I AM A consultant at a big 4, having 2 years of strategy consulting experience. I love the job and see myself staying in the industry another 10 years (i am 24). theres lots of different opinions regarding if and when to do an MBA. my question is will it pay off? and when is the best time to do it? its a great financial obligation and I'm trying to evaluate its potential. Thanks in advance for the advice

I got one a few years ago and it was a good move for me, career-wise. I'd say the best time to do it is either if you want to switch focus in your career, or if you want to upgrade (ie you feel stuck at your current position). I wouldn't go for one if you're happy with your current job and pay, but then again, your decision. All I can say is that if you feel you need a significant change (new position, better salary, different industry focus etc), then an MBA may be the answer

I did one and it has been useful - less so for selling as many consultancies are a little sceptical of the real value, but there is some good material that is covered if you have the opportunity to apply it intelligently.

I would say it depends where it is from. An MBA from Harvard for example, would open a few doors, where as an MBA from anything other than a top school I wouldn't rate very highly. I've come across various people who have had MBAs from the likes of Greenwich university (never heard of it) who think they deserve a top job just because they've done a course. So I guess I would say if you are good enough to go to the top ones, then great do it. Otherwise probably not worth the paper it's written on.

AlisonCan I ask what you mean by ‘top school’ (i.e. top 5? top 10? Etc). I’m also considering doing an MBA at some point in the future and I know the importance of going to a ‘top school’ for it to be really worth it. However, I’m not clear on what is generally considered a ‘top school’. Thanks in advanceAnon

Have a look at the FT MBA rankings that they do every year. I'm not sure I would agree with some of the findings (they are global) but they know a lot more about it than I do I'm sure.http://rankings.ft.com/rankings/mba/rankings.htmlFor the UK by far and away the best place is the London Business School and I have interviewed many people from there who are very good.In answer to your question I wouldn't look outside of the top 5 for your country.Good luck with it if you decide to do the MBA.