Howdy Ags,

Looking to reach out to any MBA grads (or accountants) on here. While I'm in sunny, Southern California, I'm looking at applying for my MBA (I'm 15 years into my career, Finance Director level aka "Head of the Finance and Accounting nerds"). UCLA is my closest decent option, but I'm still 95 miles away and the $140k is steep (UCSD and UCR programs are still more expensive than Rice's online MBA). I've seen that UH is offering an online program ($45k) and with that price at UCLA, I could commute in for the elective courses that aren't being offered online (specifically, in person investment courses,etc) and stay on campus. UCLA and USC part-time MBAs are scheduled during the work day (not in the evening like UH), so even if I did go, it would get complicated with the commute in. There's potential we may move back to Texas, so I'm kind of unsure of the best move forward.

For further clarification, the part-time programs (UCLA/USC) are primarily setup for you to quit your job in second year to take classes with the full time students.

Any of you do online MBAs? Any recommendations? I'm currently getting my CPA knocked out, in the mean time. My career goals are to stay in corporate finance/accounting to get to CFO level; however, I'm thinking of career switching to litigation services/forensic accounting/valuation to have my own business.

C/o 07 - Econ
Post-graduate Accounting Houston Community College

Thanks Ghost - I see the benefits of looking around. The sticker shock is there, especially with EMBAs, but I'd feel worse paying for an online degree that did not greatly benefit me. While I was in Texas, most of my companies did not offer funding for grad school outside of the tax deductible amount.

I'm new to California, so maybe the grad school sponsoring programs will be different. That said, I'll keep looking at the local options.

Creighton would be pretty high on my list to look at. I interacted with their MBA/Finance staff while pursuing CFA and was impressed.

No clue if they have online or partial online programs, but I feel like they did a decade ago.

Edit to add:
I think the other posts offer sound advice about making sure this is a good use of time/energy/money at your stage. However, I've seen plenty supercharge their career at your stage.

Thanks! I'm seeing that MBA is somewhat table stakes for the roles (VP Finance, etc) I'm interested in.

Woodedge said:

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Howdy Ags,

Looking to reach out to any MBA grads (or accountants) on here. While I'm in sunny, Southern California, I'm looking at applying for my MBA (I'm 15 years into my career, Finance Director level aka "Head of the Finance and Accounting nerds"). UCLA is my closest decent option, but I'm still 95 miles away and the $140k is steep (UCSD and UCR programs are still more expensive than Rice's online MBA). I've seen that UH is offering an online program ($45k) and with that price at UCLA, I could commute in for the elective courses that aren't being offered online (specifically, in person investment courses,etc) and stay on campus. UCLA and USC part-time MBAs are scheduled during the work day (not in the evening like UH), so even if I did go, it would get complicated with the commute in. There's potential we may move back to Texas, so I'm kind of unsure of the best move forward.

For further clarification, the part-time programs (UCLA/USC) are primarily setup for you to quit your job in second year to take classes with the full time students.

Any of you do online MBAs? Any recommendations? I'm currently getting my CPA knocked out, in the mean time. My career goals are to stay in corporate finance/accounting to get to CFO level; however, I'm thinking of career switching to litigation services/forensic accounting/valuation to have my own business.

C/o 07 - Econ
Post-graduate Accounting Houston Community College

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Wow. Had no idea that UCLA was that expensive.

I'm currently doing an online MBA from Nebraska. Its very flexible (which was important for me) and cheap. I'm doing it more to "check the box" so it's not a program I'd recommend to move up quickly. Would need a top ranked program for that. But I'm happy with it. I've met a lot more people at top companies than I expected. I didn't expect much from an online program so it has been a nice surprise.

I'd also consider the location you want to be in. And I'd lean towards programs in that general area so you will get at least some alumni network benefit.

Dr. Horrible said:

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4- the super low tier (unranked, anyone gets in kind of schools) really aren't worth it any way I see it, and at your level, your experience will say more about you than your school (absent the top 10/IB type schools which doesn't seem to be part of this conversation), but having a bad school could actually be a red flag.

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This is very true. I'd question the decision-making ability of a job candidate who spent the time and money on a super low tier program

but the still get to add the ", MBA" to their name on their email signature.

Lol

My favorite are those who sign up for a 3 week no application certificate program from Stanford GSB or HBS and then list the school as their primary on LinkedIn. So offputting

you're right...those people are even worse.

This is awesome insight. Thank y'all. Yeah, my wife and I are trying to figure out that next step if we're staying in California or coming back to Texas. It's very expensive out here, but it has been a a good new experice for the both of us. UCLA and USC have a strong network in CA and NY (where I also used to live for a small period), but moving back to Texas, I feel like I could rely on the Aggie network.

Personally, being able to bounce ideas off of like minded and driven professionals is a priority for me. In my first management job at a startup, I felt incredibly alone (Perhaps I should have posted on TexAgs!) and I was trying to figure things out late into the night. 16 hour days for almost 3 years was too much and burned me out. My small network of mentors were either too seasoned or didn't have direct startup experience to provide applicable perspective on the roadblocks I was hitting.

I have no desire (at almost 40) to be going into IB or strategy consulting (unless it were niche CFO consulting, like FTI Consulting). Being a CFO has kind of always been what I was working towards and after I was DM'd that litigation services is not all it's cracked up to be (lots of work, stress, and sometimes there is a chance of physical danger, depending on the case taken), this has reaffirmed my trajectory. Personally, I just like working towards something that is my own and not just a glorified "cost center".

I've read that the MBA is less about the coursework compared to the network, discussions, and social side which is a bit of a bummer as I want to develop my enterprise finance, analytics (programming/databasing), but those interactions would help in building my other priority of executive presence.

at your age, a full time program will be a much younger cohort and fairly useless to you from a networking perspective. I did the "professional" when I was a slightly younger than you and my class was nearly all at a completely different stage in life. Would have done executive if I had it to do over again.

In my experience, the coursework is what you make of it. My program let you basically choose all your courses for the second year. I was on an RE track at that point so loaded up on that.

4 years later, I pivoted to a totally different industry, and I can audit any course I like for $200 bucks. Didn't think I would take advantage but I've done it twice now and really enjoyed getting back on campus.

Woodedge said:

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I've read that the MBA is less about the coursework compared to the network, discussions, and social side which is a bit of a bummer as I want to develop my enterprise finance, analytics (programming/databasing), but those interactions would help in building my other priority of executive presence.

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In my experience, I'd say 99% of those who go to full time top ranked programs aren't doing it for the pure knowledge or education of business principles. That all comes after the points you mention. Another reason is likely because those programs require applicants to think rigorously about their goals when working on applications.

I would consider either a ranked PT or ranked Executive MBA if I were in your position and wasn't planning on starting my own business. To your point, the EMBA programs carry really high price tags, as the schools know most of the students are likely being sponsored by their organizations and so much of it is "fly in/fly out" learning on the weekends which require catering, team building activities and accommodations usually. Both PT and EMBA programs on average have older students than FT MBA programs.

I have some colleagues who have done Berkeley Haas' PT program and it's been good for them. They're not changing industries though.

UCLA Anderson is a great national brand and clearly very good for the west coast where you are. I considered them for full time years ago. USC has made strides, but generally I've found UCLA MBAs are higher on the prestige scale if that matters to you.
I'm up in Northern California, and there are also distance programs that Carnegie Mellon and I believe Wharton have here. Something to think about

You mention CFO or finance consulting. While I haven't worked there, there are quite a few Aggies at Alvarez and Marsal, and they have a "CFO Services" consulting practice. There are some Aggies in that group out of Houston I believe. Im not sure how many of them have MBAs. https://www.alvarezandmarsal.com/expertise/cfo-services

Diggity said:

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but the still get to add the ", MBA" to their name on their email signature.

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I despise those people too. You get -points for that in my book. LinkedIn too <laughingcryingemoji>

Ghost of Bizbee said:

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Lol

My favorite are those who sign up for a 3 week no application certificate program from Stanford GSB or HBS and then list the school as their primary on LinkedIn. So offputting

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I know a few. Cracks me up every time

You're way too far along in your career to make this move unless you're willing to scratch and start over. If you do that, you are 100% relying on your skills and ability to network and climb back to the top.

Be mindful you'll be surrounded (if you do a top 20 school) by pretentious trust fund kids, ultra competitive indians and Asians and.. possibly a mix of the two. Top MBA programs have become dick measuring contests of diversity and network. I'm generalizing but there's absolute truth to it.

If you want to make the jump to VP or CFO level I suggest a very common route I see (I've worked M&A consulting and in Private Equity for ~13 years). No idea what size or industry you're in but I would begin looking at taking a VP or CFO level at a middle market PE owned company.

It's going to be a ****show, their systems will suck, they will be doing addons, monthly reporting will need to go from non-existent to "analyst plugs this into fund level reporting package". You will learn a ton and be busy as hell and work 60+ hour weeks.

However, you do that, and be good at it, you will become an absolute unicorn in the industry.

Find the right one with good growth.. maybe it goes through a sell side process (that you will need to hold an incredibly pivotal role)… new buyers like you and you stay on. You roll your options/profits interest into the new company/deal and let it ride… turn that 250-500k deal bonus into a couple million on the next turn.

Now you're set. Take what job you want, consult, or wait for the next PE form to come find you while you work to become a single digit handicapper.

After 15 years of experience and getting your CPA not sure what an MBA is going to do for you. i have an MBA and work in Finance/ Accounting for a Fortune top 10. MBA's don't make a bit of difference for us after 7-10 years of practical work experience. If you are truly looking for a CFO title it is likely best to complete your CPA and find a smaller company where you can reach that role quickly and leverage that into larger companies through networking.

First off - thanks for being a sounding board Ags.

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at your age, a full time program will be a much younger cohort and fairly useless to you from a networking perspective. I did the "professional" when I was a slightly younger than you and my class was nearly all at a completely different stage in life. Would have done executive if I had it to do over again.

In my experience, the coursework is what you make of it. My program let you basically choose all your courses for the second year. I was on an RE track at that point so loaded up on that.

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- Diggity

Good points. I do think being with a reasonably similar experienced group in a cohort would be best. A friend recommended I do the Duke EMBA as she was 46 and met a great group of people that she can call on a moment's notice for help. I suppose the coursework I am most interested can be supplemented by reading a book as well. I know that every school cannot have everything I am wanting to learn, so best fit is probably the best theme.

Ghost - Thank you for the perspective on N California and Alvarez. UCLA would be great, but I think EMBA might be the only option because of the scheduling conflicts. I don't like the idea of quitting a job to finish my masters. I'll take a look at A&M for who they hired as well as Carnegie Mellon or Wharton in SF.

Ag CPA - you are right, there are jobs that mention either or, but my friends in headhunting often mention that while they don't care where the degree is from, they'll interview the most credentialed first and decide the best fit from there. Absolutely, their recommendation has always been CPA completed first before MBA.

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If you want to make the jump to VP or CFO level I suggest a very common route I see (I've worked M&A consulting and in Private Equity for ~13 years). No idea what size or industry you're in but I would begin looking at taking a VP or CFO level at a middle market PE owned company.

It's going to be a ****show, their systems will suck, they will be doing addons, monthly reporting will need to go from non-existent to "analyst plugs this into fund level reporting package". You will learn a ton and be busy as hell and work 60+ hour weeks.

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ChoppinDs40 - thanks for your input. I actually have a very tangential experience from a public/private government funded startup that I was part of for almost four years. I built the department from the ground up. I have experience from very large multinational O&G and manufacturing companies, so I brought the best of all that info the startup. Was very focused on getting great quality from low cost options and it was very successful, but it was a lot of work. I can do it again, but money talks and I can't do those hours forever. I have a family and they take a priority as well. I get that PE can be hard and that some CFOs can keep up with 15 companies within the umbrella, but the owners should invest in growth for the department too.

I also have no intention of doing a FT program. Only PT or EMBA in a school that is good or pretty damn good. M7 is not a goal. It is something to round me out as a professional who never went to business school. My work tends to speak for itself, but I need to develop the skills of working with c-level politics (advocating, convincing naysayers, and selling ideas) and outward executive presence.

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After 15 years of experience and getting your CPA not sure what an MBA is going to do for you. i have an MBA and work in Finance/ Accounting for a Fortune top 10. MBA's don't make a bit of difference for us after 7-10 years of practical work experience. If you are truly looking for a CFO title it is likely best to complete your CPA and find a smaller company where you can reach that role quickly and leverage that into larger companies through networking.

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Ag n Asia - this is great - thank you. This is what I'm thinking, go for something smaller and build up. I've read about multiple top tier MBAs who went to large multinational companies and just fizzled out as CFO because they didn't have the experience or capacity to make the difference they were hired for.