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Certification or MBA

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I am fixing to graduate with my BA in MIS.
I have been working in support for the last 2 years as Customer Support Eng for a software company. Can some please tell me is it better to bet a MBA or get some Certification. Please help having hard time deciding what certification to get ?

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by rb_itprofessional

What exactly are your goals? What would you hope to gain by obtaining either? I think answering those questions will help you make that decision.

by mdorn66

I was trying to decide the same thing a while back, and thought to myself" what will I use this degree to accomplish". The only thing I could come up with is moving into management. I decided to go for my masters in management info systems, because that would prepare me for management and it's alot cheaper than an mba. I decided to wait a while to get a certification, because in my postion the only I could really get certified in was an oracle dba. I did'nt want to have a cert with no experience as a dba, so I'll wait until I get in a postion that I can gain hands on experience before I get a cert.

Just thought I'd share that with you.

by garion11

Get MBA because it will last your entire life, as opposed to a certification, which is only specific to that industry.

A College degree/MBA is much much more valuble than any certification (unless its CCIE and even then its a close call). The main benefit to an MBA is its applicability in other industries (if you ever decide to switch careers or what not). Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

by mlayton

...with the observations made here...degrees last your entire life. If you get the right MIS program, it could serve you better than some MBA programs, if your end goal is management in a technical field. You want something that balances knowledge of other roles in the company (legal, finance, project management, etc) with the technical information. This helps you understand your "customers" later in life AND gives you some fallbacks when the employment market changes - which it will eventually. Certifications expire - and what do you want to do NOW? because that's what kind of cert you should be looking at - you won't graduate and immediately hop into Management. If your immediate goal is employment, a certification may help you stand out against other candidates.

by debon

If it is your goal to rise to the top of this or any other organisation then that would be better served with an MBA as it would require involvement in corporate planning, forecasting, finance, management of other people inclusive of other managers, involvement at the board level, meetings with external bodies at the highest level etc. On the other hand if you wish to remain in the technology environment as a 'techie' or administrator then certification would be the way to go. This is not to say you should not go for both as they are not mutually exclusive. The sky is the limit my friend - ALL THE BEST IN THE FUTURE !!!!

by emalino

Certifications come and go and by their nature can be "crammed" for completion. Nobody can take away the benefits of an advanced degree, nor get one overnight.

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