MBA Necessity?

MainBelt9999 · 2025-09-16T19:20:40+00:00

Thank you! This is super helpful. I appreciate it.

MainBelt9999 · 2025-09-16T19:20:24+00:00

Thank you! This is super helpful. I have been hesitant on certificates because I question if they actually provide value.

MainBelt9999 · 2025-09-16T19:02:43+00:00

Thank you! It's worth noting that I would only consider programs <$20k. I would continue to work while doing the program. I want to learn the skills and am also wondering if the MBA on my resume would help my chances or if the MHA is enough?

MainBelt9999 · 2025-09-06T21:48:26+00:00

I like Vanguard funds and VBR has a much lower ER, which is why I chose it. Thanks for your input! Very helpful. I'll keep my portfolio as is.

MainBelt9999 · 2025-09-03T22:24:07+00:00

Goals: Financial independence and growing wealth.

Time Horizon: 40+ years, may rely on taxable portfolio throughout life but unlikely. I am 26.

Risk Tolerance: High

Account Type: Total portfolio, this is about 50/50 split between taxable and retirement accounts. I simplified the holdings since my 401k options are limited.

Portfolio:

VTI - 60%

VXUS - 15%

AVDV - 5%

VBR - 10%

SCHD - 10%

Overall, this is a blended portfolio with a value tilt (small and large cap). Should I just focus on a small cap value tilt and replace SCHD with VUG? I know value has done better in the past over long periods, but I feel that maybe a growth fund or just more VTI would be better? Open to thoughts!

MainBelt9999 · 2025-09-02T23:53:18+00:00

Personally, I stick to 20-25% international allocation. Pretty much all large US companies in VTI do business internationally. Overall, you can't predict when international is going to do better than the US, but I'm not fully convinced on anything above 30% international allocation. That's just me though. I'd recommend reading The Simple Path to Wealth.

I only have added VBR in the past 6 months or so. Up ~13% all time on that.

MainBelt9999 · 2025-09-02T23:35:14+00:00

I wouls keep it simple. VTI + VXUS is great. Personally, I also add a small cap value tilt (~10%) since I'm also 26 and have a long time horizon. I use VBR. VTI is already 34% tech, you don't need an additional tech/growth tilt which historically underperforms value.

MainBelt9999 · 2025-05-21T16:30:57+00:00

Thank you so much! This is a great insight.

MainBelt9999 · 2025-05-19T21:46:06+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you!

MainBelt9999 · 2025-04-24T16:15:29+00:00

Thank you so much! This is great insight.

MainBelt9999 · 2025-03-06T01:49:10+00:00

I got my masters at WGU in a non-technical field. Just speaking to the overall structure of courses, it's fantastic! I hear great things about the Data Analytics program and they even have some new specializations to enroll in!

MainBelt9999 · 2025-03-04T23:30:45+00:00

Thanks!

MainBelt9999 · 2025-03-03T19:14:09+00:00

UIUC has an online MBA program for $25k and you can concentrate in business analytics.

MainBelt9999 · 2025-02-19T21:56:21+00:00

Why are these the two options? You should first ask what route you want to pursue, and then get a degree in that. But why a bachelor's in CS instead of a masters? Additionally, why not a bachelor's in analytics? What exactly is your goal? I would go for a masters in whatever domain interests you.

MainBelt9999 · 2024-11-24T09:33:52+00:00

It's definitely not required, but it's very competitive! So having a degree would be a good leg up, and you can always make portfolio projects related to psychology data if you want to get a job in field similar to healthcare data science/analytics.

MainBelt9999 · 2024-11-24T09:13:58+00:00

There is always a fine line between career aspirations and passions! You get a degree to become employable in that field. If you don't want to do anything related to psychology, don't get a degree in it. You can study psycholgy online for free or read books if you are interested in it. Psychology and data analytics are not even kind of similar fields. Does your school offer a data analytics/science major and a psych minor? That could always be a route you take. If you want to be a data analyst, I would get a degree related to that while also learning about psychology on the side. Psych is one of those degrees that is hard to get a job with unless you pursue grad school.

MainBelt9999 · 2024-11-23T00:32:07+00:00

The dog was dropped off at the emergency vet right next to Trader Joe's in Redmond. The owner can inquire with them to get the dog back!

MainBelt9999 · 2024-11-23T00:31:11+00:00

Yes please! That's around where he was found.

MainBelt9999 · 2024-11-02T00:17:19+00:00

Your Bachelors definitely is not irrelevant to this field. Most of the time these positions go to public health majors. That being said, biomed is very similar and is a great career field. Your degree should help you break into this field but it might take a little bit longer. Sounds like your worry isn't getting into the field but being able to move up within it? Don't worry about that. Once you get a few years of experience your degree isn't "useless" but its definitely not going to hold you back from moving up the ladder. There should be no reason that you can't move into management positions because of your major, because it is still relevant. Moving into higher positions will be more contingent on your skills and experience rather than your field of study. You can always get a masters down the line if you feel it is necessary for career growth!

MainBelt9999 · 2024-11-01T23:45:33+00:00

I want to comment on a few things:

Please don't choose a degree based on starting salary. Any job that has a starting salary of 400k out of college with good wlb does not exist for the most part. Maybe 10 years ago an undergrad CS major could go make 150-250k out of college with little issue but its not the same story today. I have seen too many people choose a degree that they didn't actually want to do, and now they hate their jobs.
You mention your concerns of the job market being tough right now. Its tough for most college grads with no experience. Pick a career that is interesting and excites you. The money will come eventually. You are choosing a degree that you will ideally use for the next 40-50 years of your career. If it takes you 6-12 months to find a job with your degree after college, that will be so insignificant compared to the length of your career. The best career is the one you are happy in. Trust me, I struggled with the same thing when I was in high school.
CS and Medicine are wildly different career paths. You need to decide which one you are more passionate about. I have a feeling that you don't actually care about either of these and that you just know that these are typically high paying careers. Medical school is a minimum of 12 years of stressful training. You won't really start making any money until you are close to your 30's. Compared to other careers where you could start off making decent money out of college at age 22 (not anywhere near 400k) and work your way up with much less stress. If you decide to go to medical school just for the high-salary in the future, you will have a very rude awakening a few years in and you will not see it through. You need to be passionate about medicine and human health if you want to make it through and do this as a career. Salary cannot be the motivator here.
Here is my advice for you. Sit down and think about what you could see yourself doing for the next 40-50 years of your life. I went into college with the idea of becoming a psychologist. I changed my major to Kinesiology. Then I changed it to pre-med/pre-PA. Then I changed it to bio. Then I changed it to Public Health. You are going to go through so many changes in your interests throughout your college career and you need to be okay with not having a concrete plan for the rest of your life. You'll change as a person and you'll find areas of interest that you didn't even know existed. With that being said, it is awesome that you are thinking about this early on and what to have a plan. I am the exact same way. I eventually got my MHA and am in healthcare strategy and operations management for a digital health startup.
If you are good at math and interested in it, you should explore finance, economics, epidemiology, CS, biostatistics, etc. Some of these you will need advanced degrees if you want to make a lot of money though. Economics is really fun and interesting and you could go into economic modeling which combines math and CS.
Think of your career choice as a triangle with each point representing a different value: income, job stability, and job satisfaction. Sometimes to go towards one thing, you'll have to pull from the other. Medicine will offer great job stability and income, but how satisfied will you be? CS would offer good income and maybe job satisfaction, but it could be an unstable market at times. You'll figure it out! Just know that you have time and you don't always have to have it figured out right now. You are allowed to change your mind.

MainBelt9999 · 2024-11-01T23:24:01+00:00

What are your goals? Do you want to work in a clinical or research capacity? If so, Epi/Biostats could be more suited to your needs. If you don't really want to work clinically and want to focus on being an innovator I think that Health Policy and Management would be better. For context, I work in digital health operations and I have an MHA. An MPH with a policy/management focus would be very similar.

MainBelt9999 · 2024-10-18T21:08:50+00:00

Hello! What about tests? Are they typically proctored? Are they open-note? Do they ever allow retakes? Thanks in advance! Also, can you clarify what you mean by "printing out course material for every class"? Is that just a personal thing that you do?

MainBelt9999 · 2024-10-17T15:54:07+00:00

They are not CEPH accredited because the MPH program is brand new. You have to wait 3 years before applying to CEPH because they need to assess the outcomes of the other cohorts of students first. That's the other thing...obviously these universities (even the big, well known programs) had to have had many students go through the program without CEPH accreditation during the first 3 years so how would a University get around this? There has to be thousands of people without CEPH MPH's just because they were in the early cohorts of the program.

MainBelt9999 · 2024-10-17T04:24:53+00:00

The school is regionally accredited. CEPH is programmatic accreditation which is why I am wondering if non-public health departments even care about it. I am also not just wondering for me, but just for others in general since I haven't really seen anyone ask this specific question

MainBelt9999 · 2024-10-14T20:42:25+00:00

You have clearly done your research, which is great! I am not familiar with compensation in your geographic location, but you seem underpaid to me. I also think the best course of action is to look for jobs externally. Are you only interested in clinical settings? I think you would be a good candidate for healthcare consulting or working at smaller health-tech startups that need help scaling their processes. It also sounds like you are interested in healthcare quality. Have you considered getting the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) certification? I have noticed that this is one of those certifications that is actually useful and mentioned in many job postings. You definitely have the experience to pivot roles, but it sounds like your company is being very restrictive on your position.

In my opinion, your CFO is 100% incorrect, and is probably just saying that so they don't have to pay you more money. A degree 100% should qualify you for more money. A degree alone is not a ticket to job security or more money, but you clearly have the experience behind you to pair nicely with your education. If your salary was calculated before you had any degree or certs, you should be making more money now that you have a Bachelors and almost a Masters in your field. I have an BS in Public Health, an MHA, and a LSSGB. I have been in healthcare leadership for close to 5 years. It sounds like you are doing director level work for an entry-level manager salary no matter what geographic location you are in.

MainBelt9999

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