MBA, No Longer "The Ticket" - Not for Recent Graduates, Not for Over-50

 It almost has a sci-fi ethos: The crash of pricey advanced degrees. 

The other day The Wall Street Journal features newly minted PhDs in Economics who can't find jobs, which I covered here. Both law firms Paul, Weiss and Sullivan and Cromwell sketched out some of how life in the legal sector will implode. Because of AI, demand will plummet for junior lawyers. Also because of AI, many practices will devalue into commodities. Still want to go to law school?

Today the WSJ discusses MBAs from top graduate schools of business who remain unemployed. With some exceptions I advise the over-50 out-of-work to leave the MBA off their job-search materials. Because it positions them as maybe too expensive that could knock them out of the box. On LinkedIn I don't list next to my name my two advanced degrees.

Some graduate schools of business are getting hit less than others. For example, at Harvard "only" 16% are still hunting for a job three months after graduation. At Columbia, 10%. That's down from the recent numbers. In contrast, at Duke it's 21%.

Part of this is the familiar narrative of the plunge in white-collar hiring. That's driven by both cost-efficiency mandates (we're back to the Friedman doctrine of shareholder value) and the faith in AI to not only take over routine tasks but also transform how work is done.

Another part is the shaky prospects for international students which come to America for that degree. It is increasingly difficult for them to get permission to build a future in America, post degree. Employers are well aware of the visa problem.

A third factor is that graduate schools of business haven't caught up with the realities of that degree has to sell itself. They seem too used to the MBA being The Ticket. Their career placement, such as at Harvard, is just getting caught up. 

We Boomers were hammered with the need to pick up the MBA. It was a have-to. Until my work schedule at Big Oil overwhelmed I was matriculating in the evening for one of those. Just being enrolled in such as program back then did open doors. When I relocated for a better-paying job I decided not to finish it. There was too much raw opportunity in the job market right then. With one more jump I had tripled my salary from the Big Oil days. Follow the money. 

Currently there isn't much money to follow. In the WSJ MBA article one graduate took a pay cut from what he had been compensated before studying for the degree.

Since an economic downturn might be on the way there could be the old-fashioned flight of the young unemployed back to pursuing advanced degrees. Although programs are demanding, the environment might feel "safe." Along the way we get down cold how to go to school. We get to meet interesting people from all over the world. Hard-line faith in higher education as a platform for success tends to hold on. There is no Consumer Beware: Higher Education is a business. Globally, as of 2023, its market value was $730 billion. By 2030, it could reach $1.5 trillion.

When my sector collapsed post-9/11 I decided not to retool through any degree program. I read in media such as The New York Times Magazine what people were into to be successful. One article was about Ana Marie Cox, the blogger at Gawker. I decided I could do that. I hired a blogging coach for a few hundred bucks and worked in that niche for a number of years. More recently when that space got glutted I paid $40 for a workshop and was in a different business. 

I advise clients to think before they try to regroup through matriculating for an advanced degree.

Success is a mental game. Failure comes from being done in by the “committee” in your head.

Together, we liberate your thinking. Then we change your story. And, unleash success.

Intuitive Coaching. Special expertise with transitions, becoming a solopreneur and aging. Psychic/tarot readings, upon request. Complimentary consultation with Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com). Yes, test out the chemistry. Zero risk.

Don’t give up before the miracle.


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