I'm a 1st year analyst at Acn and am keen to do an MBA in 3 years time. It's terribly expensive ansd although i could maybe save 20k or so in that time it still leaves a gap of about 30k if I go for a 1 year MBA or double that if a 2 year one. How does one go about funding it? Is there such a thing as a loan to cover this that you dont need to pay back til you start your job after you achieve the qualification?

mugdo you really think you'll ever get a +ve ROI from the investment, taking into account lost earnings in the meantime and what you could get even if you didn't do the mba?

Search for Career Development Loans. Some universities have arrangements with specific banks.Alternatively, don't be an idiot and think that 3 years at ACN will put you in any kind of position to get into, let alone benefit from, a decent MBA programme (i.e. one costing as much as the figures you're suggesting).The problem diminishes when you realise that the type of MBA you'll get onto after 3 years will only cost £10-15k. Whereas, if you save up for 8 years you'll be in a much better position to both successfully apply for those top MBAs and to get a job afterwards that will allow to repay any loans.

Why is 3 years not enough? it says on the websites they even tak the odd exception with no experience!Fo9lk from IB and Strat firms would normally go after 2 years, surely an extra year on top of that at ACN would be enough?

Why shell out on a 1 or 2 year MBA? You can get a 10 day MBA for a mere £8!http://www.amazon.co.uk/10-day-MBA-Steven-Silbiger/dp/0749927003/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/203-2333827-2230364?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179220084&sr=8-1

Heh... all these people that take out a 2nd mortgage to fund some 'education'... is 20-odd years of the stuff not enough?I'm going to open up my own business school. I think I'll call it "The I Saw You Coming School of Business", www. isawyoucoming.eduStarting price will be £50K for a nice certificate. I'll just knock together a 50 page reading list, run a few lousy lectures about pseudo-scientific management techniques, have an american-style website, and get my students to work 90 hours a week pontificating about random case studies about multinationals from the 60's. I'll rave on about my unique 'case method' and next thing you know they'll be queuing up to hand over £50K cheques under the illusion that they'll actually recoup their investment after 'graduating'!

Wow, everyone here is so unhelpful - bordering the rudeness...

I dont think it's a waste of money if it gets me a job in Fund management or IB where I will make the money back within a year or 2.

2 years of lost earnings... call it £60K after tax. Cost of MBA... say £50K. So, are you saying that in "a year or two" after getting an MBA you will earn £110K net (say £170K gross) more than you would have done if you hadn't done the MBA? I very much doubt it!

MBA funding is very unusual in UK. At my school the only few ppl i know who are getting funding, are govt sector employees. It was more common in US to get the funding for an MBA but i think even there its not very common any more speically in the IT consulting sector. The only other options i can think of are the AMBA Loan scheme and Credit Development Loan (max 8000£).good Luck

anon,I'd come out of the MBA into Associate position in an IB where salary would be about 60k plus the same again in bonus. Even if it dfoesn lose me a bit of money in the short term, the long term earnings will more than make up for it.If it's FM, will take a few years longer again to make good money but it's still going to work out better financially despite a few years fo hardship.

What is this obsession with MBAs? I work with people who have them and are as dull as dishwater. Dunno what they learnt but it sure as hell doesn't shine through. We've done Uni for 4 years and it was great but now it's time to do real life stuff, like a bit or work and then down the pub to moan about the bit of work...lovely story!

If you want to change industries it's a good way to do it.I want to change from consulting to FM or IB and MBA is the best way to do that I think.

why is everyones name on this forum "anon" ?

Surely the principle at work here is one of mitigated risk? No one can guarantee they will recoup the cost of an MBA after graduating, so you need to go into it with your eyes open. If you want to do it, and can afford it after your 3 years at ACN then do it and worry about recouping the cost afterwards. The debate about whether MBAs are worth the money is endless, and everyone seems to have a point of view on it, but if MBB, IB etc place a value on it, so in turn does everyone else, sooner or later.For God's sake will the experienced consultants on this board stop trying to dampen the enthusiasm and ambition of their more junior and less experienced colleagues and offer some constructive advice!

I think it depends why your doing the mba that determines if it's worth it.I want to get into an industry (banking) that I am not in at the moment and that there may be a skills gap between my own working experience and the skills required for it.Whether an MBA does or doesn't bridge that skills gap doesn't really matter because in an employers eyes it does. Top MBA's are frequent hunting grounds for all the top companies and even if you're a bit broke for a year or two after it, they more than pay for themselves in the years after, plus you'll probably be doing more interesting work at a better company.

My personal view is that life is short and that anything, which takes up 1-2 years of your life (you could be hit by a bus tomorrow) should have some value in its own right. Regardless of increased salaries (according to the 2006 FT rankings, you actually get less on average when you leave INSEAD and IMD!), you should value the actual learning experience and not just see it as a means to an ends. Personal circumstances play a part. If you are self funded and supporting a family, it might be a toughy. If you have a support system, it might be doable. Yes, a lot of strategy consultancies will give you a golden hell and there are funding systems, which break down the cost well. To me, the ideal candidate is a badly paid 25/6 year old in a junior marketing role in a blue chip company with rich parents. This person can then market him/herself as blue chip experience + tier 1 MBA and double the salary.

make that a golden hello, although perhaps the typo was apt!

Hi Analyst,My opinion on this is that you are better off doing an Executive MBA part-time with at least 6-10 years experience. You do not have the cost of opportunity of work vs no work earnings. You have to do it in a top school otherwise the investment is useless. In the UK go for LBS or Cranfield. Sometimes you can get partial funding 25% by the school and if you are a woman you have more chances to get funding.Rosa

The original poster seems to be concentrating on the belief that they will achieve an adequate return on the investment they make in an MBA. At least one subsequent poster has advised that this is quite unlikely when properly quantified. The problem most people have is that they do not seem to be able to properly quantify the ROI and the real pay-back period. Firstly to be realistic you must use a discounted cash flow basis. You then must take your net income position prior to being awarded an MBA, and compare the difference between that and what you earn net afterwards on a marginal basis. You must include the effect of fiscal drag, loss of income tax relief and the loss of net earnings over the course period. You must deduct all costs including travelling, academic costs, books, subsistance etc. You must then compute the whole position on a discounted cash flow basis, to detemine the true payback period. It is only after that period that you can look at any real yield. Most individuals who do this properly find that they will never make any true yield in net financial terms from investment in an MBA. In fact the business schools for this reason spin the results which they give, selecting only entrants who were on very low reward packages prior to the course, and not using discounted cash flow or considering a payback period, to attempt to demonstrate a supposed yield from doing their course. Some of them have been censured for this eroneous practice in the past, such as by the ASA. The only real way to achieve a guaranteed true ROI is to get a consultancy to sponsor you. There are some who do this in the UK. Usually you will need to join them first and work for them for a year or two before they will do this.

My opinion is that if you go for full time mba or the company sponsorship, you lose out financially. You will be obliged to stay 'locked in' with the company for a period of years. Yo will not receive the sign-in bonus that most companies give you. You will not increase dramatically your responsibilities and salary if you stay unless you work for a company that really values MBAs such as BT, IB or Google types...I've been on this debate for years and I still have not decided to go for it and do it!!! Not an easy decision. For some people the progression is pretty good and for others is non-existent.

old codger,I think the ROI is a no brainer in this case.I work in MC, would like to work in IB. Lets talk figures.Consultant after 4 years experience from grad on say 50k i sreasonably yeah? then do MBA 1 year and come out (potentially) to job in IB as associate 55k +55k bonus at least where as a consultant i'd be making manager and looking for about cicra 65k. MBA's paid off within 1 maybe 2 years and thereafter can reap the benefits of higher earnings.

"do MBA 1 year and come out (potentially) to job in IB as associate 55k +55k bonus at least where as a consultant i'd be making manager and looking for about cicra 65k"uhh... so you're saying you'll be earning LESS after the MBA compared to if you didn't do it??

55k+55k bonus = 110k (min as associate)manager would be about 60-70k in consulting.in what way is it less?salary in consulting and IB is comparable, it's the bonus that makes the difference.My point is i could clear off any debts from the mba within a year or 2 and then be enjoying the considerably higher (total) remuneration package.