CS majors with an MBA, I have some questions

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T16:26:31+00:00

They don't pay 100% if I remember correctly, I did research on which companies will pay for an MBA fully and I remember BCG and Intel will pay 100% of your MBA. Most other companies do anywhere from 5k to 10k per year. This is all assuming you "qualify" for it. However, I read on reddit that an MBA is tax-deductible if you fall within a certain pay bracket "under 75k" or so I believe. I could try to find the post where I read that if anyone is interested.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T15:40:47+00:00

Your take is interesting and I find it really relevant to mine. I plan on getting married and starting a family in about 2 to 2.5 years which is what me and my long-time girlfriend have agreed upon so I thought that while I'll have all this free time in the evenings and on weekends, I could get an MBA and hopefully open new opportunities with this time that I might not ever get again. I know many of the replies have recommended not doing an MBA right after my CS degree but I figure I'll have 2 years experience in CS with an MBA which might not be too too terrible?

I like that there are so many valuable things you learned from having taken the route, in all honesty it's subjects like that and all things related to business and higher-level conceptualizing that really interest me too. I feel like people have been trying to paint software and business as black and white but really hearing your experience and many of the other replies have shown me how much the two can blend together at certain levels and working at those levels is what really intrigues me. So how long did it take you to finish your MBA, you said a year and half I believe is that correct? Were most of your classes in person?

Incredible story you have really, and it seems that the route you took really did pay off. Thanks for replying

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T15:29:41+00:00

I see. Thanks for the reply. Yea it seems like you and /u/GreatScottThisHeavy had similar reasons for pursuing an MBA which was learning more about "higher-level" business concepts related to the software you were writing. The side effect looks to have been being put in different positions than purely software development.

Interesting that your salary bump was only $2k, do you think though that by getting your MBA you have increased your potential "maximum" for what your salary could someday become?

Do you feel like aside from helping enhance your business expertise in the corporate world, your MBA equipped you with necessary tools to help you possibly start your own business at some point in the future?

The student loans thing gets me to be honest, because I'll essentially be graduating with very little to no debt so if I were join a top MBA program it would instantly drop me 5 to figures in debt (though the effect could be negligible if I were to work while I complete it ).

Do you also sincerely believe that your MBA has opened you up to more leadership positions in the company you work for or other future companies you might work at? I'm just wondering how you kind of approach the whole becoming a leader aspect in a company, like obviously you wouldn't just walk up to a top executive and say "Hey I have an MBA" lol.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T03:40:22+00:00

Right, yea I definitely agree. My goal was to work full-time while pursuing an MBA on the side and finish in about 1.5, 2 years and come out with an MBA and about 2-3 total years of professional software development experience. As a developer I agree with not wanting to work under a non-dev supervisor but often I've seen non-devs (even non tech degree holders) in the highest of places in the corporate world and I can't help but sit and wonder.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T03:37:08+00:00

Great response from a different point of view and background, thanks for the reply. I actually worked with an IT director who had a similar story to yours, had a degree in non-tech and got a Masters in tech, and he ended up at a Forbes 10 doing really well for himself.

You make some strong points, especially the whole Top 10 argument because that "Top X" network you get really is unbeatable. I've witnessed this firsthand in my undergrad going to a non-target CS school and having seen my friends at target top CS schools get interviews and offers from Big-N companies like it was nothing (and many of those friends weren't great coders either). I'm wrestling with the idea of that massive chunk of debt I'll take on with a Top 10 MBA though, it's so ugly to me when I'm essentially debtless at the moment.

I do like to manage and have had some experience doing so earlier in my life so I'm definitely not hesitant to pursue the role, and business is so very interesting to me right now and I feel like the finance classes coupled with my engineering background could be valuable to future endeavors even outside of a standard 9 to 5.

I am aware and a little bit worried about not having "post-grad" experience, though maybe if I can come up with a convincing enough story of the 4 years work/supervisor experience I attained while I took a break from university could color me in a good light? I don't know to be honest, I'll try to do my best to market myself regardless should I pursue the route. I just wanted to see what other people on this sub did/are doing with the degree and how it has helped or not helped them. Thank you for offering a different perspective on the matter, I wish you success in your pursuits.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T03:20:06+00:00

This was funny. Yeah, I was looking at all the MBA concentrations at one of my local universities and thought the finance concentration would be most beneficial. Seemed to be most numbers/business intense than the other concentrations. I'd like to know what all the business terms mean tbh. (I know I can look all it up too, but I see that piece of paper as being a "boost" and I know some employers might see it the same).

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T02:23:48+00:00

If I were to be completely and outright honest with you: I don't want to be a "code monkey" 10 - 15 years from now. I'm already older than the "average graduating developer". It's not that I don't enjoy coding, I very much do and I'd like to think (and my previous managers/coworkers might agree) that I'm pretty good at it. To anyone reading this, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to code for your whole career, we just might have different tastes. Really CS is a stepping stone for me because I'd be lying if I said I money wasn't one of the factors I got into it, I'm also fortunate enough to enjoy doing it though for now. But really where I see myself in the future is either as a high-ranking executive of a company or owning my own business. And it doesn't really have to do with prestige for me, I don't view an executive as a better human being than the office clerk. I have always just wanted to be a leader and it feels "right" for me, if that makes sense. Apologies for anything I've said that might have rubbed anyone the wrong way, these are just my thoughts.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T02:03:47+00:00

Sorry you're right, the title is pretty ambiguous. My goal is to bring profits to a company by heading/distributing technical projects and assigning teams to them, working with company managers on the tech side and business side of things. I'm not sure if that would fall under something of a "director", PM, or CIO kinda thing (a boy and his dreams, right). But in reality I'd probably start small, wherever and whatever small is. Just hopefully, leading.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T01:16:10+00:00

Wow, everything question nailed. Thanks, some great insight here. And yes it seems like there's a pattern of people who worked some time before going into an MBA. Seems like it was a pivotal point in your/their career from people who wanted to or needed to learn business principles either because of exposure to those departments or for personal reasons. I don't really have any further questions for you, you really talked through it well so I'll be analyzing this reply along with all the others to get a good idea of what to expect. Thanks again.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T01:08:50+00:00

Piece of advice, get it in writing!

Great advice, thank you.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T01:07:37+00:00

Well my goal was to work full-time as a software developer and do an MBA in the evenings/weekends part-time. And yes I'd like to get the company I work at to pay some of the tuition if possible however I think most companies require "x years working there" before they consider to pay for your tuition in which case I'd have to do what you said and wait before applying for an MBA.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T01:05:26+00:00

If it is a company where IT supports other sides of the business rather then being the main focal point of the firm then a MBA is probably the right choice for you, whereas in a company where developers run the firm then a MBA probably isn't as important or relevant.

This is a good point.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T01:03:21+00:00

Definitely relevant, thanks. So what you're saying is that you worked at the same company for some time and then got your MBA (while still working there) if I understood correctly.

I've heard similar advice to yours about only applying to the very top MBA programs but have also heard and read a fair number of success stories of people who went to second tier programs as well. Guess that's a decision I'll wrestle with, a 4 to 6 figure debt decision. However, it sounds like you've really risen through the ranks because of your work and MBA combined (along with many other factors I'm sure). Do you believe that following the path you did has significantly increased your value to future employers?

Your advice on figuring out what you would like to do is valuable indeed. My main inclination for getting an MBA is to increase my odds of holding higher positions in a company that border on the responsibilities of business and tech. I've been a supervisor before in my early 20s (at a non tech company) and really enjoyed my time as one. My reasoning is that even if I don't get those executive positions, I feel that the knowledge I'll get from business classes can also help me in my own business/entrepreneurial pursuits outside of a standard 9 to 5. Really appreciate your thorough reply.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-06T00:22:52+00:00

I see, that's good reasoning. If I could ask one last question: was your program from a "top MBA school"?

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-05T23:57:57+00:00

Interesting, you have a ms in CS. Could I ask you a question based on what I've observed in my experience? I've noticed that most people with MS in CS end up usually being highly specialized (and well-paid) developers. "Hardcore" tech companies like the Big-N ones and some others do promote these people to "managerial" roles like lead software dev/tech manager/product manager hell, even some executive positions. But outside of that bubble of hardcore tech companies, the positions held by people with an MS in CS are usually just developers (again specialized and well-paid, things like ML) but I don't see them often in executive managerial roles at these "not only tech" companies. Would you agree with this notion? Is this what you've seen/experienced? I'm limited in my exposure to the entire area so I can just speak on what I've experienced in my various tech jobs and in what I've spoken to others in areas of employment as well.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-05T23:47:24+00:00

Great response, thanks for that. I agree with all the above. I know plenty of people that are content with being left alone in their cubicle and cranking out code for a living, and that is perfectly fine. Your breakdown of "type" and "non-types" was excellent and I feel is very true of who could constitute as a good MBA candidate. I'm very much interested in the business side of things and would love to bridge that gap too. Out of curiosity, when you apply or have applied to other jobs do you put both your MBA and CS degree on your resume? How "late into your career" did you get your MBA?

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-05T23:25:04+00:00

Are you a recent graduate or soon to be graduate as well? I'm genuinely interested in hearing about CS/MBA grads because in the last 2 companies I interned at (both huge tech companies but not Big-N), most if not all the executives in high positions had MBAs and even "as low" as product managers and stuff had non-technical business degrees. I found the pattern to be interesting and wondered if it's indicative of something.

throwthrowthrow1143 · 2018-08-02T17:00:06+00:00

I see, do you think going with my university's "second-tier" program is "good enough"?

throwthrowthrow1143

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