15 Ways to Know You're Dating an MBA

7 Do’s and Don’ts for the Newly Minted MBA

You finally made it. For two years, you balanced team projects and case studies with job and family. Now, you have your MBA. Your world is about to open up, with job offers, promotions and raises. You imagine your word having greater weight…and your peers being in awe of your accomplishment.

Well, not so fast. That’s the warning of author Art Petty, who writes the popular blog, Management Excellence. A Kellogg graduate and adjunct professor at DePaul’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, Petty dumps ice water on the proverbial graduation high. Despite the resolve, stamina, and brains it takes to earn an MBA, Petty cautions that it won’t change a graduate’s life immediately. Your boss and peers won’t take you more seriously…and you won’t automatically receive more opportunities.

In Petty’s view, MBAs should savor the moment and enjoy the accolades (and free time). However, the MBA, in Petty’s words, is just a start, as the “real work of learning to lead and learning how to create value for your stakeholders has just begun.”

Source: Art Petty

Blast From the Past:

The Class the Loans Fell On

Picture an MBA program where the following happens:

The average debt for an MBA is nearly $124,000.

Over ten years, a graduate will pay an additional $53,000 in interest.

An entire MBA class will be $112.4 million in debt after a two year program, excluding another $33.5 million dollars earmarked for interest payments.

Sound scary? That’s reality for the 845 students who comprise Wharton’s Class of 2013. Buried in debt and entering a schizophrenic marketplace, some wonder if these MBAs will have the financial flexibility to take risks, pursue their passions, and get the most out of their education.

In 2011, Poets&Quants Editor John A. Byrne, who produced the first business school rankings at Businessweek, explored the growing imbalance between tuition and return on investment. In this series, Byrne posed many provocative questions: Are students limiting their options by pursuing MBAs? Is debt diverting students into less lucrative and attractive career paths? Has the financial return from an MBA become too long-term and risky?

For a historical and economic perspective on MBA debt, check out this classic from PoetsandQuants: