I am all for further education—but do it when your company is willing to pay for it and while you have a job.

I was talking to a group of college students a few days ago and the MBA/Grad School Question came up. As a person who got her graduate degree I am not a hater. Graduate programs should be enriching, engaging and elevating. But I got mine 10 years into my careerpath and while I was working FT in HR. I commuted 3 times a week at night 2 hours away to enrich my knowledge. To put in perspective.

I am utterly amazed at:
** how anyone (student or adult) will op for a graduate degree as an alternative to work. Suppliment to work yes–alternative no.

**how human beings rationalize anything to avoid pain or failure (in this case failure to work or find work)

**prefer comfort at all costs (it can be awfully comfy and cozy in grad school land if you aren’t working). Not so comfy to risk rejection in a job search or failure at trying something new.

** Would rather spend energy spinning wheels when it may take LESS energy to face a job search

@Fran I think I’d rather eat sludge than recommend the MBA to regular folks who are unemployed. Just doesn’t make sense — and what’s the ROI, by the way?

@Mark I dunno. Getting an MBA while unemployed could be akin to doing nothing IMHO.

@Steve Well that’s a personal thing, right? I totally applaud it. The best thing I ever did? Adopt my cat, Emma. She changed my life. It’s all about perspective, I guess.

@MattyMat That is a crazy job, dude. This is why I barely talk to my neighbors.

@Charlie Those execs reap what they sew.

@Deadhedge That is an awesome comment. I hope prospective MBA students find it & read it.

1. I want to use my quantiative skills to enter a corporate finance position and eventually become a CFO in industry X because of my previous experience in the industry.
2. I want to transition from engineering to product development in my current field because I like the general management role of that position where you look at the marketing, sales, financial, and operational aspects.

Here’s some mediocre answers that I have heard.
1. I want to use my quantitative skills to enter finance and work in either venture capital, private equity, or hedge funds (hint: those are three very different industries whose only thing in common is that they are trendy fields. It is akin to saying that you want to either be an actor, director, or a produce in the movie business).
2. I want to become a management consultant and use my business skills to start a non-profit that saves animals because I like animals (even though there is absolutely nothing on my resume that indicates any long-term committment to saving animals. No volunteer experience, no work experience, not even a twitter account for my cat).

Here are really bad answers:
1. I want to advance my career.
2. I want to learn business um administration um stuff?

The mediocre answers are not really that bad of an answer. However, they’re not really that good, and you’ll be competing with people who can answer that question well.

As for the bad answers, good luck even getting accepted.

I liked being a private detective– You haven’t the slightest clue how much your neighbor knows about you. Astounding. And they don’t keep thier mouth shut either. If you sound like Johnny Applecake to them?? they’ll tell you everything!! Beware– you’ve been warned–