MBA pros and cons (short version)

Here's what I think.

Pros:

- It is widely believed that it will be a truly great year full of exciting events and personal growth, possibly best year of your life

- Opens doors to firms, careers and opportunities previously unattainable

- A chance to meet a multitude of extraordinary people and make new friends for life - that one probably tilted the scale for me when I was deciding whether to go or not

Cons:

- Costly, very very costly

- Nothing is guaranteed, a lot of recruiters come to campus, but you have to apply and be rejected just as if you weren't getting an MBA. In view of the current developments, it might be even more so for those keen on banking. It has been mentioned during the finance chat that banking recruitment is currently weak and although summer internship placements were record high, full-time offers might not be as plentiful

- Limited value from academic curriculum - those were my thoughts when I first looked through the core courses - I've already covered most of that in my undergraduate years and professional degree

MBA scepticism in NY Times

In the USA MBA has always been a pass to middle management role in finance and consulting. Less so in Europe, where relevant experience was seen as key to promotion. Now it seems the situation in the US is changing too.

Two articles recently appearing in the New York Times have questioned the value of MBA. First one points out that a lesser number of those in finance, especially in quant-heavy finance, choose to go for an MBA.

The second one is about the generally diminished relevance of business education and the failure of business schools to produce the "right" kind of manager.

All that of course follows the real trashing of MBA in the Atlantic Monthly last year with references going as far back as Karl Marx! Click here is you are subscribed to Atlantic Monthly or here if you like me never subscribe to anything.

SEDIAN @ INSEAD

The idea to launch a blog came as abruptly as the decision to apply to business school: 15 minutes from start to finish. The subsequent realization required substantially more time and effort.

The intention for this website is to share the wisdom on the happenings of INSEAD MBA class of December 2008, the thoughts on the admission process (it is behind at this point), the intricacies of the job hunt and the philosophical arguments to support or disprove the value of an MBA.

SEDIAN is nothing more than an anagram of INSEAD.