Alternative MBAs – The Latest Fad for Anti-Establishment, Uber-Cool Internet Geeks

By Monica O'Brien | Published: December 4, 2008

Yesterday, Seth Godin announced he was taking applications for an apprenticeship. And then someone called it an alternative MBA program, not Seth Godin, but I can’t remember who. I am writing about it because I am sure talk of alternative MBA programs will spur more of those silly anti-MBA blog posts by people who aren’t getting MBAs and don’t want you to get one either. (By the way, this is a silly MBA blog post about why you should get an MBA so my MBA actually means something.)

Anyway, I think the concept of alternative MBAs is, well… lame.

Hang on a second – I think I just got mobbed by Seth Godin’s tribe. Picks herself up off the floor, unflattens. Reminds everyone that this post is not about Seth Godin, just about the concept of alternative MBAs. Continues.

But really, who cares what I think? Maybe I am just a bitter Betty because I’ve already shelled out $50 grand at Chicago Booth to study entrepreneurship, and will get hit up for another $50 grand over the next year – all so I can finally hold an ivy league-scented hoity-toity piece of paper with my name on it that declares me officially prepared for the business of running a business. All the while, there are people all around the blogosphere who have shelled out zero dollars, read a bunch of blogs, worked their butts off, and are making millions now.

So what though? All that says is you can be successful without an MBA. Umm… Duh! Nobody is arguing that MBAs are the only successful people in the world. (If they are, they are delusional.) Yet people argue that just because they are moderately successful or even millionaires without having a degree, nobody else should bother getting one. (Two words: intuitive and lucky. Or delusional and crazy. Trust me, one of those two descriptions is basically how all people make millions.)

Bottom line – there is no such thing as getting the “MBA experience” without getting the degree. Unless you went to classes taught by real professors, with real peers to interact with, with actual lectures, with  assigned homework that you were motivated to complete, and you took all the required classes. And then didn’t get the degree.

But wait – that would be a lot more work than reading blogs Monica, and not getting a piece of paper at the end seems really stupid. I know. Just like someone saying he had an experience that he didn’t actually have is really stupid also.

Imagine for a second typing the words “alternative MBA” on your resume, for instance. And then having to explain to a hiring manager that what that entailed was was working for free on some cool projects with this neat guy who writes genius books.

“So, you did an unpaid internship?” she questions, thoughtfully.

“Er. No.” You try to explain in simpler ‘corporate non-blogger’ terms. “It’s like this – I got an MBA, but without actually going to school.”

“You see, I did stuff that you would typically do in an internship, but since I might have learned some stuff that those hoity-toity MBAs learn in graduate school, I call it an alternative MBA.”

Pause. Blink, blink. “But the hoity-toity MBAs did those too. Except they called them unpaid internships.”

You sigh. “But this is what the cool internet kids who are hip with social media do. It’s cheaper, less time-consuming, and a lot less actual work. Kind of like the the 4-Hour Work Week. You know, GTD is my middle name.”

“Umm…I don’t think it’s appropriate to discuss gestational trophoblastic disease in an interview… and you do know we work more than 4 hours a week, right? Next!”

Wait. Ridiculous, yes?!

And look – Seth Godin, the king of cool internet people who built great careers on ideas alone, went to Stanford GSB, one of the top 10 business schools in the country, if not the world. I know he writes that he didn’t learn a lot there, but “reinventing” requires learning the traditional ways first, which is why I think getting an MBA is a good idea for people who are serious about changing the world like Seth Godin has.

Apprenticeships like the ones Seth Godin is offering are fantastic for bright, talented candidates as well (and honestly if you are a fanboy of Seth Godin you better jump at this chance) – but let’s face it – the experience could never equal an MBA. Or an alternative MBA. (Eww. I just shuddered. Let’s please banish that phrase and not use it again.)

And maybe you don’t want it to. The MBA experience isn’t for everyone. But if I can be biased once more, without someone hurling The Dip at my head, I must add that while I learned a lot of great stuff working at a startup for six months, I learned at least as much – probably more – about starting a company from my ten week entrepreneurship class this past quarter.

Yeah, really.

Which is why I’m going to begin writing more about my experience getting an MBA on this blog. Starting now, not every blog post, but maybe every few. And then I’m going to go even further, and teach anyone who wants to listen everything you need to know to get an MBA too. If you want to learn more about my mini anti-anti-MBA revolution, subscribe to Twenty Set (for free) today.

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  • Great post, Monica! I'm prepping to apply to MBA programs myself, looking at the top-tier programs, etc. My company mentor is pushing an executive MBA program at me, but a piece of paper isn't what I'm looking for. I want the experience. I don't want to telecommute or do a weekend MBA.

    Learning from one person over 6 months who is an expert in one field just doesn't come close to having a group of professors who are experts in a variety of fields. Good MBAs cost so much because they are worth so much.

    I remember the kids who went to the alternative high school and got to graduate early doing less work. I don't see them climbing the corporate ladder with me or starting businesses. Just because alternative is hip, doesn't mean it's effective.
  • Holly, congrats on applying for an MBA program! Let me know if you need any help with your applications, or just want to chat about it. I remember being totally stressed out during the application process myself.

    I definitely agree that the MBA experience is worth much more than people seem to think. Maybe the MBA itself doesn't matter that much as a qualifying indicator for a job, but if the candidate made the most of his or her experience that will affect him or her for a lifetime. Again, 6 month internships are worthwhile too for gaining experience and learning, but it's just not the same.

    Thanks for the comment!
  • Brilliant and funny! Your frustration with anti-MBAism is eloquently exemplified and to the point. Incidentally, that's similar to how I see advice-based start-ups like Brazen Careerists in contrast to more down-to-earth ones. There certainly are places for them, but those places are few and sparse and not meant for most people, not even for the Gen-Ys. While alternative MBAs and career-advice start-ups promise lots of things, there seems to be a certain lack of solid and immoveable foundations...
  • Great post with lots to think about. But as someone a little (*cough*) older, I'm not sure I agree that Seth Godin's offer wouldn't equal an MBA - at least in many industries and fields.

    I think it depends on what field you want to target. When I worked as an HR exec, I was in music, video games and advertising. MBAs rarely did well in those environments although they kept getting hired because of their credentials. But when the workplace is fast-paced and crazy and entrepreneurial and full of highly creative flakes, business school case studies are just not all that helpful.

    Most of the MBAs were either fired or quickly resigned. For those types of companies, I would choose the Seth Godin candidate over an MBA every time. For a global conglomerate? Probably not so much.
  • Monica

    Well done, thanks for sharing your perspective. I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say about both the MBA experience and the anti- anti- MBA revolution. Here's what bothers me, the anti intellectualism within mainstream, Charismatic nondenominational churches, among others. Drives me nuts! :) Cheers.

    -Mig
  • Gene, What do you mean about Brazen Careerist? I'm confused. Do you mean that Brazen is like the alternative-MBA and there is a network out there that provides a better experience?

    Louise, Thanks for the comment. I don't doubt that getting mentoring by Seth Godin would help someone in their career. I never meant to imply that getting an MBA is better than getting an apprenticeship, just that the two are inherently different.

    Miguel, You'll definitely be hearing more about MBAs on Twenty Set in the future. Thanks for the comment!
  • Bob
    An 'alternative MBA' doesn't have to be better than real MBA to be worth it. If a Harvard MBA is $50,000 per year and you're foregoing let's say $60,000 a year while you're going to school (opportunity cost), then your total cost is $220,000.

    A 6 month unpaid internship/MBA/whatever will have a cost of $30,000 in foregone salary. So the question is not "which is better" but rather "is the Harvard MBA $190,000 better than the alternative MBA.

    And the follow-up question is "are either of these worth more than what I would be doing instead?"

    You also have to take into account a person's goals. If your goal is to lead a web 2.0 startup, I think that Seth Godin is going to help you more than Harvard Case studies. The opposite is true if you want to go into finance.

    And if you're going to start your own thing, it doesn't matter what a hiring manager thinks. You're the one who's going to be doing the hiring.
  • @ Monica - "Better" is a vague qualifier. I wouldn't presume that the experience at BC isn't great -- knowing Penelope's belief about working as young professionals, I'd imagine the BC experience is anything but. Yet it seems all too... "fluffy," for my lack of a better adjective. How should a young BC professional explain to a prospective employer that s/he specializes in giving advices to fellow Gen-Ys (especially if s/he hasn't worked full-time in a "traditional" corporate world for 3-5 years to thoroughly understand the other side)? That's where I drew the analogy to the alternative-MBA. The experience is surely incredible and unique, but that experience alone isn't enough to turn someone into a qualified expert.
  • TB
    I've always been lead to believe that an MBA was all about the network you build and being able to have time for your own projects. My main concern about a traditional MBA especially right now is will the cost pay itself back? Finance would appear wounded its possible that those ridiculously high paying jobs will not be going to MBAs anymore and this would render the model of dropping 250k (lost income and tution) somewhat foolhearty...
  • TB,

    I have to agree that the network has been the most valuable to me in my MBA program. I can't speak much to the question about finance jobs: obviously they are dropping - my school alone has seen about a 50% drop in job postings for finance. So it's super competitive.

    But luckily finance really isn't the only thing MBA's can do - I plan to do entrepreneurship (private equity), marketing, or consulting after school. You can find high paying jobs in any of these fields. Of course, if you are already at a low six figures job you probably don't need an MBA - but for twenty-setters who want to accelerate their careers, it's a good choice.

    Also, if you go to school part-time, it's a lot cheaper, and takes only half a year longer than a full-time program. It's cost me about $100k in loans this way - but the network has honestly been worth it, and opened major opportunities for me.
  • TB
    Good to hear ! I was always fearful of the "network" aspect lacking simply because classes and events would be on the weekend and everyone would have rather alot to do. I guess I was more using finance as the example because roughly 45% of MBAs used to go into finance (I'll be interested to see what that % is this year). I certainly rate the part-time route as alot of friends of mine are doing that right now, I just prefer the lower cost of the CFA right now.
  • TB,

    If your goal is finance, the CFA may do the trick as long as you have the network already. Most people get an MBA for the network, and if you want to do finance and don't have the network you should go to a Top 10 MBA program because that's where most firms recruit from.

    I've found that the part-time programs are a lot different from full-time - more work experience means more classroom learning, but less time to do the optional readings and "theory" type stuff. It's all about what you're looking for!
  • Did you hear about the Jack Welch MBA? I think you get props for the prediction!
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