 60
FAR 75 (X2) Previous score 67
BEC 79 (X2) Previous score 58

[Anonymous]

I have an MBA and it does not seem to help except in one place. When employers sort out the 300+ job applications, the Masters Degrees holders are screened first.

You are more likely to get a phone call from an employer, but not more likely to get the job.

[OUCPA84]

I think it is, no offense to anyone that has one.

Cost – Benefit wise, it's better to get a MAcc or MST.

However, if you can get into a Top 10 program and have the $$ or work pays for it, then by all means do it! An MBA is about the connections anyway since if you're a real genius you'd be doing a PhD in something more interesting.

AUD Pass
REG Fail, Rematch TBA
FAR 11/26 Certain I failed
BEC ?

Becker

[jelly]

Sometimes with a top 10 MBA. Just spoke with someone from a top 3 school, and a lot of classmates are currently unemployed.

Couldn't pass again!

[Anonymous]

The MBA will most likely not help you get a job. The MBA will help you extend your top end employment abilities, you will often win out over a candidate without the MBA.

When I am done with the CPA on 8/31 (notice the confidence), I will have:

BBA

MBA

CPA

EA

IT experience

Project Management experience

Accounting and Finance experience

and most importantly, experience from the school of hard knocks. 😀

I think the EA specialization is a keen advantage in a Corporate world. How many other people do you know who can talk to IT people, Accounting people, Executives, and the Corporate Tax teams? I've seen it in practice as I was yanked into an IRS defense for my company (and received an award for my efforts). So I'll keep the EA even after becoming a CPA.

As for the MBA,it is my belief isn't so much that they are becoming useless. I think they are commonplace. Think where people were 25 years ago when the college craze hit. Everyone thought that if you had a simple degree you could punch your own ticket. That's where the MBA is headed, especially with some of the fly by night paper mills that essentially allow a candidate to buy a degree (no offense if you got yours online, there are some very good online schools, some are not however).

JMHO.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 4 year degrees, so while it would be ideal to get an MBA, I'm all university-ed out, financially and mentally. Every employer, adviser, employee, etc has told me that the “short” answer for accounting is that you should either have an MBA OR a CPA. And while it sure doesn't feel like it sometimes, I'm taking the cheaper and potentially shorter route…

[Anonymous]

It really depends on what you're wanting to do with your MBA. I pursued the MSA because all I wanted to do was get my CPA license at the end of the road. Personally, I think the most reputable and worthwhile programs are a waste of time and money. Many of my associates have indicated that it's not as prestigious as it used to be. There are too many crap programs out there that are supplying individuals with MBAs and flooding the market. Pursue something that's tried and true–CPA!

[Anonymous]

an MBA will help sometimes. In my case I am taking an MBA online in UND it is about 12K and 500 GMAT. I need it to get a licence in MA without any experience in US. If I do not take it, I will have to keep the “passes all four parts of the exam” comments in my resume forever which is not good because I am 38 yrs old busy single mom. I have a good stable job that I do not want to quit to go back to public…. other than that like other posts said, recruiters like MBAs but they will not necessarily offer you anything.

IMO I have been offered good jobs in US due to my experience at PWC & Grant Thornton (back in my country) no due to titles. I am a CPA at heart so I will do anything to get certified.

[Anonymous]

“Then, over the next five years, their pay nearly doubles.”

This may have been true 5 years ago, but is it true now? Or 5 years from now..

[Sandra]

Well again it totally depends on what you do. As the CFO of a small private investment firm an MBA is much more applicable than my CPA will ever be. As I move on to different jobs that balance may shift. To date I think my CMA is worth more to me, at least in actual use I get from the material, than my MBA and CPA will be combined.

The key to getting any job is experience, education, personality and luck- pretty much in that order. If your interviewing skills suck it doesn't matter if you have an MBA from a top school or not.

If you are personable, the interviewer likes you, and its down between you and another more experienced applicant the MBA might just be what makes the difference and gets you the job.

As for it being worth less than it was 15-20 years ago- maybe. There is no question that its more commonplace, but my take on it is different than most people on here. Because it is more commonplace I almost think its MORE neccessary not less. 15-20 years ago a 4 year degree still held a little bit of weight too. Now unless you have a college degree its hard to even get a poorly paying entry level job without it. Employers have more choices in the candidates.

As more and more people get their grad degrees (regardless of whether its an MBA or something else) the CPA designation will become more common as well eventually. Doesn't mean we should all stop taking the exam and throw in the towel.

[Anonymous]

@sandra6500

I like your post, but I have to agree with an earlier post saying that an MBA may get you to an interview, but in the end only your experience and personality count.

Same goes for the CPA designation.

[herbert7890]

@75 – Your whole post contradicts itself…………….. Thats the whole point of obtaining MBA or CPA or both, to get more interviews possibilities down the future which means more probability of better jobs. Of course neither of the designations will guarantee a job whatsoever, but the odds are increasingly on your favor once you have them. MBA's (and most graduate degrees) are in lower demans at this moment due to the student loan crisis. You wont see MBA enrollment numbers come back again until congress passes the student loan forgiveness act. Even if they know the benefits of obtaining an advanced degree, most Americans cant afford it.

FAR 88 - BEC 86 - AUD 90 - REG 85

[Anonymous]

@herbert

No, it doesn't.

Because Sandra said that an MBA may be the only reason why a candidate is preferred over another in the final stage of hiring.

I say, experience and personality are what will get you hired. All that is considered in the end is: can you do the job and are you a good fit.

And the designations are not always in your favor. Some employers just don't care about them. They even consider overqualified candidates a risk.

I know a perfectly employable person with both MBA/CPA who can't find a job, because of insufficient experience.

And another one, who just got a very generously paying job with only a BS and a few years of experience.

[Author]

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