Why I Regret Getting An MBA

In the year 2020, I decided to go and get an MBA (from UW). In this video, I want to walk through my initial decision making process and why I would not recommend it in the year 2024 to people who might be in the same boat as me.

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Adding links for the courses I took on KZbin + books i read : 1. Corporate Finance: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKDEqGyLbpxmqZo 2. Valuation: kzbin.info/aero/PLUkh9m2BorqnKWu0g5ZUps_CbQ-JGtbI9 3. Marketing: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eIGukKSwmq2Sr80 (I actually watched most videos by Seth Godin. He's amazing. He also has a blog: seths.blog/ 4. Accounting: kzbin.info/aero/PLSQl0a2vh4HAHUM1CLDf4YnxpX-WmxKZi (khan academy) 5. Worth watching this by Ray Dalio before taking a macro-econ class: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnnIYZWOdq6ooZI 6. Micro and macro-economics in detail: kzbin.info/aero/PLAEA5E9ACA1508F92 (khan academy) 7. Case study method: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipycnaJ8p9FmZpo (Mihir Desai, Harvard) 8. Entrepreneurship - Nothing else needed except this in my opinion: kzbin.info/aero/PL5q_lef6zVkaTY_cT1k7qFNF2TidHCe-1. I would also highly recommend Peter Theil's book: Zero to One 9. Investments: kzbin.info/aero/PL8FB14A2200B87185 (Prof Robert Shiller, Yale). Not necessarily courses but I also like several of the "talks at Google": kzbin.info?search_query=talks+at+google+investing 10. This in my opinion is the best book on leadership/Management: www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884 I didn't find good courses on Venture capital but learnt a lot working for a startup. carta.com/learn/collections/early-stage-founder/ has good documentation If I remember anything else I have missed, I will add here as a comment :)

[@MohanRaj-vp1zt]

He is living in a bubble, when he says “all of them are extremely technical “ 😅

[@MrBlackjack456]

Key points: 1. The MBA's promise of helping to advance one's career or pivot into new roles is no longer as relevant in 2024. Online courses and real-world experience are now more valued by employers than an MBA degree. 2. The MBA fosters a mindset of encouraging people to parachute into and assume ownership of companies without practical experience or innovative thinking. 3. The MBA program lacks diversity of thought, with case studies promoting unanimous, conventional thinking rather than out-of-the-box ideas crucial for entrepreneurship. 4. The MBA experience did not provide practical, applicable knowledge as much as self-learning resources like KZbin videos on specific topics. 5. For those wanting to start something new rather than advance in a traditional career path, an MBA may not be as useful or cost-effective as free online resources. He suggests reevaluating the need for an MBA degree, as free online resources and real-world portfolio experience are increasingly valued over a formal business education, especially for entrepreneurial pursuits.

[@chetanrajeshirke3306]

If you pursue MBA from some Sh#t B school.. obviously you'll be placed accordingly!!

[@saurabhdubey5399]

Very Insightful Praveen. I did my engineering from IIT Kanpur and gave CAT thinking that I will also land job in MBB like my other IITK friends, who did mba from IIM abcL. But even after getting IIML, I later declined the offer and decided to move forward into my analytics career, coz I want to start something of my own, youtube, or anything. I realized that I don't wanna get into this rat race again which will compel me to just work for clients, rather I wanna work on something that I love, for me peace of mind is more important than big money.

[@jatinlokwani9722]

Can we connect?

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Thanks for your comment Saurabh. I deeply relate to your comment. I hope everything works out for you and that you get the peace of mind and success you are looking for. I'm hoping for the same through this channel :) I followed your channel and wishing you all success and growth.

[@kshitijbarai1606]

Great decision I also will be choosing mba in analytics as well coming from IT background

[@binoypaul4030]

searched for gold, struck a diamond

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Glad it was useful. Thanks for watching :)

[@prajvalnarad9930]

"Wow, what an incredible real video! Your content is both engaging and informative, and it's clear how much effort you put into every detail. I love how you [mention a specific aspect you enjoyed, e.g., 'explain complex topics so clearly' or 'use such creative visuals']. Keep up the amazing work - I can't wait to see what you come up with next! Subscribed and excited for more! 👍"

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Thank your Prajval! I'm so glad it was useful and you enjoyed it :) Your comment made my day.

[@rishaabbb]

Great insights. Keep going!

[@seemapurbiya128]

Even my life has been ruined bcoz of MBA , most of the employers don't want a PG student Rather they want a simple degree job In today's world MBA is worthless nowadays

[@anoop_4787]

thank you for sharing your experience.

[@TrainWithPraveen]

You are welcome 😊

[@sagargujarati9693]

very well put, thanks.

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Welcome :)

[@penugudurushiva]

Exactly, the professor who is in the A/C rooms and taking monthly salary may not know how to boost the business. And not even know how to handle the real time problems of a business. An ideal startup company owner with the establishment of 5 years in industry could be better teacher than a professor. At least you may save 20 to 60 lakhs of course fee.

[@TrainWithPraveen]

well said!

[@raghuramanrajendran1027]

Hey, I think you forgot to add the links from which you learnt many things; Looking forward :)

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Thanks so much for reminding. I have added all my recommendations as a pinned comment. I hope thats useful :)

[@pradipvader2323]

Hi Praveen I agree on your viewpoint, but would like to add another angle: a. For a person who lacks strong determination while using free/paid online courses, these B schools are stringent with time and deadlines empowering person with sense of urgency and utilizing time effectively b. For a person who may be introvert or as mentioned by you who is lacking mentor may be helped by peers and professors to get opened to different thought process c. Coming from IT/any specialized sector and if want to get overall view of other domains in structured way (though practical relativity of curriculum could be subject of debate) which further can be complemented with free resources available make little sense?

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Hi Pradip, Thanks for watching and for your thoughtful and kind comment. I made this video because I noticed there was very less content on KZbin making the points I make based on the MBA experience I had. There were so many other videos which explained the positive view of the MBA (some of which lead me to take the leap and do the MBA in the first place) but was surprised to find there were few videos explaining the opposite point of view. I made this video mostly for my younger self who could have benefited from hearing another point of view. To your specific points: a) I fully agree with point (a). Additional points/caveats: I think I did not have the determination that I think I have now but at the time, even if I did, I would not have known where to look which was one of the points of the video. Now there are way more free/paid online courses but I feel there is lack of awareness of them. Hopefully as these platforms evolve there will be more awareness of them and people can decide whats best for them. b) I would have loved to get mentorship by professors and peers but I didn't get much. Not sure if MBA in India is different but at UW where I went, I personally found no time for mentorship because we were all so busy with coursework, exams and projects. I hope this changes in the coming years and is also better in India. c) Good point about (c). I think my point was that you could also learn these through practical experiences (like joining a start-up, courses etc.) but point taken that the MBA gives structure and a process for learning. Thanks again for your kind and thoughtful comment. I really appreciate you took the time to give a thoughtful critique to my video. I will try and incorporate some of the feedback in the next videos I make :)

[@prashanthparthasarathy9603]

Thanks a lot Praveen

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Welcome :)

[@asthayadav6799]

Thankyou sir ,just want to know if online sources provide much of information, how do we start connecting with same minded people? Going to an b school gives an edge right? Hope you will reply ;)

[@MrBlackjack456]

Thank for the resources but I have a couple of questions for you: 1. You mentioned that the MBA program encourages a "managerial class and bureaucracy" that can inhibit innovation. Could you expand on what specific aspects or coursework in the MBA promoted this mindset? Are there any reforms you think could be made to MBA programs to better foster entrepreneurial and innovative thinking? 2. For someone early in their career who is unsure if they want to follow a more traditional corporate path or an entrepreneurial path, what advice would you give them? Is there still potential value in an MBA if approached with the right expectations, or would you steer them entirely towards self-learning resources and building a portfolio over getting a formal business degree?

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Thanks for the comment. I will try and answer below: 1) I can give a few examples for this: a ) Example 1: The ESG movement (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental,_social,_and_governance ) was picking up steam in the USA when I was in business school (www.nytimes.com/2021/11/13/business/dealbook/business-schools-esg.html). This was referenced in multiple classes throughout (economics, marketing etc.). The short version of ESG is that companies should not only serve the shareholder and customer (primary reason for a business to exist) but also needs to cater to stakeholders (environment, DEI etc.). This manifested in some interested ways in classes. In some case studies, we were asked to look at a business not just from how innovative they were but also how they satisfied "corporate social responsibilities". This in my opinion lowers innovation because the share value is determined by subjective, qualitative factors and not just the quality of product/service. b) Example 2 - How a company performance is measured is defined in business school classes and this influences innovation: A public company performance (atleast in the US) is measured in part through EPS (Earnings per share). A stock buyback reduces the number of shares with a negligible effect on earning. For eg. Apple is sitting on $70B in cash, only about 2.5% of the total value of the company. They have a list of things they can do with that money - acquisitions, investment in new products, cost savings projects, etc. If the company is incentivized towards innovation, they would focus on new projects but often we see Apple buy back stock to return the money to shareholders.We also see this now with earnings reports too. A lot of companies buying back stock instead of investing on R&D. This maybe short term win but don't think its a good long term strategy. I think the reforms need to be in corporate Governence (pcg.law.harvard.edu/courses/). In OG capitalism, there was a direct relationship between the founder (company owner for eg) and customer. But MBA and Law school introduced professional manager for scaling reasons. The founder is incentiviced for increasing profits but the manager is incentivized for increasing salary and sometimes there seems to be a conflict of interest (www.core-econ.org/the-economy/microeconomics/06-firm-and-employees-03-separation-ownership-control.html). Perhaps there can be reforms to incentivize the manager to care about profits too. This is already currently done in startups but hard to do in large companies. Not currently sure of the reforms in business school education to change that. Perhaps if more CEO's don't go to business school (a16z.com/why-we-prefer-founding-ceos/), maybe they will be forced to rethink the syllabus.

[@TrainWithPraveen]

2) Thank you for the thoughtful question. When I applied for business school, I was honestly in that scenario where I was unsure whether I wanted to climb the corporate ladder or pursue entrepreneurship. I have 2 thoughts: a ) Looking back, I really wish I had a mentor who could have guided me and shown me what execution of either of these looked like, not just the ideas and glamorous parts of it. That would be my first advice - talk to 2 people you look upto and get inspired by - one entrepreneur and one person who has climbed the corporate ladder and ask them the un-sanitized good and bad of both. Ask them the mistakes they did and how much they also had to sacrifice for their goal. Then you decide if you are okay with the sacrifice and the hardship of either and then decide. Sometimes we just see the good and make decisions out of it. Each decision has trade-offs. You have to decide which upsides and downsides you can handle and decide accordingly. b) This may not be possible for everyone but I feel the entrepreneurship angle might be easier to "test" out than the corporate path to see if you like it and honestly if you are meant for it (because i don't think its for everyone). If you have time, you can start a side hustle outside of your corporate career. It can be a KZbin channel or blogging platform or selling some service you are good at. This can be very cheap to set up (and some of them like KZbin completely free!) and earlier in your career, you have a lot more time and you can actually see if you like selling your service or good, making accounts, hiring people etc. I know many people who wanted to be entrepreneurs and then realized once they were "in the arena" that maybe they did not have the aptitude for it. I wish I had done this when I was younger even with this KZbin channel. I love it so much and would have learnt to do this instead of trying to climb the ladder. Its much harder to "test" climbing the corporate ladder because there are so many things outside of your control. Hope this helps :)

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Thank you very much for the very kind and thoughtful questions. It really made my day. You have inspired me to make some videos on this later and also subscribed to your channel :) All the very best to you.

[@MrBlackjack456]

That's very nice of you to take out the time and write a very detailed answer. Looking forward to watching more meaningful content. Hope your channel grows quickly and goes on to achieve new heights.

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Thanks so much. Also, if there is any particular topic that you would like to know more about, let me know in the comments, and I will try and make a video on it in the coming weeks :)

[@kshitijbarai1606]

Real business learning comes from business that are around us just talking to the business ppl gets u real understanding

[@shaileshrawat1837]

Hey Did you do mba from M7/ivy league/ISB/IIMs full time? If no, then it can explain why some parts of this video are legit faulty. Please answer in yes and no . And no online certification from coursera please even if its provided by FT top 30 institutions.

[@Dheeraj-hv7vi]

Hey I liked your content please continue, right now I am finishing a masters in data science was thinking should I do a phd in data science (3 yrs in Europe) or do an MBA maybe in a good uni like INSTEAD or do a job here in Italy (salaries are less here).Here In Italy and Europe I see a trend of doing Phd as its a shorter duration and is paid similar to what we should get in a job. 1200 euros -1500 euro PHD , Internship is 800 euro-Job 1600 euros what would you suggest. Should I work here and try to come to USA to look for a job? im also from India an international student .How to make the decision not getting help from professors or peers. I am so confused right now I would even pay for a consultation on this :X

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Hi Dheeraj, im happy to help if I can. Im not very familiar with the Europe job market, though. Can you reach out here ? www.linkedin.com/in/praveenkumar88

[@amitbanerjee5966]

I got admission in IBS Hyderabad for MBA. What is the current scenario of placements and is it worth to join?

[@Yanshcanshoot]

Should i pursue an MBA ,btw im a btech final year student from tier 4 college with no experience of corporate....

[@Ami7166]

Thank you

[@TrainWithPraveen]

You are welcome 😊

[@bharatsharma3083]

Looking forward to connect with you :)

[@TheMsnitish]

nice video, which country are u in right now ?

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Thank you :) Im in the US

[@danish2462]

No links in the description mate!

[@TrainWithPraveen]

I added as a pinned comment. Thank you!

[@samkum5654]

Currently i m in 11th grade in commerce stream, but after 12th i want to do mba

[@Maverick-Media]

What if someone is bad at math? This realization is holding me and scared of choosing the wrong degree

[@sbnerji12555]

Just practice and don't think too much, you can do it

[@thektmwanderer3274]

U CANT AVOID MATHS LEARN IT AND DO IT

[@TrainWithPraveen]

You can do it! Just keep at it.

[@vornamenachname594]

Management career is the worst for foreigners, because you need 100% perfect English. You need highly tuned cultural and social feelers and an extraordinary insight into English, and it's use, tonality, etc. You also need to look the part. Especially Indians are short and don't look like some bronze-age hero. Managers are usually tall. If you think those things don't matter you delude yourself. It can work out, but it'll be harder for you. Technical careers are more objective. Your skills count more, and they are more quantifiable and growth in that field can be planned and managed.

[@greatworld502]

hi, thanks for your video.

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Thanks for watching :)

[@ArjunAdiga-hh7sr]

Hey can u help me , i have completed my cs engineering in the year 2023 and currently a software developer and my interest lies in finance , i want to get into finance fieod and there is no other way i can think of other than doing mba through cat (as i am engineer) so i wanted to know whether there is any other way i can get into finance field ? Any course

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Could you reach out at www.linkedin.com/in/praveenkumar88/ ? I will try and help out.

[@Bobbaker007]

Very good insights

[@raunak4573]

Being a sde gives more freedom compared to mba i believe

[@jithinjoseph7578]

After bcom what do you suggest. MBA or MCOM ?

[@imadmukri1060]

MBA from iim is a great option

[@manidheeraj6098]

Hii I was about to step into my mba preparation (CAT )and this video popped up now I am really confused and in dilemma to do it or not i am 24 years old feels like i am stuck in middle of nowhere do you have linkedin can you share?

[@TrainWithPraveen]

www.linkedin.com/in/praveenkumar88

[@arijit1809]

hey, i am in a similar situation, did you find something useful?

[@akankshashukla3538]

Don't be confused. If u are interested in business world and want to pursue career in it , then do it. First thing u need to be successful is determination.❤

[@Experimental_account]

Bado badiii

[@longhorn789000]

Which b-school did u go to?

[@TrainWithPraveen]

University of Washington Foster School of Business.

[@aliscaler]

i dont understand wtf is there to teach, why you need a teacher, just read shit and contact experts only for a personal consultation.... thats the only reason why online courses are booming

[@imadmukri1060]

MBA done from IIM is not worth???

[@anuragsapkota6458]

0:40 I taad

[@arithmetic.499]

Why did you ignore MBA HR ? With economics 😂😂😂😂😂

[@IITIANforHelp]

Bhai kaha se MBA ki?

[@TrainWithPraveen]

University of Washington

[@retro781]

the video would have been much better if there was no music in the background, it is very distracting

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Thank you for your feedback. I will work on this in the future 🙂

[@prathams8685]

Takes Guts to say the truth out allowed

[@TrainWithPraveen]

Thank you.

[@chetanrajeshirke3306]

Well the institute from where you do MBA matters the most!! If you do MBA from some stupid Chachawala Institute ..obviously your placement will be the same!!