Hello

Does anyone here have any experience with below average MBAs.. either as a graduate/alumni and 'job seeker' or as an employer?

Someone recently mentioned to me that there are better things to spend my resources on than a below average MBA (if I was looking to change and propel my career in a new direction).

Thank you for your time in response.

JG

What would you classify as average MBA? How would you classify MBA as average? Based on avg. salary post MBA or avg. GMAT score? Give some examples please.

If you go via avg. GMAT score then Duncan has listed schools out in Tiers. Will you then consider Tier III as average? Tier IV as below average?

The online MBA program that I am questioning 'is a Level 7 Masters degree with 180 credits', It is from a UK university that sits between 80-110 in the school league table (for the past 5 years). It has no triple crown accreditation.

This person is looking at schools that that literally below average: worse than most universities in their country. and is ranked 80-110 not in a world ranking, but in the UK national ranking. The schools will lack any of the triple crowns and deliver much worse outcomes than a BSc or MSc from an above-average school.

Maybe FIND-MBA should do a post on best alternatives to an accredited MBA at any price point like
- c. £0 https://www.coursera.org/browse/business?facets=skillNameMultiTag%2CjobTitleMultiTag%2CdifficultyLevelTag%2Clanguages%2CentityTypeTag%3ASpecializations%2CpartnerMultiTag%3AUniversity+of+Illinois+at+Urbana-Champaign%2CcategoryMultiTag%3Abusiness%2CsubcategoryMultiTag&sortField=
- c. £1000 https://www.edx.org/micromasters/USMx-UMD-MBA-Core-Curriculum
- c. £2000 https://www.uopeople.edu/programs/ba/degrees/master-of-business-administration/
- c. £3000 http://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/uolip/programmes#Bsc_standard
..... and so on

[Edited by Duncan on Sep 24, 2019]

Taking a more objective view, can you determine whether or not a 'sub-standard' MBA would really help your career?

Maybe there are jobs in your country that just require an MBA. A paper degree that literally says 'MBA' and is issued by a somewhat official organization may help you reach that threshold, but whether you meet all the other requirements for those jobs, and if you can actually land it, is another story. Personally, I've never seen a job ad that says "MBA required," but that's just me.

I suppose that directed learning could be considered a benefit of a sub-standard MBA, but if we're already calling the degrees sub-standard, you could probably do a lot better in this regard, often for free (coursera.)

However, the investment in a world class MBA goes a lot farther than just getting a paper degree and having directed learning. The network and career support you'd get would probably be the assets that get you the job you want.