Do you think having an mba makes you an intellectual ?

[Lardlizard]

Not talking about me obvs 🤣

Most of the people I know (2) who have an MBA, got an MBA because they couldn't find a relevant job after getting their Bachelor's....and are honestly not that sharp overall.

But I also know 1 person who did an MBA after getting a good job (his company paid for the MBA and gave him time off) and he is doing very well.

So, I guess it depends on why and when they got the MBA and the person in question.

God no. I've got one. An MBA just teaches you how to lie to C-level management with a straight face.

Not really. It requires some academic ability, analytical skills, as well as the ability to knuckle down, but you really don't need to be an original thinker or 'intellectual'.
(I've got an MBA from a pretty well regarded UK business school as well as a degree in a STEM subject)

PhD yes
MBA no

No reason, just listening on someone else’s convo !

I have a masters in educational psychology and it doesn't make me anything other than I know more about it than the next guy. I'm not particularly well read - I think an intellectual is someone who knows a lot about a lot.

No. Not at all.

I have a Masters in Political Science and I'm definitely not.

No.

It means you are someone who is good at producing organisational flowcharts and PowerPoint presentations which contain lots of meaningless jargon and buzzwords. You can also bore people rigid by telling them why New Coke was a disaster.

Of course not.

It’s a professional qualification.

No. A degree in a English literature doesn't make you an intellectual. An MBA certainly doesn't!

Intellectualism is a way of thinking and learning, not a qualification.

Not MBAs.

I do think politics or philosophy or literature or physics advanced degree holders are likely intellectual types.

I know a few very smart well read/travelled MBAs but that's different to being an intellectual. Lots of dumb rich folks too.

What is an "intellectual" anyway? I know Adrian Mole wanted to be one...

Nobody does.

Nope.

No

The dictionary defines it as ‘a person possessing a highly developed intellect’. Which may well include some people with MBAs but anyone thinking an MBA = intellectual, doesn’t IMO understand the meaning of the word.

I know someone who calls himself an intellectual. I heard him say it once - it was in ‘defence’ of his genuine, total lack of interest in anything resembling popular culture. His degree and job were very much science based but I also remember him saying he was occupying himself during a holiday by reading music scores.
When Princess Diana died, it was 4 days before he heard, because he possessed no radio or TV and didn’t read newspapers.

He is probably a bit of an extreme case, but that’s the sort of person the ‘I’ word makes me think of.

I have an MBA, I did it so I could negotiate a higher salary and it worked

It doesn't make you intellectual it's just a tick in the box on the CV tool (plus lying to c-level with a straight face - Love that )

Are you Adrian Mole?