On the value of Grad school...

[burbuja0512]

If I want a grad degree except for the fact that it's too expensive, tuition reimbursement is good.

If I'm unwilling to pay a measly $5k for the grad degree, I don't think it's worth the time investment even if it was paid by tuition reimbursement. I know too many people with free MBAs that regret wasting their time and retired without getting any financial benefit from the MBA.

So true.. I have met MBA's who wanted to study business to "change their career path." Well.. you don't really need an MBA to get into business, so that's fairly poor judgement and lack of research.

If you already have a decent career and want to give yourself an edge, it can be very worthwhile. My MBA cost about 20k, which was half the price of MBA programs at my school. Mine was cheaper because it was a combined program with grad students from all over LATAM and they adjusted the price accordingly.

Post-MBA, I got a new job with a pay increase that more than paid for the MBA. This was not due to the MBA alone by a long shot. This was due to quite a few aggressive tactics that I chose, such as requesting title increases instead of raises. When I left my last employer, I was a VP, but would have never been if I hadn't pushed HARD. (small companies have more flexibility)

Mine is also not a generic MBA, but it's very focused on the international work I wanted to do, which is important in my field. Oh and I learned Portuguese to do business in Brazil.

I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, I'm just trying to demonstrate how darn hard it is in the business world. The MBA is icing on the cake that does make me stand out.. but that's it.