MBA vs MS in Leadership

[rebel100]

MBA is the easy button with a proven track record. If your young I suggest going wherever you can develop the best network (without taking on much if any debt). I opted for WGU and it has been fine for me. I sometimes wish I had pursued the online offering from the University of Florida...but it maybe didn't matter.

earlier the OP mentioned "just staying where I am with the bachelors". I will say that this approach wouldn't fly in my industry. A Masters of some sort is the price of admission in upper level management in healthcare, at least in my experience. I even recommend the WGU Leadership option, but always after talking through the MBA possibilities.

I value little to no debt over name, but value the name/networking to some degree. It's a bit of a balancing act.

[RANSOMSOUL]

Saying no one asks for Leadership degree is insinuating most are asking for an MBA, while in actuality, most are asking for a Masters degree and at best 'preferred MBA'.

I wasn't saying that everyone is asking for an MBA (although many do) - they just don't specifically ever ask for a Masters in Leadership.

You are locked in and I can appreciate this, my only counter would be wondering where you are getting this information that 'many do'. I have business partnerships now in 9 countries with large organizations (average over 2,000 employees) and there isn't this heavy search for MBAs going on these days. We all appreciate them but it's far from the lead interest when hiring. And, the strength of the position that no one ever asks for a Leadership degree isn't a narrative that fits as a value against getting one. Rarely do you see a request for a Degree in Finance but 'rarely', we would agree does not define the degree.

Again, my comments are more for the future reader interested in some degree that is different than what might be expected and encouraging them to do their own research and let their talent outshine the competition.

Just in case it was lost somewhere in these or other threads; I think an MBA is the most recognizable degree and there is a true value in that over other Master degrees. I could have lead with that but then I might have missed out on this thread

I see degrees in finance asked for all the time.

Are MBAs asked for by most employers? First we have to determine which field or type of employer and the level of the position (supervisor, manager, mid-level manager, senior manager, executive, etc.). In my field, almost no one asks for an MBA, and that is to be expected. It's criminal justice and social services. Once the field is determined, one would have to look at all the job openings, at least in the local area, and see if the majority require or prefer an MBA.

If you're just doing a keyword search for "MBA," then you will get a lot of hits in a large city. I received 409 in my city. I think that says enough about the marketability of the degree.

Come one...Your space allows for a Finance Degree to be more common with positions like Financial Investigators. I have never seen a Degree in CJ but that is just highly uncommon in medical. With that being said, I promise you that a Masters in CJ would do just fine sitting for an opportunity requiring a Masters 'preferred MBA' if their overall experience matched up well. This differentiating factor may actually play as one of the stronger attributes of the candidate.

Not sure on the angle of your big city search works when, if you just do the same search requiring a Masters degree, it would be several times larger and that would speak for itself that a Masters in anything is most important. Again, I am only staying in this very small, big city + degree search = marketability formula.

Where I do see some stronger value for an MBA is ones with concentrations like Finance, IT, Healthcare. This is also why if we stay in the lane of only a focused field, there are plenty of specialized Masters that will battle just fine with an MBA.

Bringing it back to the MBA vs MS Leadership, I would say a candidate with an MBA probably would win out but the same example with a person with an MBA vs MSM or MBML (experience equal), that candidate will do just fine in the marketplace.

[jessikalauren]

I'm not speaking from experience (yet) but I suppose it depends on what you'd like to do with your degree and what you like studying. I've followed the posts of many people who have posted here (ransomsoul especially, as well as dfrecore and sanantone, etc) and my plan is to start with the MSML degree at WGU.

I had essentially decided I would do the MBA, because it seems to hold the most weight, but my last few business courses in my undergrad were especially tough on me. Since I plan to run straight into a grad program I am going to do the one that has more writing than testing. I'm not saying I'm not willing to put in the hard work to reach the finish line, but at this point in my life (I'm 30, married and work 60+ hours) it will be nice to have the master's degree on the resume.

Like another poster mentioned, the MBA and MSML at WGU overlap by almost half, so students often pursue both. That's my plan (in the back of my mind of course, I also really want to be done with school) because I like the idea of having two master's degrees for the time and money cost that others will spend on one.

[Lewis.Yim]

I'm not speaking from experience (yet) but I suppose it depends on what you'd like to do with your degree and what you like studying.  I've followed the posts of many people who have posted here (ransomsoul especially, as well as dfrecore and sanantone, etc) and my plan is to start with the MSML degree at WGU.  

I had essentially decided I would do the MBA, because it seems to hold the most weight, but my last few business courses in my undergrad were especially tough on me. Since I plan to run straight into a grad program I am going to do the one that has more writing than testing. I'm not saying I'm not willing to put in the hard work to reach the finish line, but at this point in my life (I'm 30, married and work 60+ hours) it will be nice to have the master's degree on the resume.

Like another poster mentioned, the MBA and MSML at WGU overlap by almost half, so students often pursue both.  That's my plan (in the back of my mind of course, I also really want to be done with school) because I like the idea of having two master's degrees for the time and money cost that others will spend on one.

Congrats! I am thinking along the same lines as well with the WGU MSML and MBA.  I think the competency-based degree providers are the only ones that can provide degrees at such a cheap price point, I would love the ability to finish two for the price of one.  

Hmm, I think the time would be faster than completing a traditional B&M Masters a well, finish two degrees in less time than one at a traditional B&M, as some I've looked into take up to 12-24 months for a Masters.  Just thinking to myself, what other options are there besides WGU.

[sanantone]

Saying no one asks for Leadership degree is insinuating most are asking for an MBA, while in actuality, most are asking for a Masters degree and at best 'preferred MBA'.

I wasn't saying that everyone is asking for an MBA (although many do) - they just don't specifically ever ask for a Masters in Leadership.

You are locked in and I can appreciate this, my only counter would be wondering where you are getting this information that 'many do'. I have business partnerships now in 9 countries with large organizations (average over 2,000 employees) and there isn't this heavy search for MBAs going on these days. We all appreciate them but it's far from the lead interest when hiring. And, the strength of the position that no one ever asks for a Leadership degree isn't a narrative that fits as a value against getting one. Rarely do you see a request for a Degree in Finance but 'rarely', we would agree does not define the degree.

Again, my comments are more for the future reader interested in some degree that is different than what might be expected and encouraging them to do their own research and let their talent outshine the competition.

Just in case it was lost somewhere in these or other threads; I think an MBA is the most recognizable degree and there is a true value in that over other Master degrees. I could have lead with that but then I might have missed out on this thread

I see degrees in finance asked for all the time.

Are MBAs asked for by most employers? First we have to determine which field or type of employer and the level of the position (supervisor, manager, mid-level manager, senior manager, executive, etc.). In my field, almost no one asks for an MBA, and that is to be expected. It's criminal justice and social services. Once the field is determined, one would have to look at all the job openings, at least in the local area, and see if the majority require or prefer an MBA.

If you're just doing a keyword search for "MBA," then you will get a lot of hits in a large city. I received 409 in my city. I think that says enough about the marketability of the degree.

Come one...Your space allows for a Finance Degree to be more common with positions like Financial Investigators. I have never seen a Degree in CJ but that is just highly uncommon in medical. With that being said, I promise you that a Masters in CJ would do just fine sitting for an opportunity requiring a Masters 'preferred MBA' if their overall experience matched up well. This differentiating factor may actually play as one of the stronger attributes of the candidate.

Not sure on the angle of your big city search works when, if you just do the same search requiring a Masters degree, it would be several times larger and that would speak for itself that a Masters in anything is most important. Again, I am only staying in this very small, big city + degree search = marketability formula.

Where I do see some stronger value for an MBA is ones with concentrations like Finance, IT, Healthcare. This is also why if we stay in the lane of only a focused field, there are plenty of specialized Masters that will battle just fine with an MBA.

Bringing it back to the MBA vs MS Leadership, I would say a candidate with an MBA probably would win out but the same example with a person with an MBA vs MSM or MBML (experience equal), that candidate will do just fine in the marketplace.

I think you missed my point on CJ. While an MBA is rarely required or preferred in CJ, the MBA is asked for a lot in other fields.

If you do a keyword search for "master's" and look at the job ads, I'm pretty sure you will see a preferred or required major listed most of the time. So, you can't assume that results for "master's" means any master's degree. It's a generic term that could be followed or preceded by anything.

I have a master's degree, and it has not been my experience that many jobs find it attractive just because it's simply a master's. My master's is very specific to certain fields. I work in social services, and I can assure you that security studies almost never cuts it for jobs requiring a master's degree in this field. They want MBAs and master's in human resources for certain management or administrative jobs, they want MPHs for public health jobs, they want masters in a science for lab jobs, and they want masters in psychology/counseling/social work for advanced social services jobs even if the job doesn't require a license.

[RANSOMSOUL]

Agree with tons in your share and feel comfortable with my core MBA vs MSM vs MSML example. This, however, does not fall in line with 'any' masters but is more in a focused area and easier to confirm transferrable skills. I hope my words would not influence someone to take their Masters in Dance feeling confident vs their business degree candidates