Thoughts on getting an MBA

[J. Waldron, RLA]

I have been kicking this thought around recently. The bad market obviously has a lot of folks going back to school and I’ve been considering the same. I have a job, albeit not one that is making me rich, but it is a job which I am thankful to have. So i’d be able to take the classes at night and get this thing done in two years while continuing to practice. I recently passed the LARE, so a grad degree in LA isn’t something I need.

My thoughts behind the MBA are that it would diversify my abilities to expand into the ***cringing while typing*** corporate world if need be, but would mainly give me the business background to start my own firm and run it successfully.

The caveat to the whole deal is the 25k it’s going to cost me. I wish I worked for a firm that would pay for it.
Does anyone know of an LA that went for an MBA?

[Robert Haught]

i know of a civil that is currently going for his MBA. The company he is with said they would pay half, but because of the economy they stopped paying. Now he doesnt have enough to finish and 15 thousand dollar load to boot.

In my opinion, unless you are going to use the gained knowledge to start a company, the MBA is not worth the cost and energy.For less money and energy you could get your AICP and your LEED-AP credentials and thus more to offer a employer.

[J. Waldron, RLA]

I’m actually taking the LEED exam this spring. I’m pretty sure my firm would laugh if I asked them to pay for an MBA…..going to have a hard time getting the $400 out of them for the LEED.

[J. Waldron, RLA]

The second purpose is what I’m really after. A good bit of my background is in land development management and aquisitions. I have a different sort of vision for a company that practices LA, develops on a smaller scale, and has a development consulting component with a bit of design-build mixed in.

[J. Waldron, RLA]

Perhaps I need to clarify. I have every intention of taking the LEED exam, even if I have to pay for it. I do not discount the merits of the AICP certification, but I am not qualified to take it.

I am looking for a graduate degree that will give me the business background to accomplish my entrepreneurial goals, but also make me more marketable to a wider array of opportunities. All the specific credentials in the world won’t accomplish that. Perhaps an MBA will.

[Author]

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