Your MBA makes me giggle.
TRUE FACT: The worst of all LinkedIn acceptance speeches are written by dual degree candidates from schools that have a 50:50 shot of being an online program.
DISCLAIMER: I’m not referring to dual degrees with MBAs from top 20 business schools. I’m also not referring to dual degrees with MBAs paid for through a residency program. These folks, as we’ll see, made adequate investments.
Lol, I thought you knew finance.
PharmDs ($150,000 on AVG) and MBAs ($130,000 on AVG) are expensive degrees. It’s unreal to see someone with a PharmD and MBA bragging about a fellowship offer that will pay them sh*t for the next two years as their loans compound like a mad man. The kicker is that they only needed a PharmD as a qualification because the medical affairs fellowship they accepted is on the medical side of the business. The MBA will never be needed for a future vertical promotion, ever. That’s a hell of an extra sunk cost for absolutely no reason.
Those with legitimate dual degrees are direct hiring into commercial biopharma, consulting, and healthcare leadership roles that require an MBA entry and promotion. They also benefit from sustained growth in their compensation/salary bands, as they cement themselves into commercial and leadership positions.
Now, if Mom and Dad paid for all your grad school, then your model is different than mine. But the financial optics of your decision to accept this fellowship are so far from what you want them to project. Also, if your argument is that “my pharmacy school doesn’t have the exposure to get a fellowship without the MBA” - then you have a way bigger problem on your hands.
An MBA is an investment in a network, not coursework.
Take this with you for the rest of your professional career:
Your network is your networth.
Since you have access to Google and are smart enough to graduate from pharmacy school, I’m very sure that you can pick up “MBA-esque” knowledge in your spare time. I know this because I did it and I’m far from an honors caliber student at the graduate level.
Stay plugged into global and domestic economic trends broadly and within your industry of choice
Be diligent about reading newsletters for your industry (10 min daily commitment)
Test your knowledge by engaging in consulting case prep work and by networking with commercial colleagues at local and national conferences
Sure, you won’t be enrolled in MBA 801 - Business Modeling and Prescriptive Analytics, but since you’re not going to be working in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, no one is going to care that you don’t have this skill set and/or understanding.
An MBA commands a high price tag for 1 to 2 years of schooling because of the platform it gives graduates to direct hire into non-entry roles immediately upon graduating. These opportunities stem from the b-school being a “target school” for specific companies/industries and having alumni in high places. If the MBA you’re signing up for doesn’t have precedent for a direct-hire opportunity in the industry you’re pursuing, then you shouldn’t sign up for the MBA, duh.
Hot take alert.
PharmD/MBAs boasting about their fellowship offer are like high school teacher hopefuls who get a master’s degree. They’re proud of their academic accomplishments but can’t find work because the district can just hire a desperate liberal arts school grad with debt oozing from their eyeballs.
I look forward to being your boss.