To consider doing an MBA in my early 50s?

[changethenamenotthegame]

Fully prepared to be told I'm insane if that's what the hive mind thinks.

I'm at the end of my tether with my current job. Have been doing it for 12 years. I'm bored stupid and while I'm in a senior role and the pay is (currently) good, the industry I work in is slowly going down the plughole. We work harder each year for less reward, the clients get ruder and pay less. The company I work for is pretty much rudderless, the senior management have checked out and I know its only a matter of time before the shit hits the fan. Could be months or years but things aren't going to get better. I've been job-hunting for about six months, looking for jobs in similar companies and adjacent ones but a) I know it will be more of the same and b) I'm not getting interviews anyway. I may have to look at more radical options.

Among the various things I'm thinking about are applying to do an MBA. Just to open up opportunities, get a new perspective, make new connections and learn new skills. And to actually LEARN after years of not really learning. It will cost me a shit ton of money and I'm prepared to do this is it genuinely is useful but I'm not getting any younger and may only have 15 FT working years so only worth doing if it actually leads to results.

I'm also the main breadwinner in my family so I'd need it to pay for itself fairly fast.

Keen to hear any thoughts.

Go for it. It's not just good for career prospects, but also an interesting course, interacting with your work experience. 👍

@changethenamenotthegame you may not know there is a Mature Study and Retraining board on MN? It’s here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

I have an MBA, Graduated when I was in my late 30s. I'm in my early 50s now.

Honestly at your stage of life I really wouldn't bother with an MBA. It would be a huge waste of money.

An MBA is great on paper but it probably won't make much of a difference to your career at this stage. Better to focus all your efforts on pushing higher up in your current professional ladder or actually changing into another profession and retraining as you're unhappy in your current role.That would be more rewarding without a huge risky financial outlay with no real pay off at the end and ironical a lot less work.

The MBA itself didn't really teach me anything new and a lot of the curriculum was actually outdated in terms of how quickly businesses move and evolve these days. I went onto work in tech start up companies that went global and really saw how outdated some of the thinking was. Some of the core elements were good such as the financial units but honestly probably could have got the same information through other shorter courses.

I would think more about what you want to do as a career for the next 15 years and focus in much more on that in terms of investment than something as broad and generic as an MBA.

Thank you! this is super helpful

I'm thinking about are applying to do an MBA. Just to open up opportunities, get a new perspective, make new connections and learn new skills.

Honestly it won't do this in your 50s.

I wouldn't do an MBA for the sake of it, especially when you are mid career.

It's expensive and very broad rather than role specific.

I do think additional qualifications are a good idea however but I would chose something more specific and something with an end goal in mind instead.

What job do you do?
What job do you want?
Is there a skills or knowledge gap between the two? If there is they a qualification addressing that may be more worthwhile.

Have you spoken to any recruiters at all?
What are they suggesting role wise based on your experience etc?

Totally disagree with this, I completed an MBA in my 50s and learned loads, especially about leadership, influencing, strategy and organisational culture. There was a module on AI which was game changing.

OP - would your company use its degree apprenticeship levy to put you through a Level 7 senior leader apprenticeship? You can then pay to top up to an MBA. You will have to be quick though as funding is being withdrawn soon.

To be honest, in senior roles qualifications aren't often really what get a job.

Communications skills are critical. Have you considered getting some communication training geared to making you shine at interview?

Are you really making the most of your existing network?

Tech skills are the other area I would really focus on.

If it is of interest and you can afford it absolutely go for it.

I am a mature student and I love it.

Totally disagree with this, I completed an MBA in my 50s and learned loads, especially about leadership, influencing, strategy and organisational culture. There was a module on AI which was game changing

Did it really accelerate you into a new high paid job though? Truly? You will get better training on AI elsewhere. Leadership and influencing tend to be best learned on the job - a qualification can't teach it. Organisational culture is different at every company and to be honest these days you need to be flexible and adaptable for it changing as a new leader arrives or you are subjected to a takeover or the inevitable raft of consultants being brought in.

Friend who works in c suite recruitment always said that an MBA is a nice to have and might differentiate you from a candidate that doesn’t have an MBA but scores the same as you on everything else.

Otherwise, given that not all MBA programmes are created equal, think very carefully.

I would not advise anyone to do an MBA unless they were getting it paid for. It's a shit ton of money for an increasingly marginal "advantage" that companies no longer weight highly.

This was my experience to be honest.

There are far better places to study the impact of AI and its future application to business environments. Particularly with those at the forefront of AI and quantum research and development. Your money is much better spent going to these organisations directly than receiving the information through the MBA filter.

Plus leadership and management were actually more comprehensively covered on other academic courses I undertook through the years than on the MBA. I found their leadership modules pedestrian and lacking in depth.

I did mine through a Russell Group uni and honestly found it fairly mediocre. As I said, other than the financial modules there really wasn't anything I thought was worth the high price tag.

Unless you're going to do it through Said Business school or LSE, honestly I really wouldn't bother. Both of those would be incredibly expensive.

Just my experience.

Why so dismissive and argumentative? I’m just giving my honest experience. I got one promotion less than half way through the course and another just before the end so yeah, it’s been worth it.

Obviously I haven’t listed everything it covered or that I’ve learned. My course was very applied to my job and career. There was a lot of self reflection and focus on Individual effectiveness which went beyond just learning information. I could learn something one week, apply it to my job and then use a seminar to reflect and improve the week after.

Some of the modules had absolutely world class guest lecturers and academics involved in some cutting edge research. My peer group of students were interested and motivated and from a wide range of global companies, sharing insights I couldn’t get from a book or an e-learning course.

I did a part time MA in my field in my 50s part funded by employer. Best thing I did for confidence when I got promoted. Maybe look for MBA with specific modules to your field or other MA directly linked to the potential jobs you want to apply for.

This is good advice.

Have a look at doing an MA directly related to the field you want to move into.

Then you've got the academic credibility and the corporate experience to go into a new field of your chosing, away from the sector you are unhappy in.

Plus it will be a much more enriching academic experience for the money you will pay (minus the MBA price tag!).

I did an MBA in my mid 30s. My friend did it late 40's. For both of us doing it was more important than having the qualification.

In the midst of studying, looking at different topics, completing a dissertation etc, there were people in my work (and in other places) that I could contact and ask for help, advice, project opportunities...

Once you've done it it is only 3 letters on a CV.

So do it because you want to LEARN, to enjoy and be motivated by the experience, and maximise the opportunity to expand your network and your self confidence.

Thanks @moderndilemma for articulating it better than I did. Some of the views on learning and education are so reductive. The qualification is merely a reflection of the transformational process you go through when undertaking a programme of study.

Having said that, if all you want is the letters, you can approach it in a "painting by numbers" way that gets you through untouched!

@moderndilemma this is exactly how I feel about it and this is my main motivation. I'm not particularly fussed about having "MBA" after my name. I've been in senior management already for four years and as others have pointed out I don't think there's any real substitute for doing a job. What I'm more interested in is a) fresh perspective on what I do b) permission to step back from the grind for a year or two and think really deeply about how I want to make the remainder of my working life work c) access to really smart and well connected people who could give me good advice for any future career move. Plus just being back in education again.

For those of you who've asked if my company would pay for this, it's almost certainly a no. And I'd be concerned about asking as it would draw attention to my frustration.

Some of you have raised the very valid point that its extremely expensive and I agree with this. I'm increasingly thinking an MA in a subject I'm interested in might be better value for money (and also be combined with a day job).

Thanks for all your different perspectives on this.

I'm all for studying just for the sake of learning and I may have an embarrassing number of qualifications to show for it. I just don't think an MBA, specifically, is good value when you can get the learning and the stimulation and connections without the extortionate expense. A different master's sounds good, and you could even look into master's which are offered as apprenticeships which an employer could pay for from their levy, but move quickly because master's-level apprenticeships are being defunded.

@ChandrilanDiscoDroid

Thanks. I totally agree with this.

Go for it! I did an MA in my 50s. It was in my professional field and enabled me to progress, as well as giving me particular skills that benefited my employer.
When I retired I did a post graduate diploma in something that had always interested me, purely for my own enjoyment.

If the MBA thought is purely about intellectual stimulation and new connections you’d definitely be better off doing a Master’s degree. And quickly, before you reach 60 and become ineligible for a Government Postgraduate Loan. (Which you would be mad not to take, even if you’re dripping in money.)

Only do it if you like the thought of it as a hobby. It’s extremely unlikely to make any difference to your employment prospects at your age.

You have decades of experience in a specific industry and for any job you might want outside that industry there will be many, many people ahead of you in the queue who actually have experience in that industry. Why would any employer pick you with no experience for a job. An MBA isn’t going to cut it.

Hi.
I'm in my early 50's, in the throes of menopause, and at drama school ft training to be an actor.
All my peers are in their late teens - early 20's.
It's definitely challenging at times (in more ways than one!!), but something I've always wanted to do, so i dont regret it.
If your instincts are telling you to do it then i say go for it!!!!