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MSIT or MBA?

This is a question I have been asking myself on and off for about a year now. I have researched all the schools, and all the programs, and I have to make a decision. I want to continue my education, but I should I go for a Master's in a technical realm or a business one? I have pretty good technical skills, and I am learning so much just from reading books and blogs and going to .NUG meetings, so I think maybe my education should be toward an MBA. I think it might help to solidify my ability to talk to business people in their own jargon to help them understand how technology can help them do what they do and when it won't help.

At the same time, I am really interested in the technical and that's what really gets my juices flowing. I know that generally I can learn what I need from reading technical books on my own, going to meetings, reading blogs, asking for help on the Internet and maybe even pushing myself to get some certifications. But would it be more beneficial to go through a technical master's degree program?

Now don't get me wrong, I am not considering a master's degree in computer science from Stanford or MIT. We're talking about night school probably at University of Kansas (not that there is anything wrong with KU). If I thought I had a chance to get into Stanford or MIT, I would be trying to figure out how to find an apartment in Northern California or Massachusets.

I'm sure I would enjoy the technical curriculum more, but I think my career might be better served with an MBA.

What do you think?

~L

posted on Sunday, April 06, 2008 2:36 PM | Filed Under [ Learning ]

Comments

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# re: MSIT or MBA?
Posted by Mohamed Farag
on 4/6/2008 7:08 PM
I think business study not necessary only if you want to work in business but also need if make decision to study technical master because business study offer good vision to life and to work and if I am technical i would like to learn about it to do my projects from point of business as technical so go ahead
Mohamed Farag
Egypt
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# re: MSIT or MBA?
Posted by sanjay
on 4/7/2008 3:48 AM
good question.i was going through the same thing...and im finally on my last semester of my MS (in info sci) after 3 years. So, not an MBA, and NOT a purely technical degree...basically, the technical management side of IT (planning, strategizing, ontologies rather than a bunch of finance and marketing courses that an MBA would likely have) So why did I do this instead of a technical ms or mba? an mba (esp around here) is more for the finance people. That isn't a hard and fast rule and you can get a marketing MBA and such, but in the NYC area Finance is the biggest industry around...and I wasn't going into Finance. So you may want to take that into account (eg, Where will an MBA/MS/Whatever get you, job-wise?) I suspect this will (should?) have a large impact on your decision. If you're looking to do management consulting - get an MBA. If you're looking to be in IT, but on the management side, get an MBA. If you never want to leave the technical/development side - then I would get a pure technical degree.

It'd also probably help if you looked at the curriculum for the programs you're considering. If you catch yourself thinking most of the classes sound terrible, the choice will be easier.

cheers
sanjay
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