When your public service job is privatised then your MBA will get you a nice number with the new consultants.

One of our Warrant Officers has an LL.B and an MBA - he has signed off (with 3 years left to push!) for a better offer - so as to whether they are worth it or not - I couldn't say, but he clearly thinks so - perhaps if he is on here he will "de-cloak" and brief you all.

Originally Posted by the_matelot

Originally Posted by r.sole

The only question I'd have is whether an MPA is relevant is the job that you are applying for.

Well, I've got 11 years left to serve so I haven't figured that out yet but I do know I want to get one done whilst I can (singlie and reasonable stability).

However, I fear that as a SNCO, I'm not going to be exposed enough to the finance side of an MBA thus the query about how useful is an MPA-would I be railroading myself into public service jobs only or would it be of more use in the commercial world than an MBA with limited financial experience?

I think that an MBA is a more general qualification and even though it has its failings, it is recognised widely. I don't know much about an MPA but as a prospective employer, I guess I'd be a little biased if I saw one on the applicants CV, assuming that it was all about Local Authroities etc. I'm sure that it isnt but I could see that it would open less doors to you due to peoples assumptions (esp HR depts)

Don't worry about the finance bit. prior to doing the MBA I hadnt any real exposure to most of the stuf that we covered. Most people don't and most people wont ever experince it again when they finish! If I can complete the finance bit anyone can - I scraped through this module but a pass is a pass.

Originally Posted by the_matelot

Likewise, any ex-forces bods on here, would you tell me to do one if I approached your company with an MPA rather than an MBA from the Open Uni?

I would interview anybody who had got a masters degree from the Open University Business School as I know the dedication / hard work required to graduate, and you have shown a willingness to learn. I think an MBA would be easier to transfer to a non-commerical organisation, than an MPA to a commercial organisation.

In the interview I would want to find out which optional modules you have done and why you chose them - for example I would be suspicious of anybody who had done B700 instead of B713, and if you had chosen modules that 'appeared' to be less relevant and transferable to a commercial organisation. I would also want to find out if you had chosen courses to strengthen your weak areas, applied your learning in your work in any way, or if you had just taken the course and then done nothing with it.

I would much rather have somebody without all the skills I needed, or an admitted weakness, if they were willing to learn and adapt (or adapt what they have learned), over somebody with all the skills but an inflexible approach. In a commercial organisation if you were not financially fluent I would expect you to become so in short order, particularly in a management position.

The basic finance parts of the MBA course are not hard, after all if you can keep your bank balance in the black, and understand that you need to set money aside each month for bills/expenses then you have mastered cashflow and budgeting. The other financial concepts will be explained in similarly easy ways, and there will always be somebody in your tutor group that can help you with the parts you have difficulty with.

Hi everyone

I signed up for the OU MBA ten years ago and its module approach suited me well. The OU has a good reputation and has always been AMBA accredited which is key.

I left the army in 1978as a privite without any qualifications and started out in the electricity industry as a fitters mate. In my case the MBA complemented the practical management experience I then gained over the years and allowed me to obtain a professional status. This all paid off when I got made redundant six years ago when I find it very easy to get a new job, again at a senior level.

MBAs are expensive and I was lucky my employer pick up the cost as they agreed it was a necessary step in my personal development for the benefit of the organisation. Whilst it is a good position to be in, it was hard work holding down a demanding job and also manage your family commitments at the same time.

If you want to develop a career within a single company, then there are lots of suitable universities out there. However, if you want a career in consultancy you may be better to focus on a full time course at one of the leading schools – very expensive and you need to be sure of payback.

The rewards for good consultants can be very high (£500 plus a day), but that has to be balanced with the lack of security. But then the rewards for the in-house MBAs who are senior managers is not bad either, typically £70-£80k per year. A lot more than many of us would have earned as a young private or officer.

One final point, you should study what is appropriate for you - be it an MBA, a MSc, accountancy etc, but it will never be a replacement for practical experience. Having said that, all the MBA critics I have meet since graduating seem to have one thing is common, they don’t not have an MBA or anything like it!

Apologies for my first post being so long

Originally Posted by gerryb

Hi everyone

I signed up for the OU MBA ten years ago and its module approach suited me well. The OU has a good reputation and has always been AMBA accredited which is key.

I left the army in 1978as a privite without any qualifications and started out in the electricity industry as a fitters mate. In my case the MBA complemented the practical management experience I then gained over the years and allowed me to obtain a professional status. This all paid off when I got made redundant six years ago when I find it very easy to get a new job, again at a senior level.

MBAs are expensive and I was lucky my employer pick up the cost as they agreed it was a necessary step in my personal development for the benefit of the organisation. Whilst it is a good position to be in, it was hard work holding down a demanding job and also manage your family commitments at the same time.

If you want to develop a career within a single company, then there are lots of suitable universities out there. However, if you want a career in consultancy you may be better to focus on a full time course at one of the leading schools – very expensive and you need to be sure of payback.

The rewards for good consultants can be very high (£500 plus a day), but that has to be balanced with the lack of security. But then the rewards for the in-house MBAs who are senior managers is not bad either, typically £70-£80k per year. A lot more than many of us would have earned as a young private or officer.

One final point, you should study what is appropriate for you - be it an MBA, a MSc, accountancy etc, but it will never be a replacement for practical experience. Having said that, all the MBA critics I have meet since graduating seem to have one thing is common, they don’t not have an MBA or anything like it!

Apologies for my first post being so long

OU MBA. I think it's one of the best. Shows real determination and commitment.

Originally Posted by gerryb

Hi everyone

I signed up for the OU MBA ten years ago and its module approach suited me well. The OU has a good reputation and has always been AMBA accredited which is key.

I left the army in 1978as a privite without any qualifications and started out in the electricity industry as a fitters mate. In my case the MBA complemented the practical management experience I then gained over the years and allowed me to obtain a professional status. This all paid off when I got made redundant six years ago when I find it very easy to get a new job, again at a senior level.

MBAs are expensive and I was lucky my employer pick up the cost as they agreed it was a necessary step in my personal development for the benefit of the organisation. Whilst it is a good position to be in, it was hard work holding down a demanding job and also manage your family commitments at the same time.

If you want to develop a career within a single company, then there are lots of suitable universities out there. However, if you want a career in consultancy you may be better to focus on a full time course at one of the leading schools – very expensive and you need to be sure of payback.

The rewards for good consultants can be very high (£500 plus a day), but that has to be balanced with the lack of security. But then the rewards for the in-house MBAs who are senior managers is not bad either, typically £70-£80k per year. A lot more than many of us would have earned as a young private or officer.

One final point, you should study what is appropriate for you - be it an MBA, a MSc, accountancy etc, but it will never be a replacement for practical experience. Having said that, all the MBA critics I have meet since graduating seem to have one thing is common, they don’t not have an MBA or anything like it!

Apologies for my first post being so long

I think the OU MBA is one of the best. Shows commitment and determination

As a new officer, when can you start your MBA/MSc?

Is this the best route for officers wanting a career after the army?

Roth

Originally Posted by gerryb

Hi everyone

I signed up for the OU MBA ten years ago and its module approach suited me well. The OU has a good reputation and has always been AMBA accredited which is key.

I left the army in 1978as a privite without any qualifications and started out in the electricity industry as a fitters mate. In my case the MBA complemented the practical management experience I then gained over the years and allowed me to obtain a professional status. This all paid off when I got made redundant six years ago when I find it very easy to get a new job, again at a senior level.

MBAs are expensive and I was lucky my employer pick up the cost as they agreed it was a necessary step in my personal development for the benefit of the organisation. Whilst it is a good position to be in, it was hard work holding down a demanding job and also manage your family commitments at the same time.

If you want to develop a career within a single company, then there are lots of suitable universities out there. However, if you want a career in consultancy you may be better to focus on a full time course at one of the leading schools � very expensive and you need to be sure of payback.

The rewards for good consultants can be very high (�500 plus a day), but that has to be balanced with the lack of security. But then the rewards for the in-house MBAs who are senior managers is not bad either, typically �70-�80k per year. A lot more than many of us would have earned as a young private or officer.

One final point, you should study what is appropriate for you - be it an MBA, a MSc, accountancy etc, but it will never be a replacement for practical experience. Having said that, all the MBA critics I have meet since graduating seem to have one thing is common, they don�t not have an MBA or anything like it!
Apologies for my first post being so long

I knew very little about the qual until I met someone at work with one. His was taken about 15 years before and at a very good UK university. Fully funded through work, he knew its worth in the business marketplace but couldnt understand why so much importance was placed on a qual which 90% of those with it would never use!
He was its biggest detractor and put the blame squarely at the door of the Yanks, 1 for degrading ordinary degrees long before we did and 2 for insisting on MBAs.
As back up to this he was the only MBA holder in the office that ever went out in the field and contributed, the rest seemed content to create badly worded work instructions for the workers to pull apart and rewrite for them!

Originally Posted by the_matelot

I'm just about to crack my Open Uni BSc(Hons) Soc Sciences with Geography & Politics and am definitely keen to progress further.

I do realise that an MBA is probably going to cripple me finanically however I've also noticed the Masters in Public Administration. Has anyone here actually done it and if so, would they recommend it?

Likewise, any ex-forces bods on here, would you tell me to do one if I approached your company with an MPA rather than an MBA from the Open Uni?

Probably yes, although councils and LGOs would snap you up! MBA is not an absolute ticket to become a "master of the universe". I have a chap who works for me that has one and has I venture to suggest sub-optimised his career!