Don't Pay for Your MBA

The Faster, Cheaper, Better Way to Get the Business Education You Need

Laurie Pickard

• Publisher: AMACOM
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780814438480
• eBook ISBN: 9780814438497
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Wirtschaftspädagogik

Discover the secrets and tips to get the business education you need, the faster and cheaper way.

The average debt load for graduates of the top business schools has now exceeded $100,000. For most young professionals, this means spending the first half of their career in the red and feeling pressure to take the first position offered to them so that they can start paying off their debt. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Author and businesswoman Laurie Pickard discovered a way to get the business education she needed to land her dream job while avoiding the massive school loans that plague so many. In Don’t Pay for Your MBA, she shares all that she learned so that others can benefit as well. Pickard discovered that the same prestigious business schools that offer the MBAs so many covet also offer MOOCs (massive online open courses) for low or even no cost.

Within these pages, you will learn how to:

• Define your goals and tailor a curriculum that is geared toward your dream job
• Master the language of business
• Build a strong network
• Choose a concentration and deepen your expertise
• Showcase your nontraditional education in a way that attracts companies

Don’t fall for the lies that pressure countless graduates every year into MBA programs and insurmountable debt. Self-directed online learning can fill gaps in your training, position you for promotions, and open new opportunities--at a fraction of the cost!

1

Prep for Success

Administering Your Own Admissions Process

KRISTOF felt stuck. After graduating with his master’s degree in economics, he started his career in banking with a sense of possibility and adventure. He loved the idea of applying the concepts he had spent the past five years studying. His first job as an international management trainee at Fortis Bank gave him that chance. Rotating through several departments, he soaked up new skills and knowledge like a sponge, but when he landed in the trading room, he felt he had finally found his home in the banking world. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Fortis fell into the hands of a much larger rival, BNP Paribas. Despite numerous layoffs, Kristof kept his job. However, the culture at work changed as people, worried about losing their jobs, worked feverishly to achieve higher and higher returns in a bleak market. Long hours and frequent weekend stints added to the strain and left little room for family time. While Kristof still loved economics and finance, many of the exciting possibilities he had envisioned were beginning to fade. All work and no play made for a very dull day. Something had to give.

Could an MBA reignite his passion and open up exciting new possibilities? He imagined it would probably, but he could not afford taking two years off with no income, nor was he eager to cough up $100,000 for another degree. Fortunately, he had already begun exploring an alternative to acquiring more business knowledge and skills. One evening, while clicking through business education opportunities on the Internet, he discovered MOOCs and a whole universe of people studying business on their own terms, without taking out a bank loan or leaving their jobs. Before joining that movement, he established his commitment by putting himself through the equivalent of a business school admissions process.

This chapter will help you figure out if a self-directed, MOOC-based business education will work for you. You begin by asking yourself some key questions: Can I set aside sufficient time to study? Have I determined a specific goal I wish to achieve through independent study? Will I remain motivated to work hard in my self-directed program?

Kristof and his wife spent many hours discussing his options. In the end, they agreed that Kristof would ask his boss to let him apply for an internal transfer. In a less stressful position, he could more easily find the time to study while remaining employed. While that would temporarily take him off the fast track to the top, he and his wife believed it would open up more possibilities in the future. His boss agreed to the transfer. After a few interviews, Kristof found a fit in the risk department, where the pace was much less frenetic. Best of all, he could almost walk to his new office.

Now, with a shorter commute and a more predictable schedule, he could dedicate a certain number of evenings and weekends to the effort. He did not know exactly what direction his online education would take, but he knew it would involve the world of economics and finance. As for motivation, Kristof had always been a self-starter who required little, if any, supervision when he set his sights on an ambitious goal.

Your own admissions test should mirror the admissions process of a traditional MBA program:

Step 1: Select yourself.

Step 2: Define your goals.

Step 3: Budget time and money.

Step 4: Hold yourself accountable.

As with everything in life, a successful outcome depends on careful preparation. Your self-administered admissions process will help prepare you for the adventure ahead. Imagine yourself as both a hopeful student, excited about the prospect of a career-launching business education, and as a hard-nosed admissions committee taking a clear-eyed look at a prospective student’s ability to succeed. Put yourself behind the desk of an imaginary admissions officer and grill yourself about your suitability for self-directed study, the goals you wish to achieve, the budget of time and money you can afford, and your ability to keep working toward your goal, even when you’re in a classroom of one, rather than a large lecture hall filled with other students.

Select Yourself

Before you enroll in any class, you must answer the first question a university admissions officer would ask: “Is this student prepared to succeed in the program being offered?” The answer, as it pertains to your self-directed business education, requires that you ask yourself this crucial question: “Am I capable of learning on my own?” Through my work with self-directed business learners, I have identified some common traits that the most successful ones share. Regardless of age, background, nationality, gender, or field of interest, they all possess an entrepreneurial spirit, a love of learning, and a professional attitude. Let’s take a closer look at each of these essential traits.

Entrepreneurial. If you’re reading this book, then you’re already thinking like an entrepreneur. You want to take responsibility for your career and your future. You may not imagine yourself running your own business, but even if you work your whole life for a corporation, you approach problems with passion and creativity. Today, more than ever, employers in all fields, from healthcare and education to government and nonprofit work, value “intrapreneurs,” employees who come up with innovative solutions to business problems. An entrepreneurial spirit will not only help you get ahead in whatever endeavor you pursue, it will help you remain firmly committed to your studies without direct supervision. Think about your previous or current schooling or employment. Do you prefer relying on your own intelligence and decisions, or would you rather follow orders and fulfill assignments given to you by others? If you put yourself in the former group, you may be an ideal candidate for a self-directed MBA equivalent. If not, you might fare better going the more traditional route to a business education.

Learning-oriented. Universally, those who succeed in self-directed studies love to learn. They value education in many forms, whether taking classes in a formal school setting or gaining new skills from a master or mentor. Whether young dogs or old dogs, they love learning new tricks. The psychologist Carol Dweck calls this a “growth mindset.”¹ People with a growth mindset believe that they can always expand their talents, abilities, and intelligence. Call it self-confidence or optimism or curiosity or belief in a better future, but it all boils down to the same trait—faith in one’s ability to grow throughout one’s entire life. Do you envision a better, more productive, more rewarding future for yourself, in terms of both personal fulfillment and financial well-being, or do you feel fairly content with your current situation? If you foresee a brighter future, you qualify for a self-directed business education. If not, you might more happily spend your spare time on something other than MOOCs and online learning.

Professional. You do not need a professional degree in medicine or law or business to think of yourself as a professional. Whether you are a sales rep or a systems analyst for a major bank, you simply need to take your work seriously. You care about making a difference in the world, and you aim to amplify your ability to make that difference. And, yes, you want to make more money. I have met stay-at-home moms who are using a self-directed business education to launch a business or get back into the workforce. And I have met gainfully employed engineers who are using the same kind of education to move higher up the corporate ladder. Do you take work seriously? Do you want to make more of a contribution to society? Would you like to make more money doing what you love to do? Then you’re likely to do well in a self-directed business learning program.

Do you see yourself in the description above? Welcome to our ranks! In the world of self-directed learning, you will meet a lot of kindred spirits, people like our friend Kristof. His natural curiosity, drive, and willingness to take on new challenges have helped him to succeed, no matter where he worked in his organization.

Self-directed learners abound in all walks of life. Take my Uncle Dave, for example. Dave has spent his life farming corn, soy, and wheat in Missouri. On a recent visit to my uncle’s farm, I came to appreciate the incredible entrepreneurialism, learning, and professionalism required of a successful farmer.

As we toured the grounds, Uncle Dave spoke eloquently and passionately about everything from plant science and chemistry to auto mechanics and electricity. The man knows how to fix a tractor, convert DC to AC current, and hedge prices on the international commodities market. As we strolled his property, he told me he was planning to drive to Iowa the next day to pick up a new piece of machinery called a “gravity table,” a device that would help him recoup losses on a portion of his wheat harvest that had been damaged by heavy rains. Although he had never used such a machine, he knew he would figure it out. After all, Uncle Dave had always taught himself whatever he needed to know to make his farm a productive and profitable business. Hearing him talk about his business, I was blown away by my uncle, who often refers to himself as “a dumb farmer.” Nothing could be further from the truth!

Now that you have joined Kristof and my Uncle Dave as a bona fide self-directed learner, you can take the next step—determining the results you want to achieve with your business education.

Define Your Goals

Every business school application contains a variation on this question: “Why do you want an MBA?” Before you begin your MBA journey, it’s important to have a sense of the destination. For Dorothy and her companions in The Wizard of Oz, the Emerald City and the all-powerful wizard provided a powerful incentive to keep moving forward. Of course, the power to achieve their goals lay inside them, not in the hands of a charlatan wizard. The same applies to your success in your business education; the keys to your success are...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction: MOOC Your MBA
• 1. Prep for Success: Administering Your Own Admissions Process
• 2. Meet the Modern MOOC: Attending Your Virtual Orientation
• 3. Lay Your Foundation: Learning to Speak the Language of Business
• 4. Sharpen Your Skills: Assembling Your Business Toolkit
• 5. Create Your Career: Charting a Professional Path
• 6. Meet Your People: Building a Business Network
• 7. Deepen Your Expertise: Establishing Your Professional Credibility
• 8. Graduate to the Next Level: Using Your Self-Directed Business Education to Advance Your Career
• 9. Learn Forever: Continuing Your Business Education Throughout Your Career
• Conclusion: Believe In Yourself
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix A: Recommended Courses By Subject
• Appendix B: Sample Study Plans
• Appendix C: Sample Course Lists for Various MBA Concentrations
• Appendix D: For Further Reading
• Appendix E: Resources At NoPayMBA.com
• Notes and References
• Index