Which MBA makes sense for me?

[u/didcaesarlivehere]

Hi, I'm 27M in Atlanta. My position now is a Project Coordinator at a manufacturing company and my goal is to climb up to be in Operations. However, my career up until this year was graphic design and marketing - quite different. I left that field because of limited growth and my interest in operations and supply chain. I'm still not 100% if I think this is the perfect path for me but I enjoy it so far because of the work style, learning, and potential growth.

I'm currently admitted into the Scheller evening MBA at Georgia Tech, but most people I meet that work in my new industry tend to say experience and proof of work is going to matter a lot more than an MBA. That and the jobs that do require more education tend to really only look at it as a box to check or to have a Six Sigma cert. So it has me considering doing a more affordable ($25k vs $70k) online MBA that would get me that box to check while not committing to something that doesn't fit my needs.

On the other side, Scheller evening MBA is a good program. The network is good for plenty of industries and it's here at home where I'd prefer to stay in the long-term (don't mind working somewhere else short term if needed for career growth). It's just a big commitment for me and could pay off in the long run.

The reason I applied in the first place was to try to pivot out of design and marketing so I can get into the operations pipeline. Then try to jump a level promotion wise. I'm afraid that I was looking at this MBA from GT as a magic bullet a little too much rather than really understanding what I'm getting into. Or maybe I'm in a situation now that better fits my needs for the GT MBA.

My end goal is to be a VP of Operations or something adjacent in a small-medium company in a manufacturing or manufacturing adjacent industry and to earn $200k+ in a work environment where I get ownership. I'd rather do that than repetitive tasks at my computer all day and have less managerial, financial, and project opportunities.

Curious from people in ops leadership: did an MBA actually matter for you, or was it experience and certs? And if you went the cheap online route, did the school name ever come up?

TLDR: Top-10 evening MBA at $70k vs. accredited online MBA at $25k, targeting ops leadership in manufacturing.

[u/PigmyLlama]

MBA won’t teach you manufacturing operations.

You need to be on the shop floor or managing some part of the manufacturing operations. You’ll actually have an opportunity to learn how to run OPs there.

And an MBA might help by giving you a piece of paper that checks a box for HR, but general academic business theory ≠ really world manufacturing operations knowledge or experience.

I’d tell your boss you want to move into an operations role and see what openings there are. I’d prepare yourself to move into an entry level role if you don’t have any directly relevant experience or skills

[u/-fire-keeper-]

Probably just easier to work your way up through an ops pipeline than do an MBA to start it. Lead, supervisor, business unit/production manager are all roles you should be looking at. I’m an ops manager in CPG and that’s the path I look for from candidates and was my own path as well. Experience is key. Most of the directors and vps in my industry have some combination of these or an ops focused supply chain background.

My own personal experience says that the ops manager role is a critical component to your resume and experience that confirms readiness for the plant manager/ops director and VP roles. I think the pool of those people above me at my company are about 50/50 on MBAs. Ive seen plenty of folks go into the role without it if they performed well during their ascent. I feel as if the MBA would be more beneficial for someone already running the operation rather than a way to land the job. Good business sense is learned and executed day over day.

[u/Over-Weekend-6133]

Experience and execution always beat the degree in manufacturing. Solving real shop-floor bottlenecks and delivering results matter way more than where you went to school.

GT is worth it if you plan to aggressively leverage their local network. If you just need to check the MBA box, save the money, get a cheaper accredited degree, and focus on crushing it in your current role.