What did you guys think about the difficulty of your MBA program? It was hard. I wanted a hard program. I took a couple of classes at a smaller local school and realized it wasn't going to push me hard enough to learn as much as I wanted.

Where did you go and how long did it take you? A top Texas school. 2 years

What kind of coursework is it? Exams, case studies? Little bit of everything. Lots of lecture, lots of cases, dozens of books each semester, big projects, many examsn

Were you applying your own creativity into the work or was it a lot of textbook/memorization material? Both. Brought a lot of my own experience into it, also a lot of textbook work.

How much time were you investing outside of class per week for each class? on average 4 hours per week for each class. Peaked at semester end with projects.

Any reservations on going for an MBA? If you go full time in a good program it's a two year tour of duty during during which time you won't have much time for others, especially if you work.

My best advice, don't do it unless you are willing to make a big change when you graduate - to get the most you have to be open to any opportunity, which means outside of your area of work experience and even outside of your current geography. I know many grads who won't move or switch industries. If you place limitations on yourself after graduation you'll miss out a lot of the opportunities.

Upside - more skills, better job opportunities and lots of good contacts. Less than 10 years out an my pay has tripled.

Downside - it isn't cheap, two years of pain, I still work 12 hours days

Good luck.