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Amazon is hiring the most MBAs in tech, and it’s not really close

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Re: Amazon is hiring the most MBAs in tech, and it’s not really close

#41

Post by yahna »

staunch wrote: post #22
mbesto wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> negative value as some HN's readers seem to think, they wouldn't be hiring them. HN's negative criticism is that MBAs don't know how to start things, not necessarily that they can't run things.

Yes, it's a master's in business administration not business innovation . Amazon is the perfect example of where MBAs can be extremely effective. The way Tim Cook helped Apple optimize and improve its operations a great example.

Did that have anything to do with his MBA, or his 30 years experience?

Re: Amazon is hiring the most MBAs in tech, and it’s not really close

#42

Post by yahna »

saosebastiao wrote: post #13
mbesto wrote: post #6

My understanding (from multiple sources) is that culturally speaking, you basically need an advanced degree (MBA, Exec MBA, etc) in order to reach a certain level of management at Amazon.

Not entirely true. I met a few former Brigadier and Major Generals at high levels within amazon (you can consider that snark if you want). There's still a wall though at the VP/SVP level where advanced degrees basically become meaningless. You either need to be close friends/confidants with every single person above you (and by that, I mean across the board, not just direct reports), or you need to come from a C-leve…

Don't most people who make General hold advanced degrees?

Re: Amazon is hiring the most MBAs in tech, and it’s not really close

#43

Post by sharkweek »

robterrin wrote: post #40

As a recent MBA grad of one of the schools listed in the article I would like to note a few things: First, Amazon is 3x the size of any of the tech companies it is compared to. Google actually hires more MBA's per capita and Amazon hires about as many as Apple and Microsoft, per capita. Second, I keep a close eye on these things, and 72% of my class went to finance or consulting. Consulting is still the biggest draw…

I'm not an MBA and don't really have the intention to get one - so pardon my naive question, but what does it mean to "play the game?"

Re: Amazon is hiring the most MBAs in tech, and it’s not really close

#44

Post by robterrin »

sharkweek wrote: post #43
robterrin wrote: post #40

As a recent MBA grad of one of the schools listed in the article I would like to note a few things: First, Amazon is 3x the size of any of the tech companies it is compared to. Google actually hires more MBA's per capita and Amazon hires about as many as Apple and Microsoft, per capita. Second, I keep a close eye on these things, and 72% of my class went to finance or consulting. Consulting is still the biggest draw…

I'm not an MBA and don't really have the intention to get one - so pardon my naive question, but what does it mean to "play the game?"

I think it is a vague idiom by intent, but here's one definition: "To behave in a way that is accepted or demanded by those in authority"(http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/play+the+game)

I view this skill as anticipating not just what your boss tells you to do, but also the things they don't make explicit, because you recognize subtle social cues and understand their incentives. It can be nefarious or just empathetic. How it is deployed determines the morality of its use, in my consequentialist opinion.

Re: Amazon is hiring the most MBAs in tech, and it’s not really close

#45

Post by aslkdjaslkdj »

sharkweek wrote: post #43
robterrin wrote: post #40

As a recent MBA grad of one of the schools listed in the article I would like to note a few things: First, Amazon is 3x the size of any of the tech companies it is compared to. Google actually hires more MBA's per capita and Amazon hires about as many as Apple and Microsoft, per capita. Second, I keep a close eye on these things, and 72% of my class went to finance or consulting. Consulting is still the biggest draw…

I'm not an MBA and don't really have the intention to get one - so pardon my naive question, but what does it mean to "play the game?"

His last sentence mostly. "project planning, reporting, managing expectations, coordinating teams and delivering on time. It's not terribly rewarding or creative work, but it's what MBAs can reliably produce."

Aka stakeholder and expectation management. The above sounds easy but requires a large number of "soft skills" to do well in a large organization.

Re: Amazon is hiring the most MBAs in tech, and it’s not really close

#46

Post by downrightmike »

sharkweek wrote: post #43
robterrin wrote: post #40

As a recent MBA grad of one of the schools listed in the article I would like to note a few things: First, Amazon is 3x the size of any of the tech companies it is compared to. Google actually hires more MBA's per capita and Amazon hires about as many as Apple and Microsoft, per capita. Second, I keep a close eye on these things, and 72% of my class went to finance or consulting. Consulting is still the biggest draw…

I'm not an MBA and don't really have the intention to get one - so pardon my naive question, but what does it mean to "play the game?"

The game is do good work, get good schooling, perform well taking care of some one else's business and make money. What's the goal? Money through value creation.

Re: Amazon is hiring the most MBAs in tech, and it’s not really close

#47

Post by agoodthrowaway »

I honestly believe MBAs suck the lifeblood out of a company. I was at an event for Microsoft Ventures and I was the only engineer there. I had never had so many conversations where the content contained so many syllables and yet had no content whatsoever. The vast majority of these people had product responsibility at Microsoft. I left with the impression that Microsoft simply was overloaded with these people, most of whom understood nothing about technology. In companies I've worked at, these people routinely demonstrate the inability to see and respond to innovation. I've yet to see how an MBA brings value to a tech company beyond a basic understanding of accounting principles.

Re: Amazon is hiring the most MBAs in tech, and it’s not really close

#48

Post by saosebastiao »

rjsw wrote: post #32
saosebastiao wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not entirely true. I met a few former Brigadier and Major Generals at high levels within amazon (you can consider that snark if you want). There's still a wall though at the VP/SVP level where advanced degrees basically become meaningless. You either need to be close friends/confidants with every single person above you (and by that, I mean across the board, not just direct reports), or you need to come from a C-leve…

Don't senior officers in the US military need advanced degrees anyway ?

Some can and do pursue advanced degrees, but of the handful of generals I've met, most don't. The most interesting exception was a brig who spent his entire career in SOCOM, most of which was literally on the ground with troops, weapon-in-hand. Of course his PhD and 4 post-docs were in Military Science and Military History. He got fired from Amazon for calling an SVP a cunt for not wanting to be seen working alongside wage employees. He went on to start a security contracting firm, which probably was a better fit for him anyway.

Re: Amazon is hiring the most MBAs in tech, and it’s not really close

#49

Post by logfromblammo »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #34
saosebastiao wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Amazon is a pretty data driven company, if MBA's provided no value, or negative value as some HN's readers seem to think, they wouldn't be hiring them. Having been the guy whose job it was to collect, analyze, and present data to these MBAs, I can honestly say that 99% of them are dead weight for their analytic capabilities. MBAs do much better at managing people. And by that, I mean only 70% of them are dead weigh…

the reason I'm not in jail for arson right now Lawyer with an MBA get you off? :-)

I believe the presumption is that the MBA made the decision to replace that red Swingline stapler at just the right time for ancestor poster to decide not to burn down the entire company.
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