General Question

jlm11f's avatar

What are the options of obtaining an MBA for people already working full time jobs?

Asked by jlm11f (12416points) March 29th, 2010

My mother loves to keep learning. She already has a degree as an electrical engineer but she went into finance instead so she has wanted to get an MBA for a while now. It’s not really for job improvement as much as it is for personal satisfaction. The problem is that she already works full time and then also takes care of the home (cooking etc).

I was wondering if there’s any program where she could just study herself and then take an exam from some accredited place? She is a mom, and like most mom’s is unwilling to spend too much money on herself, which is why applying at some local college for night classes isn’t a good fit. She’s currently considering online programs, though they all seem to be quite expensive.

Since she has been working in the finance industry for a lot of years, and she is a smart cookie! I know she can get the degree, time and money are the issues. But I really want her to do this since she rarely does anything for herself. Any input on the subject is appreciated. Thanks =)

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15 Answers

lilikoi's avatar

Go to night school.

WestRiverrat's avatar

Several universities offer online or self study courses.

Back before internet, my dad got 2 doctorates via independant study courses. He just had to show up for 2 weeks during summer to take his oral exams and pickup his degees. He never did get his thesis back, the Dean of the School still has it in his personal library.

jlm11f's avatar

@WestRiverrat If you know of any self study courses, could you give some names or provide some links?

WestRiverrat's avatar

@PnL most major universities have programs available. I would check with the ones in your area. Just contact the Dean of Admission’s office and they should be able to direct you.

lilikoi's avatar

Wait…local college night classes are too expensive so you’re looking at online programs?? At least where I am, local college classes are the best deal around by far.

jlm11f's avatar

@lilikoi Well the problem with local night classes is that she’s too tired after a day’s work (and evening cooking) to attend night classes. I’m trying to find something that she will work best with her schedule. One might argue that if she’s tired, she’ll be too tired to study. But what I mean is more along the lines of after a long day’s work, one just wants to relax at home, even if it means relaxing with a big book about finances and what not.

Tropical_Willie's avatar

@PnL

There are Saturday only classes available at my local colleges JUST for busy people tailored for MBA students.

EmpressPixie's avatar

The problem with getting an MBA by correspondence is that a large portion of the degree really comes from classroom interaction—specifically students sharing their corporate experiences and bringing what they know from working into the classroom to reinforce the lesson and discuss.

Having said that, there are, of course, good and accredited correspondence courses and they do tend to cost less than night school or executive (weekend) courses. However, I would recommend looking for an executive/weekend thing (something like this). She should look into her company policies on reimbursing tuition. A lot of companies will do it for something like an MBA provided that the person isn’t looking to change jobs. And a lot of schools (mine is like this) actively won’t let you look for a job if your company is paying your tuition. Win-win.

Plus, honestly, as a woman they’ll be falling all over themselves to give her money to go to school. Lastly, BusinessWeek rates this stuff. She should check out what they have to say about part-time, weekend, and correspondence (Distance).

We’re on the Distance tab.

jlm11f's avatar

@EmpressPixie Thank you so much for your answer! She already has looked into her company policies but unfortunately her bank doesn’t feel that having an MBA is important to her job (especially since she does very well anyway). But you are right, she could definitely get some help on the financial aid side.

Ltryptophan's avatar

maybe research a company that you eventually would ideally work for to see if they will participate in your effort. sorry if that is redundant just chiming in without reading the foregoing answers.

YARNLADY's avatar

Check out online mba. there are several that are legitimate.

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