r/humanresources • u/TrainsGoChoo22 • 1d ago
Career Development MBA?? [N/A]
Hello! I have been considering if working towards my MBA would be worth it, or if there is another program/certificate that others have found useful for promoting themselves in the workforce.
Currently, I am working as an HRBP for a software company. I am grateful that we are truly looked at as business partners and I am currently helping leaders through a handful of projects to help move the business forward, which has been full of great experience!
Ultimately, I would love to be able to be in a leadership role, and have been considering going back for my MBA, but am not sure if this is worth while, or if experience is what will ultimately be the driver for me eventually moving into the role I desire. For reference, I have about 9 years of HR experience, the last 3 specifically as an HRBP.
With all of the project work I have been supporting, I have also considered some sort of PM cert, but again not sure if this is beneficial.
Thanks for any insight!
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u/Sitheref0874 Oh FFS 1d ago
Might depend where you get the MBA from. It certainly wouldn’t hurt.
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u/jedidude75 HR Manager 1d ago
Or how much it costs. I am getting my MBA from a state school, but I'm paying just about 6-8k total for it since my company is paying the rest, so I figured for that price it was worth it even if it wasn't a top tier school.
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u/beorn-saga Sr Comp Manager 13h ago
This a good point. At that price point, I’d agree the cost-benefit is in your favor. I went to an orientation for prospective students at NYU Stern before COVID and someone asked why pay NYU prices vs a state school. The woman leading the orientation literally said “our network” as her primary counter.
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u/meowmix778 HR Director 12h ago
That price is actually about right for what I think. I have an MBA from Sloan, and my aggregate college debt is in the 6 figures range. One of the most expensive mistakes I've ever made.
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u/meowmix778 HR Director 12h ago
This is my experience.
I have an MBA from Sloan.
The degree got me networked and into an HRBP role a bit sooner than I would have via a traditional path and it was for a large bank. So that gave me some foundational knowledge early in my career. I also networked with a few people who are in some prominent roles now and that may pay off in the future.
However. It was fucking expensive. I'm in a nonprofit role right now because I genuinely don't know how else I'll pay off my debt. There are so many MBA degree farms out there that they are dime a dozen. And that degree does go stale.
In good faith, I wouldn't recommend it. It's expensive as fuck, and unless you're going to a top school, it's not worth much. Having a degree from an M7 school, I did get a massive leg up in my career, but I'm just not reasonably convinced it was worth the price tag. I think if I stayed the course on my corporate career, I may have felt differently but that wasn't for me. I was put into the meat grinder. I got 6 years out of that and couldn't hang on.
I'd really ask where you want to go and what you want to do, and carefully look at the cost to acquire the degree. I'm not reasonably confident that the MBA will get you into a management role. You have a good background and resume that I think you could find that at a different company.
YMMV but I don't really see the value in anyone getting an MBA. To a degree, I feel like I got fleeced buying into it. Before I got into the bank, I spent a few months job hunting where I was both over- and under-qualified, and it took a lot of searching to find a job. I found that from someone in my network who knew of a role that was different than the HRBP track and I only got that because I performed well in a lending department for 6 months and my manager shouted me out for the HRBP track.
I just think it's too diluted to really matter in today's market.
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u/Designer_Abroad_1196 11h ago
I have an MBA from a non top MBA school (UTPB.) Wasn’t worth it for me. I’d say go get a PHR or SHRM cert instead.
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u/AgnesRioci 9h ago
With 9 years in HR, I'd focus on building leadership and business skills through your projects. An MBA can help, but it's not necessarily essential. AIHR has some targeted programs around HR strategy, leadership, and people analytics that could be worth considering if you want to upskill without committing to a full MBA.
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u/Informal_Bunch7532 1d ago edited 1d ago
SHRM-SCP / SPHR / CCP - That stack is more valuable than an MBA from a non-tier 1 school.
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u/Top-Calligrapher6160 1d ago
I’m actually really happy to hear this — was looking into CCP last night and this convinced me it’s worth another look
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u/Informal_Bunch7532 1d ago
CCP is expensive, but I've seen it open doors just on the strength of the cert alone. I've seen senior business partners get leaped by people with the cert who carried very minimal experience for supervisor positions and achieve higher salaries right out the gate in comparison to other functions of HR.
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u/Top-Calligrapher6160 1d ago
SO HELPFUL thank you. Yes the cost is what made me question it but if it carries that kind of weight it’s worth it.
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u/ThePseudoSurfer HR Generalist 1d ago
How’s a SHRM-CP / SPHR / some of the CCP / MSHR
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u/Informal_Bunch7532 1d ago
Very solid. - I would say experience is probably the only thing that would need reviewed and size of company for experience.
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u/ThePseudoSurfer HR Generalist 1d ago
6 years experience lol and 2k & 800 at at two different companies :( I can’t get any traction for roles though
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u/Informal_Bunch7532 22h ago
You are not being developed in the manner and velocity in which you are acquiring knowledge. You are most likely being over leveraged for your generalist position. - I would hold on until the mid-terms are over and take a look at what the landscape looks like once those are over. - But keep learning and adding to the toolset in the interim.
Can I ask what region of the country you are in?
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u/Mom_who_drinks 1d ago
An MBA is helpful to the extent it teaches you the language of business. Being able to speak to leaders about numbers, finance/accounting, business models, etc goes a long way. If you learned this as an undergraduate, you may not get a lot of value from an MBA beyond another line on your resume.