[Anonymous]

What are your thoughts on the joint MBA & MAcc degree? I’m considering this but don’t know if it’s worth the extra work or not…

[jeff]

What's the cost…$20,000-$25,000-ish? Let's assume so.

Analyze it the same way you would if you were offered to invest in something and you were going to have to put $20,000-$25,000 in.

Don't have the cash and need to borrow the money? That adds risk. Even worse – you're stuck with that liability no matter how south the investment (or your life) goes…it will be a chain around your neck until you die or pay it off.

More “education” is an investment…treat it as such.

What is the likely ROI? You need to know – just like you would need to know if you were going to invest in some financial product or stock.

[Sandia]

Got for the MBA… I got the same question years ago and I went for MAcc degree and then people told me about CPA exam… working on that now. IF you have a CPA already go for MBA.

Maybe after my CPA, I will go MBA too…. good luck

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[MaLoTu]

What do you hope to accomplish by getting the degree?

I have an MBA. I am currently working on my MS in Accounting. I got my MBA with an emphasis in accounting to be able to sit for the CPA exam. I came from a non-accounting undergraduate major and an non-accounting professional background. So, in addition to the credits needed for the exam, I needed something business relevant on my resume.

I made sure to overlap my classes, I took the core MS of Accounting courses as my MBA elective. Going into my MSAC I was already 70% done. I am in CA and having a MS in accounting satisfies the accounting study breadth of the licensing requirement. This is ultimately why I went on to do my MS.

If you don't have a real need to get a Masters, I would say don't. I don't think it really adds too much. However, if your employer is willing to pay for it and you feel that it will help you get ahead, then you should consider it.

Both degrees are not necessary. If you want to go into business operations eventually, go with the MBA. If you want to go the accounting director route, go with the MSacc. If you don't know then don't waste your time and money (at least until you can figure it out).

[MaLoTu]

Texas A&M has an online MBA program that is supposedly pretty good (well regarded) and it is not very expensive … I think it was in the 15k-20k range.

[Anonymous]

Which Texas A&M Program costs 15-20K? Definitely not THE Texas A&M. Maybe an extension school but THE A&M Program is going to cost you ~80K (for the professional MBA)

[MaLoTu]

It was an online MBA … and I just looked and it is up to 36k now =( … it was about 20k a couple years ago. I guess because of the growing popularity and the growing acceptance of online education the prices have went up.

[Thrawn]

We can't tell you if it sounds worth it unless we know why you are looking at it or what you intend to do with it. Each situation is different, my opinion of masters of accounting is that they are now only popular because people need 150 credits. If you already have the credits a MST or a law degree or an MBA might very well be more beneficial because a big chunk of people graduating in accounting right now have MSAs through 5 year programs.

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[mw798]

When going for an MBA that you are paying out of your own pocket, I wouldn't recommend going to any business school outside the top 10. MBAs are a dime a dozen now and if you are going to invest your own money and time, choose wisely. Keep in mind, an MBA is almost like a one time reset button, a no name MBA isn't going to get you much further than where you are and you won't be able to do it again, however, a prestigious MBA can open a new career or much more lucrative opportunities for you.

[Anonymous]

I never heard of a joint MBA MACC degree. Sounds kinda wierd and don't think it would really give you any extra advantage. Honestly, I would do either one or the other, not both.

[Anonymous]

@Jeff: Problem with that approach is ROI for education is really unknown and almost completely dependent on the kind of job you get when graduating. Also if this person is looking to pick up addl credits to sit for the exam, that is also with taking into acct as the incremental cost of a masters degree over what it would take to get the credits could worth it for the degree. With that said, yes, you absolutely should check with them to see % with employment at graduation, average starting salary, range of starting salaries and list of common employers upon graduation. Although if I had done that I never would have gone to college and be a CPA in the cushy job I am in today so taking “risks” when it comes to education can be worth it but just keep those risks in check (aka no going into like 60k in debt for a acctg degree).

[jeff]

Only in education-related discussions, do we say “it's worth it” without really being able to point to anything quantifiable to support that assertion.

[Author]

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