This post is based on the video – 5 Alternatives To Consider Instead Of An MBA
Gentlemen, Antonio here. All right. Today, I'm going to be answering the question “Should I get an MBA?“
I get this question quite a bit. Twice in the last week. Over the last year, about 40 times.
People ask me this question because I went to the University of Texas. I got a great education. I met a lot of amazing people. Overall, my experience was positive.
But my answer to this question may surprise you, because I think that for most people, an MBA is a waste of time.
Why do I think this? Well, in this video, I’m going to give you five alternatives to getting an MBA. I'm also going to talk quickly about who an MBA is probably right for, who it is not right for, and I just want to help you make the right decision. I think the landscape has really shifted.
Guys, let me know what you think in the comments down below. Do you think getting higher education – do you think it's overrated? Do you think you still need degrees?
I've got four kids, so this is always something I’m thinking about. I'd like to believe that this information could help somebody save a lot of many.
Who is an MBA right for? Well, if you are from the corporate world, you're going to stay in the corporate world, you want to be an investment banker, you're going to stay in consulting – then an MBA may be right for you, because it's going to help you make a jump. Maybe double to triple your salary in just a few years.
In that case, perhaps. Or if you were like me. I had mine paid for by the state of Texas using the Hazlewood Act. I went to UT for free. In that case, it's pretty much I gave up the time, but I got my education paid for.
Let's say you have no network. You have never taken a business course in your life. Then an MBA program may be great. All of a sudden, you're going to meet a wider range of people. If you need introductions to great companies that are looking to hire basically entry level MBA positions, this may be a great choice.
But for most people, the big reason that you want to avoid going down the MBA path is the cost. Two things about that cost.
One: the money. An MBA program is not free. You're talking about $100,000 for two years to go to a top program. Maybe $70,000, $50,000 if you're going to a lower-end program. Maybe $20,000-40,000 if you're getting it online. Still, gentlemen, that is a lot of money.
In addition, there's part two of that cost: the opportunity cost. You're out of the work force for sometimes up to two years. If you're making $50,000, making $36,000, even if you're making $24,000 a year, guys, that costs you $48,000. That is the big reason I think it is wrong for most people.
In addition, a lot of the information being taught in these programs is very theoretical. I tried to be very selective about who I chose to learn from, what classes I took, but about 75% of the information was being taught by professors that really had never really built a business, had not been in the business world. It was very theoretical.
Another thing – and I know I talked about money, but – if you take on a lot of student loan debt, gentlemen, it's going to hurt your choices whenever you get out.
I had one good friend that he really was limited by what he could decide. He has $1,000 a month student loan debt that he had to pay within months of graduating. He had to look at getting a job that paid a certain amount. He couldn't go off or he felt he couldn't go start his own company.
All right, gentlemen, I talked about the good, talked about the bad. Now, let me give you five alternative to getting an MBA.
Number one: spend 30 minutes a day investing in yourself. Gentlemen, that is something that I know most people don’t do it.
If you did that, you could be reading great books. Chet Holmes. You want to learn about sales? Grab The Ultimate Sales Machine. You want to learn about success? Napoleon Hill. He wrote about this 100 years ago, and the information is relevant, and it's right there. You want to learn how to negotiate? The Heart and Mind of the Negotiator by Leigh Thompson. A great resource. Influence. Robert Cialdini. You want to get this book.
Gentlemen, there is just so much information out there that is freely available in libraries. You can go on Amazon. You can purchase these books and own them. What I recommend. The point is so much free information. Podcasts, mixergy.com, EntrepreneurOnFire, Smart Passive Income. Check out all of these great resources where you can listen as you are commuting to and from work, and literally improving your education as you're doing this 30 minutes a day.
Now, the problem with this one it's one direction. You are receiving information. You're not able to interact with others. That's why I go to point number two which is looking at online education that is ultra-specific.
I'm not talking about getting an online MBA. What I'm talking about is understanding what skillsets you need, and then studying that online. Podcasters' Paradox. My friend John runs it. It's a great resource if you want to become a podcaster.
I've gone through the program. My wife has gone through the program. I have many friends who have gone through that program. It works if you want to start a business.
If you're looking for a high income skill that will pay you between $100,000-$500,000 a year, then consider joining this new course. It will transform you into a man who’s not only successful in appearance but a man who’s also successful in business and work!
Alternative number three: hire a coach or find a mentor. You can do both. You can do either. They are very different things.
I really like the idea of someone investing in a coach. Look at the top athletes in the world. What do they have? They have coaches. Those coaches simply are there to keep them on track, to keep them motivated. They bring structure. They bring a system to the way that they're looking at things. They make time for them.
That's the thing about a good coach is that you will probably have to hire that person. Again, going to be a lot less than an MBA, but if you know where you're going, if you're ultra-specific about “Hey, this is my goal and where I want to be in six months”, hiring a coach can be one of the best decisions you'll ever make.
Mentors are different. Usually, they're not going to be paid, although they can be. But a mentor's someone who's at a position where you want to be. The hard part about this is making sure you find a mentor who has time and who can bring a bit of structure to it. If done correctly, you can find some amazing mentorships and someone that can maybe take you to the next level. It's basically like having a shepherd. A guide. Someone that has walked the path and that can show you how to get there.
Alternative number four – and this one's going to be a bit extreme – join the Marine Corps. Or join the Peace Corps. Or become a volunteer with the Salvation Army. The point I'm making here is to join an organization which has a history of actually working with the people that are in there and providing instant, great training.
It's funny. When I went and got my business degree, they had a class on leadership there. It was a good class. But I can tell you, you didn't come out of that class, in my opinion, being a better leader.
You maybe had the toolset for it, but leadership is developed. I think real managerial skills are developed when you actually take what you've learned and you actually are forced to apply it.
One of the things I learned in the Marine Corps: leaders lead from the front, and you always lead by example. Something that I think a lot of business could learn from. But if you can find an organization which has great internal training, I'd love to hear from you guys in the comments if you have any other ideas of organizations that are like this, but if you can find an organization like that, it is probably going to be a great alternative to getting an MBA.
Alternative number five: start a business. I love entrepreneurship, but I think there is nothing else that will prepare you for business and for all aspect of it than actually running and starting your own business.
You don't have to go fulltime. You can start it on the side. Going down that path is going to expose you to accounting, to marketing, to sales, to PR, to management and structure, to strategy, to the tactics of running a company. It's going to be tough. Most likely, you're going to fail initially. You're going to keep failing. But eventually, you're going to get a hit. You're going to have something that's like “Wow. This really worked.”
I remember making my first sale. It was amazing. It took me five months, but we figured out how to do it, and that there is nothing like learning from experience.
Hopefully, you can take these alternatives. You can apply them. Maybe you can save some money. I do think an MBA is right for certain people, but for most people, it's probably not going to be the best decision.
Guys, again, let me know in the comments. I'm going to support this with an article. I'm also going to link you over to my resources pages at Real Men Real Style. It's probably I think one of my best pages at Real Men Real Style but one of the most underused, because if you're looking to start a business, if you're looking to in a sense get going with an idea you have or you're considering an MBA, you definitely want to check out that page.
Gentlemen, that's it. I'll see you in the next video. Take care.
This post is based on the video – 5 Alternatives To Consider Instead Of An MBA
