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Ask HN: Would you get an MBA at the Technion?

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Re: Ask HN: Would you get an MBA at the Technion?

#21

Post by jbob2000 »

brudgers wrote: post #15
slantyyz wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> No, part of the value of an MBA is the name behind the school you got it from. As well, in 20 years, will the degree be relevant? Is any degree still relevant after 20 years? I think for most people, 20 years of experience post-MBA are probably infinitely more valuable than the MBA itself.

Twenty years after a BA in Philosophy, I can unequivocally state that it is as relevant today as it was then.

This was, essentially, my point. Business Administration will always be relevant, but Business Administration for Startups is a little too focused. What happens when the startup fad is over?

Re: Ask HN: Would you get an MBA at the Technion?

#22

Post by jk4930 »

shadowmoses wrote: post #19

Israeli universities are known for having great programs, I would imagine this program at the Technion is going to be very good. That said, a huge part of business school is networking, so unless you're planning on being in Israel for your career, which, given it's policies is actually quite difficult for most demographics, it may not be the most practical move. Finally, I think one needs to carefully decide for them…

When you do an MBA focused on startups, why should you care about academia's fashionable political opinion on something?

Re: Ask HN: Would you get an MBA at the Technion?

#23

Post by davidf18 »

A $130 million was recently donated to Technion to help improve a Chinese university: http://israeliamerican.org/news/technion-university-haifa-ge...

Also, Technion is partnered with Cornell to have NY City technical university. http://tech.cornell.edu/jacobs-technion-cornell-institute/ov...

Re: Ask HN: Would you get an MBA at the Technion?

#24

Post by cylinder »

No -- lack of name awareness. MBA is really only good for getting access to on-campus recruiters and graduate programs, as well as networking with peers (not really possible online). If I were to do an online MBA I'd probably do Imperial as I know several people who've done it.

Re: Ask HN: Would you get an MBA at the Technion?

#25

Post by cylinder »

jk4930 wrote: post #22
shadowmoses wrote: post #19

Israeli universities are known for having great programs, I would imagine this program at the Technion is going to be very good. That said, a huge part of business school is networking, so unless you're planning on being in Israel for your career, which, given it's policies is actually quite difficult for most demographics, it may not be the most practical move. Finally, I think one needs to carefully decide for them…

When you do an MBA focused on startups, why should you care about academia's fashionable political opinion on something?

Here's an MBA on startups: join an early startup and go along for the ride.

The corporate management / organizational concepts don't apply to tiny new companies. Financial analysis and accounting? You can learn to read cash flow statements after a quick online tutorial. Other than that delegate to a trusted and reputable CPA advisor.

Re: Ask HN: Would you get an MBA at the Technion?

#26

Post by slantyyz »

jbob2000 wrote: post #21
brudgers wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twenty years after a BA in Philosophy, I can unequivocally state that it is as relevant today as it was then.

This was, essentially, my point. Business Administration will always be relevant, but Business Administration for Startups is a little too focused. What happens when the startup fad is over?

>> This was, essentially, my point. Business Administration will always be relevant, but Business Administration for Startups is a little too focused. What happens when the startup fad is over?

I got my MBA 21 years ago. Practically speaking, nobody's going to ask you much about your MBA after about 5 years of subsequent work experience. After 20 years, it doesn't matter whether you've done a generalist program or one focused on startups, assuming you can even remember all of the stuff you learned 20 years ago. Let me put it this way, the technology course I took in my MBA -- it was a waste of time intro course that talked about paper tapes, Winchester drives, etc. Most of my peers didn't even know what e-mail was.

No matter what, the typical MBA program requires you to take a lot of common courses, so even if you're a Business Administration for Startups graduate, you're not at a significant disadvantage over the next MBA.

Re: Ask HN: Would you get an MBA at the Technion?

#27

Post by slantyyz »

brudgers wrote: post #15
slantyyz wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> No, part of the value of an MBA is the name behind the school you got it from. As well, in 20 years, will the degree be relevant? Is any degree still relevant after 20 years? I think for most people, 20 years of experience post-MBA are probably infinitely more valuable than the MBA itself.

Twenty years after a BA in Philosophy, I can unequivocally state that it is as relevant today as it was then.

Let me put it in a slightly different context. Do you still get asked about your degree in job interviews, 20 years after you got it?

I don't think that I've talked about my MBA (21 years ago) in an interview in more than 15 years. Sure, the letters are nice to have on your CV, but I've only been talking about my work experience in interviews for the longest time.

And, when I do interviewing myself, I rarely ask about the candidate's degree except for entry level positions, when the candidates typically don't have enough work experience to talk about.

Re: Ask HN: Would you get an MBA at the Technion?

#28

Post by buildops »

hluska wrote: post #18
1arity wrote: post #12

Sure it would be fun. Meet some cool people, get a few nice letters. And Israel is cool. Like to spend more time in that part of the world. One question I couldn't find the answer to -- how much?

According to this page, it costs $35,000 - ( http://www.technionmba.com/tuition-and-scholarship/ ). I think it's a little unfortunate that the Technion needs to write: Not included: Airfare, airport transfers, housing, computer hardware and peripherals, medical expenses (medical insurance can be purchased separately), laundry, linens, souvenirs, additional trips and excursions per catalog, and personal spending money…

Just FYI, you can get a $5000 scholarship, if you're accepted. Just tell them you saw it on Hacker News & you want the "Bring a Friend" scholarship.

And the copywriting of the website is very different than the program, which includes professors from Oxford, Columbia, LBS, INSEAD (Dan Kahenemann's thesis advisor!) and the Technion

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