I had an intense feeling of satisfaction yesterday. It had nothing to do with the fact that the day marked the end of the worst course thus far. It had nothing to with the fact that I am no longer required to take any accounting courses. I out thought Excel. Nothing more.
If you're considering starting your MBA you need to be aware of one critical aspect of your education: you're going to learn a lot about Excel and you're going to pay a lot to learn it. Solver. Sumproduct. Reference cells. If this is making sense to you, consider trying to have a number of your courses waived.
Because if you don't, be prepared to be extremely unsatisfied by the material presented in many of your courses. Prepare to resign yourself to the fact that your triumphs will not be based on conquering a challenging subject or developing competitive transferable skills; No, your triumphs will be over the inanimate screen in front of you. This program will subtly condition you to curse it when you see the word "infeasible." A moment later you will prostrate yourself before its gaze, basking in the warming glow of the words "solution found." With these words you experience great satisfaction.
Just be careful not to consider that you learned how to use Excel for $500 an hour.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Newfound Respect
I was sitting in class last night and reflecting on the latest module. It's been rough. Every week has been a struggle to get in the car and drive 20 miles to campus for another three and a half hours of core coursework. I've had to re-evaluate whether I'm wasting my time and money. I have a number of respected colleagues and friends that appraise the MBA as a money pit: You can get all that information and development through self education, they argue.
And they're right. You can get all the education you need from self-education. It may take more time and it will take a lot of discipline. And it's the latter that is the sticking point for most self-education proponents. I have long sought after fellow self-ed enthusiasts to dedicate their time to discussion, research and reflection and I have found only a few - unfortunately thousands of miles separate me from them.
So I found that the only way to find committed people was through an organized, accredited institution. The "free" tag of self-ed is not compulsive enough for most people to participate because there is no commitment. I've been witness to this effect with different online efforts to form communities of self-taught business professionals. Getting people to commit is tremendously difficult.
The people that do commit to something financially and with their time speak volumes. I didn't full grasp this until last night. I looked around the room at people who may not be the smartest people on paper, but they exhibit committment and all that that implies. It's no wonder that people are willing to pay more for an MBA. Many people disparage its value, but it does a fantastic job of identifying people who are willing to make a decision and tough it out. Deciding to stick with a program after a full days work in the office, sitting in traffic to get to campus for a 6:00 to 9:30 PM class represents characteristics of someone I would like to work with and can move business forward.
And they're right. You can get all the education you need from self-education. It may take more time and it will take a lot of discipline. And it's the latter that is the sticking point for most self-education proponents. I have long sought after fellow self-ed enthusiasts to dedicate their time to discussion, research and reflection and I have found only a few - unfortunately thousands of miles separate me from them.
So I found that the only way to find committed people was through an organized, accredited institution. The "free" tag of self-ed is not compulsive enough for most people to participate because there is no commitment. I've been witness to this effect with different online efforts to form communities of self-taught business professionals. Getting people to commit is tremendously difficult.
The people that do commit to something financially and with their time speak volumes. I didn't full grasp this until last night. I looked around the room at people who may not be the smartest people on paper, but they exhibit committment and all that that implies. It's no wonder that people are willing to pay more for an MBA. Many people disparage its value, but it does a fantastic job of identifying people who are willing to make a decision and tough it out. Deciding to stick with a program after a full days work in the office, sitting in traffic to get to campus for a 6:00 to 9:30 PM class represents characteristics of someone I would like to work with and can move business forward.
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