The objective of this page is to
provide some general information about MBA and DBA.
It is a tough decision to choose
a MBA or DBA program as it involves a lot of
committed costs and
time. I have provided some resources and hope that the
information is useful for your decision.
However, I am not in the
position to recommend a specific program or school as
each
individual has different preference and objectives of pursuing the
study.
The intention for this website is to provide
my personal view on MBA and DBA
and not meant for commercial purpose.
Q:
Is MBA Worth the Investment ?
A:
It is difficult to answer this question as MBA is in no way to
guarantee you to get a job,
a promotion nor salary increment. However, if you look at other
perspectives, MBA does have a
competitive advantage for you to enhance your career path. For
example, if you are an Engineer
or IT specialist with a technical degree, it is worth to consider
MBA to widen your career path and scope.
For those who like to venture into consulting
career, it is worth consideration for an MBA
to brighten your resume.
The question now is the return of investment. Are you going to spend
100,000 dollars for a prestigious
MBA or 20,000 dollars for an average MBA or less than 10,000 dollars
for an online MBA?
Whatever amount you are going to invest in
the MBA, it will take about 3 to 5 years to break even.
As such, it is recommended the investment amount is within your
financial limit. Ideally,
your employers are sponsoring the MBA program for you.
The
MBA aspirants should look into a longer
termed benefit as the knowledge gained from the program
is valuable and beneficial for life.
The
professional employment environment is getting more competitive and
demands employees to keep moving forward. If you are not moving
forward, you are already falling behind.
There should
never a point that MBA is not worth it. All accredited
qualifications are always worth it.
Q:
I
know I should take up MBA but I just don't have the time!
A:
True enough it is not easy for working
professionals to take up the MBA course with their busy schedule,
heavy workload, family commitments etc. It doesn't sound feasible to
many busy people. However, you should consider to take up the MBA
courses by modules. Break up the course into manageable
modules. Consider the distance learning, e-learning or online study
facilities offered by the MBA providers. If you have time to surf
the net or engage in social networking sites, what not spend your
time to study online. You should able to take away the study
materials while you are travelling. Fully utilize your time, for
example, read the text books on airplane during long journey flight.
Most importantly, stop procrastinating, once you
have decided, move on and execute it. It is a waste of time to keep
saying you have no time.
Q:
I
know I should take up MBA but I am not sure can I afford it.
A:
Some of the prestigious MBA programs are
not cheap and most of the MBA programs are within the financial
budget of working professionals. You can minimize your financial
risk by breaking the MBA programs into modules rather than paying
the whole program at one go. Check with the providers whether you
could pay by unit, module or semester. Some providers might have
financial assistance scheme which is useful as well. Ideally, get
your employer to sponsor for the MBA program but make sure you are
committed to it.
Q:
Am I too young for the MBA? Am I too old for the MBA?
A:
This is an interesting question. Ideally
you should have a basic degree with number of years working
experience. I would say late twenties or early thirties are the best
time to enroll MBA so that one can broaden the career path. Having
said that, it is never too old to study MBA program for self
enrichment, self actualization or simply to upgrade one's knowledge.
Bear in mind that the age range of MBA candidates varies a lots, you
will never feel out of space. If fact, other MBA students will
benefit from your years of working experiences while doing case
studies together.
Q:
Can you recommend a MBA program?
A:
Choosing a MBA is not an easy task at all as there are so many
available programs in the
education industry either from public or private institutions. It
is recommended to take a recognized
degree from a reputable University or Institutes. There are several
means to evaluate the campus:
a.
Does the campus has an
".edu" website?
b.
Is the campus has more than 3 years history?
c.
How many MBA graduates and what are the number of
current students?
d.
Is the program recognized by government sector and
private sectors?
e.
Is the program taught by qualified lecturers or
Professors?
f.
Are there any references of the MBA program?
Based on the above, I believe you should be able to filter
out some programs and choose the one that
suit you most.
I am not in a position to recommend a
specific MBA program.
Q:
Which MBA Study Options Should I take?
There are many study options like
on campus, part-time,
distance learning, action learning,
research and online program etc.
First of all, choose a recognized program and then think of the
study mode.
The study options are depending on your time and cost
commitment.
Once you have
decided, go for the option till completion unless you have make a
very wrong choice.
To reduce the risk of not able to complete the
whole MBA program due to time or cost constraints, you might
consider MBA programs that allow you to exit at Graduate Certificate
or Graduate Diploma level. In that case, you are able to come back
to upgrade to the MBA degree by doing more course units.
Q:
Should I take a General MBA or MBA with Specialization?
It
really depend on your interest and objective of taking the MBA
program.
For
an IT Specialist who does not know much about management subjects,
it may be
more comfortable to take a MBA program that is geared towards
technical subjects.
There are some
MBA specialized in Accounting which you may get advance standing in
CPA that is worth considering. Again, it is depending on your
interest and career objectives.
Q:
Can You Compare ABC MBA with XYX MBA ?
I would prefer to leave
this
homework to you.
You need some due diligence in doing some market research,
short-listing and making a decision on the best MBA program and
study option that best suit you.
Get as many materials you can for the both programs and do a
strength and weakness analysis.
It is �You� to decide the decision and hence you have to be
comfortable with the program you selected.
One tip is to ask the graduates of the particular program for
comments.
Q:
Should I take MBA or DBA?
For
the young graduates without much working experience, go for the MBA
and
consider the DBA
at a much later stage.
For senior managers with many
years of working experience, you may consider to skip MBA and
go for DBA if you are qualified for the program.
However, do take note that the natures of
MBA and DBA
are very different. MBA teaches the framework of
management subjects while DBA is more research oriented.
If research does not really interest you, stick
to MBA. DBA is a terminal research degree in university and is
very much rigorous than MBA.
For senior
managers with technical backgrounds who want to enhance their
management and business skills,
I will recommend MBA instead of DBA.
Q:
How Do I Decide
between an MBA or PMP?
Hmm,
I cannot compare Apple with Orange and both are different
discipline.
MBA is an academic qualification while PMP
is an
professional certification
for the project management discipline.
It might be difficult for a
Project Manager to decide which route is better for him or her.
Both MBA and PMP are beneficial for those who are working in project
management areas.
First
of all, you have to identify what is your personal aspiration and
goal before making a commitment
to an academic degree or certification. If you are already working
in a middle or senior management capacity,
MBA might be more valuable and useful. The general management
knowledge from MBA program will assist
you in your management operations. If you are an experienced Project
Manager and will like to excel in
project management areas, PMP might be more applicable.
However, the general management skills learnt
from MBA is useful in running a project while the specific project
management knowledge gained from
PMP is valuable as well.
There are number of people frequently asking about
whether Singapore government recognize
distance learning / part-time degrees from overseas universities.
I have extracted some information from the Civil Service page hope
it is useful:
" FOREIGN QUALIFICATIONS
Does the Civil Service accept overseas
qualifications for graduate appointments?
Generally, the
Civil Service will consider any candidate with a degree from a
University accredited
by the home government of the country where the university is
situated. For professional qualification
e.g. accountancy, engineering and law, the degrees must, in
addition be registrable with the respective
professional bodies in Singapore, to be considered for Civil
Service graduate appointments.
How do I know if my degree
from overseas is acceptable for employment in Singapore?
There is
no government authority in Singapore that assesses or grants
recognition to degrees awarded
by overseas universities for employment purposes. Each individual
employer (in the private or public sector)
decides on the criteria for recruitment based on its organisational
strategies. This includes the type of qualification
acceptable for employment in each organisation.
For
candidates with degrees from US universities, they can be considered
for appointment in the Civil Service
as long as the University is accredited by one of the following 6 US
accrediting Associations in USA:
1. Middle State Association
of colleges and Schools
2. New England Association of Schools and
Colleges
3. North Central Association of Schools and Colleges
4. Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges
5. Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools
6. Western Association of
Schools and Colleges
Where do I go to check on overseas studies and accreditation
status?
You can check the information from relevant guide
books readily available
at the National Libraries or inquire at the education centres. "
