Singapore Expats

MBA - Pros and Cons. Advice welcome

Discuss about getting a well paid job or career advancement. Ask about salaries, expat packages, CPF & taxes for expatriate.
Post Reply
futurebiz1
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat, 26 May 2012 11:58 pm

MBA - Pros and Cons. Advice welcome

Post by futurebiz1 » Sun, 27 May 2012 12:20 am

I just got an MBA offer from one of the well recognised local universities and have some questions before making a final decision. MBA is an important investment decision and so any advice would be welcome.

Brief Overview of my profile
Age: 28, Male
Salary - 9,000S$ month+Bonus+CPF
GMAT - 760
Employer : Prominent Financial institution

I have always wanted to do an MBA ever since I obtained my bachelor's degree but luckily I always found a new and a better job every time I felt that it was time to move and hence the decision to pursue an MBA kept getting postponed. When I consider the post MBA compensation of all the universities in SG, it is much less than my current salary and so am not sure of the financial benefits of doing a full-time MBA. Also, I like my current job and do not intend to change the job sector post-MBA and I see quite decent near term growth prospects in the current role.

On the other hand, I also think that MBA may open up a lot of new avenues and may be a valuable asset in the longer term (10-20 years later). I am also contemplating taking up the part-time MBA(I can opt for either full/part time) but again I am not sure will a part time MBA be the real deal although the information I have obtained suggests that facilities for part-timers are identical to those offered to the regular students.

Would welcome comments from experienced people. Do employers in SG see value in an MBA. Considering that am already in a pretty decent position in my organisation, will an MBA(full/part time) be a worth while decision in the current not-so-good economy.

User avatar
zzm9980
Governor
Governor
Posts: 6869
Joined: Wed, 06 Jul 2011 1:35 pm
Location: Once more unto the breach

Post by zzm9980 » Sun, 27 May 2012 10:43 am

Disclaimer: I'm an American cynical of the entire education system.

An MBA is about opening doors. You need to compare the cost to the benefit of the doors that could potentially be opened by having it. Your work experience, who you know, and how you sell yourself, directly affects your earning potential. An MBA can potentially influence the latter two of those items. That's all it is good for. A piece of paper does not add a factor of X to a salary just because you have it. I've noticed many locals in Singapore seem to think otherwise, but that's not how most of the world works.

If your employer is going to pay for it, go for it. If you have a free ride some other way (I have no idea how it works in Singapore, but in the US and Europe MBAs are expensive), go for it. Otherwise, analyze the situation carefully to see if you believe the cost can open doors in your career path (not all are equal) or if you feel you can sell it in interviews for future positions to increase your offer. IMO, the former of the two is much more valuable than the latter, but again, it depends if an MBA would open the right doors or not.

futurebiz1
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat, 26 May 2012 11:58 pm

Post by futurebiz1 » Sun, 27 May 2012 3:27 pm

MBA in SG is cheaper in absolute terms compared to costs incurred in US and Europe but it is still a substantial investment. Though I have saved enough to earn a top class US MBA now, after having worked for quite some time, MBA does not seem to be like a Must-have now. When i started work, my motivation was to earn quickly enough and build a good profile for a top 10 US MBA but now after having worked for quite a few years and after seeing the post-MBA employment statistics and the profile of the senior people around me, I see very small incremental benefit of an MBA, at least in the short term. However, I also believe that associating a dollar value to MBA experience and the leverage it provides in life is difficult and that most of the benefits are sort of intangible. That's why this small confusion on whether to go for it or not or to go for a good local part time one.

User avatar
carteki
Editor
Editor
Posts: 1237
Joined: Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:03 pm
Location: Singapore
Contact:

Post by carteki » Tue, 29 May 2012 4:02 am

Will your employer hold your job for you?
You're earning a pretty decent salary and it is unlikely that you will ever make up the difference by increased earnings. Think of it this way. Cost of MBA = cost of course + living expenses + loss of salary + loss of bonus. How much more will you need to earn to justify that cost for 12 months?
Yes, you will meet people and you will learn stuff. How much more is questionable. Depends really on what your underlying degree is and if you don't have the management basics then it is probably a good thing to get them, but and MBA is an expensive way to do it.

Herman S
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 1:04 pm
Location: Singapore
Contact:

Re: MBA - Pros and Cons. Advice welcome

Post by Herman S » Sun, 03 Jun 2012 10:53 am

futurebiz1 wrote:I just got an MBA offer from one of the well recognised local universities and have some questions before making a final decision. MBA is an important investment decision and so any advice would be welcome.

Brief Overview of my profile
Age: 28, Male
Salary - 9,000S$ month+Bonus+CPF
GMAT - 760
Employer : Prominent Financial institution

I have always wanted to do an MBA ever since I obtained my bachelor's degree but luckily I always found a new and a better job every time I felt that it was time to move and hence the decision to pursue an MBA kept getting postponed. When I consider the post MBA compensation of all the universities in SG, it is much less than my current salary and so am not sure of the financial benefits of doing a full-time MBA. Also, I like my current job and do not intend to change the job sector post-MBA and I see quite decent near term growth prospects in the current role.

On the other hand, I also think that MBA may open up a lot of new avenues and may be a valuable asset in the longer term (10-20 years later). I am also contemplating taking up the part-time MBA(I can opt for either full/part time) but again I am not sure will a part time MBA be the real deal although the information I have obtained suggests that facilities for part-timers are identical to those offered to the regular students.

Would welcome comments from experienced people. Do employers in SG see value in an MBA. Considering that am already in a pretty decent position in my organisation, will an MBA(full/part time) be a worth while decision in the current not-so-good economy.
I too am considering getting an MBA, I've been doing some research on it, let me share with you some really relevant reads


http://www.coursesinsg.com/2012/06/mba- ... about.html
http://www.coursesinsg.com/2012/04/part ... re_21.html
http://www.coursesinsg.com/2012/06/top- ... apore.html


Hope this is helpful to you :)
Last edited by Herman S on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

futurebiz1
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat, 26 May 2012 11:58 pm

Post by futurebiz1 » Mon, 04 Jun 2012 1:20 am

Thanks for the links.. Well, I have for now opted for the middle course.. Don't want to give up my job and want to pursue MBA as well. So, I have decided to take the part-time option.

extraordinaire
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue, 05 Jun 2012 9:57 am
Location: Jurong

Post by extraordinaire » Wed, 06 Jun 2012 1:46 pm

Hello! I'm currently taking up my MBA, have been since a year ago (WHILE WORKING). Anyway, yes...an MBA education will boost your credentials and may earn you more money in the future, but here's the deal since you've opted for the part-time option: Assure your current employer that the quality of your work will not diminish.

Mine's dropped me a bomb I cannot refuse: Lesser salary in exchange of flexi time, less workload. I'm starting to regret my decision, to be honest. :?

This can be helpful: http://sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Resources/Jo ... ide?ID=429
Please confine your Signature to a single line of text OR a single hyperlink as per policy - moderator

Herman S
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 1:04 pm
Location: Singapore
Contact:

Post by Herman S » Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:40 am

futurebiz1 wrote:Thanks for the links.. Well, I have for now opted for the middle course.. Don't want to give up my job and want to pursue MBA as well. So, I have decided to take the part-time option.
On a side note, is your company offering you sponsorship for your MBA? Some companies do help their employees fund their tuition fees under the right circumstances -

Find out whether your company has an existing scheme. Many companies have a form of institutionalised tuition reimbursement program.

Approach your boss with the sentiment that you really appreciate the organisation and want to excel, essentially asking 'what can I do give myself every chance to aid both company growth and my career within the organisation? They may come back and say 'what do you think you could do?' And that's when you could respond, 'maybe I could get my MBA. I'd be willing to do that if the company could help me.' This strategy gives you a great opening for the negotiations.


Source: http://www.mba-choice.com/index.php/ite ... r-mba.html


In my personal opinion, your decision to take part time MBA is the right choice - don't worry too much about the decrease in pay - it's not as bad as not having pay at all, also I believe that if you show you're company that you can still be as effective working while taking an MBA, you can negotiate your salary again.

Moving forward, it'd be good to be aware of both what challenges you might be facing during your part time MBA program,

On a more positive note first, here are the general benefits of a part time MBA program:
1) Active application of knowledge
Put into application what you learn in school the very next day

2) Lower risk and opportunity cost
Don't have to worry about lost income or not being able to find a job upon graduation

3) Possible Company sponsorship
Get your company to assist you with the tuition fees, going into debt because of your education is not ideal.

Onto the issues that you should aware of:
1) Demanding Schedule
You've got to juggle a full time job and a demanding course, proper time management is the key.

2) Longer program duration
Instead of 2 years, you complete the program in 3-5 years.

3) Incomplete program immersion
You don't have the luxury of participating in school events, activities. It's not uncommon to feel a little distanced from school.

4) Networking is more Challenging
Your coursemates are just as busy as you, if not more. Socializing will definitely be a challenge

Source: http://www.coursesinsg.com/2012/06/shou ... e-mba.html

futurebiz1
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat, 26 May 2012 11:58 pm

Post by futurebiz1 » Sat, 09 Jun 2012 11:56 am

I would be getting transferred to a new department within the same organisation from Aug and I have not discussed anything about reduction in salary as that might be indicating straight away that my work would definitely be not 100% because of the part time program.

The point about company sponsorship is very valid and I would surely check on it but am not sure if I will be awarded any sponsorship as it has been only a few months since I have joined this organisation but no harm in tryin I guess :).

Next few years are surely going to be hectic but I guess it will be time and money well spent !

Herman S
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 1:04 pm
Location: Singapore
Contact:

Post by Herman S » Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:33 am

I have not discussed anything about reduction in salary as that might be indicating straight away that my work would definitely be not 100% because of the part time program.

Educated move :)

The point about company sponsorship is very valid and I would surely check on it but am not sure if I will be awarded any sponsorship as it has been only a few months since I have joined this organisation but no harm in tryin I guess :).

Another viable option that you can explore would be to applying for scholarship with the school - you mentioned that you're going to be in a local university - that would mean NUS, NTU or SMU, all of which have a generous selection of scholarships for prospective student - NUS has over 16 scholarships listed for their MBA program, NTU and SMU has slightly less than NUS, but a number of the scholarships from NUS apply across the institutions too - Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship, Tan Kah Kee Postgraduate Scholarship, just to name a few.

I believe this particular scholarship will be very helpful for you - MDS from Spring Singapore, their program pays for 70% of the MBA tuition fees (capped at S$54,000) while the student's company pays for the remainder.

I found all this info here - http://www.coursesinsg.com/2012/06/scho ... r-mba.html , they've much more details, quite a helpful site.

User avatar
JR8
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 16522
Joined: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:43 pm
Location: K. Puki Manis

Post by JR8 » Thu, 14 Jun 2012 1:52 am

futurebiz1 wrote: Next few years are surely going to be hectic but I guess it will be time and money well spent !
How much more are you going to get paid if you complete the MBA?

futurebiz1
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat, 26 May 2012 11:58 pm

Post by futurebiz1 » Thu, 14 Jun 2012 2:58 pm

JR8 wrote:
futurebiz1 wrote: Next few years are surely going to be hectic but I guess it will be time and money well spent !
How much more are you going to get paid if you complete the MBA?
Honestly, money is not the primary reason for doing this and I do not think that any raise/promotions I receive in my near future would depend on me earning an MBA. I am thinking it of as an investment with a long gestation period (15-20 years) I just think that there are additional skills which I seek and I think additional knowledge/skill is not going to hurt me:). Do I require an MBA to acquire those skills is a valid question but again this arguement could be extended to any form of formal education.

chocnoodles
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:21 am

there is never a right time

Post by chocnoodles » Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:37 am

The sooner you embark on the MBA, the better it is given the X number of years that you will remained employed. If you aren't married with kids yet, now is the time to start..seriously.

In terms of having an edge if you have an MBA, to a certain extent, this holds true. If I assume you to have other qualifications such as CFA/ finance related professional qualifications, having the MBA will make you an all rounder, both with the technical know-how and the soft skills acquired from the MBA which I believe is required for senior management roles in most businesses.

There are plenty of MBAs programs around in Singapore from the highly affordable ones starting from SGD$15,000 to $180,000 Chicago Booth EMBA. I would suggest to opt for a part time MBA as it allows a continuous stream of income but more importantly, you will be aware of the current trends in your industry and this keeps you relevant in the eyes of your future employers.

Hope this helps.

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Careers & Jobs in Singapore”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests