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Is an MBA the ticket to that luxurious high paying office job?

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Jr. Member
Jun 13, 2003
165 posts
8 upvotes
Kitchener
jungeon wrote: 4. Many MBAs use their business background to become millionaire's, you won't have that background as an electrician, and not all mbas become super rich, but much more mbas are living a luxurious life than electricians and they didn't have to do nothing but paper work to get their which is the easiest work.
5. 500k buys a nice house in gta and buys a shack in fort mcmurray
7. By age 40 most cas make 500k a year, many of them have become directors in major firms, those who put 80-90 hours a week in business for 20 years are mostly very wealthy, those in ibanking and consulting who have put those kinds of hours have either moved up to make millions in salary or started their own business which is making them millions.
Those two statements are laughable, particularly the 2nd. Most CA's make $500k by 40? Having 2 brothers as CA's, both big 4 experience, one with 20 years under his belt, he's lucky to get $250k.

And as a guy who works in corp. finance, it has always blown my mind what some of the owner managed plumbing and electrical firms make.
Sr. Member
Sep 29, 2007
747 posts
345 upvotes
Ontario
userstatus wrote: I'll admit that I've been working a lot lately. More than 40 hours per week.

Anyways, I work at one of the big oil companies in Fort Mac. Not quite a journeyman yet, so I'm not quite earning my full potential yet.

My hourly rate is around $42 an hour. Time over 40 hours a week is double the rate ($84). Also get a yearly bonus of around 8-15k a year, along with a retention bonus for sticking around of 15-20k.

The journeyman electricians/instrument techs at my company make $53 an hour currently. Overtime being double that rate, that's $106.

Lately I've been putting in a lot more time than normal. My company allows me to work as much as I want. It's usually 7 days on, 7 days off, but I've been working almost non-stop. Putting in 80-90 hour weeks.

Also, I only have one trade ticket. In the future, I'd like to become an electrician as well. With this dual certification, pay goes up even more.

I'll also be able to contract out my services for a lot more money.

With that said, I have doubts that a 10 year experienced MBA will make more than me, sorry to say.

I've been trying to get into an Electrical apprenticeship with the IBEW here but it's all booked up solid. If I'm willing to move out west (name a place), is the situation still that much different as it was a few years ago or has it cooled off? Where would I start?
Banned
Jul 8, 2009
4006 posts
127 upvotes
simms wrote: This is really only one side of the equation. What's your after tax discretionary income after your expenses? 150K may be great, but if you're paying 4k/month on mortgage or rent since you live in Fort Mac, you'd be in much worse shape as Jungeon said.

The other thing you mentioned is you've worked more than 40 hours a week. So really, to actually have a fair comparison, take your after-tax discretionary income per wk and divide it by the number of hours you work per week.

And agreeing with Lvno.. knowing friends that live in Fort Mac, thank goodness I'm not there either.
I don't think you need to worry about the MBA grads that making $80K on average working 40 hours a week, living in metropolitan areas. They likely don't need or care about your pity.
Ya after tax your taking home 104k, now subtract your million dollar home payments from that because that what it takes to buy a nice place to live up there. Now subtract your taxes on your million dollar home. This guy has a good point, your per hour wage is still good, I'm not going to lie, but on second look a see that an entry a/p is making 100k, so your salary is not that impressive, I'd imagine th mbas up there are pulling down a fortune.
High school grad pad by th town is making 80k
op is making 150k
a business analyst from a college is earning 104k (no overtime counted but same hourly wage as you)
an accountant with any designation is start off at 140k work 40 hours a week, so looks like the jokes on you. You accounting counter parts earns the same with half the work.

PS, op all of fort mcmurray is about 10km, i bet there are no girls up there, maybe I will go open up a strip club up their and take all your idiots money. I mean I don't think there are any attractive females up there.
Sr. Member
User avatar
Nov 12, 2003
672 posts
9 upvotes
JoeyMBA wrote: Yes, it is.

While introducing me to top IB execs, the Dean looked at me in the eye, shook my hand, and said: "This is your ticket to that luxurious high paying office job"

Boom. Done. Game over. Models and bottles and a better life guaranteed all for the low, low cost of tuition at $75K.

"But Joey, those meetings do not guarantee a good luxurious high paying office job ..." - Are you stupid? Well, that was harsh. But you aren't all that bright if you're comparing trade work to an MBA anyways.

Moving on, nothing guarantees nothing. Aristotle can put that in his logical matrix and stuff it. What people pay for is;

1) Opportunity. Opportunities not easily had or made in the non-MBA world. I give you cash, you give me the requisite education, connections, and networking opportunities to JUMP a couple notches forward in my career ... that is the Business school - Student relationship. And by and large, that is how most FT MBA programs break down into nowadays ... mid-to-late 20 somethings who would rather pay the money and make the career jump in 2yrs than work really really really hard and get there in 7.

2) To showcase that you can do the required work in a middle management role in a F500 company. And it is a lot of work. And they are going to pile it on nice and thick because even at 75K a year, MBA grads are a bargain.

This reminds me of the recently minted undergrads who, after looking for 4 months, settle for a 32K/yr call center job at a bank having been sold the dream of climbing up within the organization ... except the MBA grads enter in at middle management and are sold the dream of Executive status and private washrooms. And the MBA grads actually have a shot at it.

3) MBA students are a certain 'type'. Business school recruiters actively profile those applicants that fulfilled the basic GMAT, GPA, Resume prereqs ... will they fit in? Are they employable? Can they actively network and socialize? Do they have drive and ambition? Can they do a ridiculous amount of work? Are they the kind of person who is inherently able to succeed, regardless if they had an MBA? This profiling is why some people are critical of school's like Schulich who do not interview applicants - it devalues the school and the program having randoms who want to 'find themselves' ... or who want to get into 'finance' because they watched Wall Street and IB salaries are on the news and in everyone's mind.

As an aside, money doesnt buy class. Money doesnt equal class. Middles equate money with class ... and, more deeply, equate a persons worth with money and class. :facepalm:


Take away:
1) Balling is my hobby
2) Haters gonna hate
3) Any recommendations for a LED TV? Looking at one for my washroom, apx. 5ft viewing distance.

Well said lololo

Image
Remember, you are what you eat! NO DONUTS!
Jr. Member
User avatar
Sep 18, 2010
106 posts
3 upvotes
GTA
JoeyMBA wrote: Yes, it is.
3) Any recommendations for a LED TV? Looking at one for my washroom, apx. 5ft viewing distance.
I'd recommend this. Some might say it's a bit big but if you want an ideal theater experience...

PS. If you make two horizontal holes in your popcorn bag, you can use the toliet paper holder to actually hold your popcorn in place.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/06/shar ... -set-with/
Jungeon wrote:PS, op all of fort mcmurray is about 10km, i bet there are no girls up there, maybe I will go open up a strip club up their and take all your idiots money. I mean I don't think there are any attractive females up there.
I've been told there already are a good number of hookers there. Some MBA already figured this out and started a brothel there. Might have been JoeyMBA.
Sr. Member
Aug 10, 2007
882 posts
11 upvotes
There is no ticket to success. An MBA does not guarantee a high-paying job, but neither does learning a trade. If you can't help your company make money or you can't do a damn good weld, you aren't going to make the big bucks. If you're good at what you do, you can earn lots of money either way.

You can still make more if you get an MBA than learning a trade, but that's because those with the ideas to make big bucks (more than that of running your own plumbing business or whatever) are generally drawn towards studying an MBA.
Newbie
Mar 30, 2004
15 posts
1 upvote
This thread makes me laugh.

You guys are generalizing that most MBA's make more than this trades guy who rack in $150k/yr. Sure, living at Fort Mac sucks but $150k is quite a bit of money that I can assure you 80% of MBA grads will NOT make in their life time.

I used to work at a financial firm and now own a boutique. A lot of MBA grads lack quality from Canadian MBA schools. Most of them DO NOT have undergrad backgrounds or finance work experience. Quite a few are from engineering or IT and they know they hit the ceiling at their job and so they try the MBA route to get into I-banking or analyst job.

The worst are the young inexperienced MBA grads (inexperienced = almost no working experience in any field). When interviewing them they think they have 15yrs experience under their belt just because they have an MBA degree. Most have great personalities and aggressive, but rarely do we pay them over $65k to start. Most end up as analysts and after 3-4yrs if they show no potential they are stuck again at a glass ceiling of $75 to 90k. Only 15% of those staying more than 3yrs break the $100k ceiling and make good money.


Anyone who tells you MOST MBA's make $100k+ are probably not even in the finance industry, or they're pulling figures out of their azz just like some of these posts in this thread, or they're currently an MBA student that is delusional of the slim chance they really have.

The reality is less than 10% of MBA's make more than $150k. So this guy making $150k is actually doing pretty good for himself.
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Jul 12, 2001
2823 posts
57 upvotes
Toronto
There's a huge difference between the quality of MBA grads from top universities versus those from lower tier universities.
Those from lower tier universities, from what I've seen, have the drive that most MBAs have, but the skills of a college undergrad. I can't see any organization paying these people more than 45k/yr to start.

Then you have your ivey league MBA grads who are genuinely brilliant people (well, most of them are). Companies will fly them to their head office for a tour and treat them to a fancy dinner in hopes they can recruit these people.


MBA is a piece of paper saying you meet minimum requirements for that great office job. But only the best candidate gets the job.
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User avatar
Jun 26, 2009
1031 posts
4 upvotes
Surrey, BC
In the end, it's all about your own skills. You simply can't generalize having an MBA versus not having an MBA. You can only compare against the same person.

A poster said that he only pays his MBA workers $70K per year. Well, they might've not gotten hired if they didn't have their MBAs. Obviously, for them an MBA is very useful.
The unexamined life is not worth living.
- Socrates
Newbie
Feb 27, 2010
53 posts
4 upvotes
nixx wrote: This thread makes me laugh.

You guys are generalizing that most MBA's make more than this trades guy who rack in $150k/yr. Sure, living at Fort Mac sucks but $150k is quite a bit of money that I can assure you 80% of MBA grads will NOT make in their life time.


The reality is less than 10% of MBA's make more than $150k. So this guy making $150k is actually doing pretty good for himself.


The op makes $42/hour which is $87,000/ year the rest is overtime and bonus which are not always guaranteed.The guy is doing good for himself financially. However, to say you pity other people is derogatory. I don't have an mba and don't really want one, but I would never look down on anyone else for getting one. Also, if you live in Fort Mac you shouldn't be looking down or judging anyone.Fort Mac is full of these kind of guys who judge their worth on the size of there paycheck or hourly rate.

On a side not you can make even more in the Northwest territories, so why not move there?

(current Fort Mac temp -22c high to -30 c low)
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User avatar
Aug 25, 2004
5791 posts
52 upvotes
Lvno wrote: The op makes $42/hour which is $87,000/ year the rest is overtime and bonus which are not always guaranteed.The guy is doing good for himself financially. However, to say you pity other people is derogatory. I don't have an mba and don't really want one, but I would never look down on anyone else for getting one. Also, if you live in Fort Mac you shouldn't be looking down or judging anyone.Fort Mac is full of these kind of guys who judge their worth on the size of there paycheck or hourly rate.

On a side not you can make even more in the Northwest territories, so why not move there?

(current Fort Mac temp -22c high to -30 c low)

Last I heard, the rent there is also 2x higher than Toronto lol. The housing prices are way more expensive as well. If you add up all the numbers, it's almost the same :lol:

Food is also way more expensive as well.
rems wrote: yes...for those that say it doesn't are lying. There has to be some sort of physical attraction (unless you're visually impaired obviously). Looks get you there and personality keeps you there.
Deal Addict
Nov 1, 2001
1943 posts
171 upvotes
The key to making money in Fort MacMurray is to not live there.

If you have a trade, a camp job is the way to go(IMHO).
2 weeks in and 2 weeks out. You can live anywhere and they'll fly you in for your rotation and it's all paid for.
Work a couple of extra shifts on each end of your rotation = $150k per year.

If you're young and want to set yourself up, you can bust your butt for a few years and have your house in Toronto or where-ever
paid for and go from there.
Member
Jan 18, 2011
391 posts
77 upvotes
Toronto
The short answer is no. Right now, there are a surplus of MBA's in Canada, and this population is getting larger, and larger each year. Some schools in toronto are even trying to double their graduating class size in the hope of increasing their global footprint.

Job opportunities in the past few years, needless to say, have not been forthcoming. Check out the employment stats for the school that you're interested in - and make sure you get the response rate for the mba surveys (usually its 75% and the employment rate of surveyed students is 90%). So if the typical class is 250 people, you're basically looking at 1/3 of that class being unemployed. When you factor in the opportunity cost of lost wages plus the cost of the tuition, it can be a horrible risk to take unless its paid by the employer.
Newbie
Dec 12, 2008
85 posts
2 upvotes
Halifax
userstatus wrote: As title says. Is it?

It seems like this forum is full of bcom/mba/accountant-type talk. I'm guessing 90% of the people in these programs are in it for the money as well.

For that reason, I pity these people. I'm nearly a journeyman tradesman and probably make at least 1.5x - 2x more than these people fully certified. I also love my job and love going to work.

So for the vast majority of mba graduates that pay 50k+ in tuition. Where do most of them end up? What's the pay as well?

I didn't, I went to commerce cos of a girl lol, the **** kids do sometimes. I'm making 18 bucks an hour right now, and I havn't even graduated yet (and that's quite a bit in Atlantic Canada). Don't judge anyone, if you have a better job or make more money, good for you, but don't look down on someone unless you're helping them up. We all make choices, and can you really say you'll never made a bad choice?
Deal Addict
Feb 5, 2010
2764 posts
183 upvotes
nixx wrote: This thread makes me laugh.

You guys are generalizing that most MBA's make more than this trades guy who rack in $150k/yr. Sure, living at Fort Mac sucks but $150k is quite a bit of money that I can assure you 80% of MBA grads will NOT make in their life time.

I used to work at a financial firm and now own a boutique. A lot of MBA grads lack quality from Canadian MBA schools. Most of them DO NOT have undergrad backgrounds or finance work experience. Quite a few are from engineering or IT and they know they hit the ceiling at their job and so they try the MBA route to get into I-banking or analyst job.

The worst are the young inexperienced MBA grads (inexperienced = almost no working experience in any field). When interviewing them they think they have 15yrs experience under their belt just because they have an MBA degree. Most have great personalities and aggressive, but rarely do we pay them over $65k to start. Most end up as analysts and after 3-4yrs if they show no potential they are stuck again at a glass ceiling of $75 to 90k. Only 15% of those staying more than 3yrs break the $100k ceiling and make good money.


Anyone who tells you MOST MBA's make $100k+ are probably not even in the finance industry, or they're pulling figures out of their azz just like some of these posts in this thread, or they're currently an MBA student that is delusional of the slim chance they really have.

The reality is less than 10% of MBA's make more than $150k. So this guy making $150k is actually doing pretty good for himself.

Well said.
Newbie
Feb 22, 2011
18 posts
4 upvotes
Vancouver, BC
Fort McMurray and the Northwest Territories can be great if you have a plan to get in and get out. There's absolutely no reason that you can't make well over $100k a year and, if you're smart, you'll get a camp job where your living expenses are paid for. Now, do that for 3 or 4 years and live frugally (which is VERY hard to do with those kind of paycheques and that environment) and save as much money as you can. Realistically, you could build up a savings of $200,000 in 4 years if you really wanted to. Make that money work for you and get out of the North. Sitting on a savings like that, you can afford to go back to school and find a job that you want. Just my suggestion anyways.

I work in the mining industry so I know a lot of guys who make that kind of cash (most of them are oil rig drillers or tradesmen) and 95% of them live pay cheque to pay cheque. It's pathetic. These guys are driving around in $80,000 pickup trucks with two snowmobiles in the back worth $15,000 each. Most of them have a coke and booze habit that runs over $2,000 a month. I can't believe that they would waste such an opportunity to get ahead. I mean, everyone likes their toys and it's nice to have something to show for your hard work but these guys need to be a bit more realistic.
Sr. Member
May 5, 2006
690 posts
5 upvotes
[QUOTE7. By age 40 most cas make 500k a year, many of them have become directors in major firms, those who put 80-90 hours a week in business for 20 years are mostly very wealthy, those in ibanking and consulting who have put those kinds of hours have either moved up to make millions in salary or started their own business which is making them millions.[/QUOTE]

Not true, very few MBAs ever reach this level, obiviously you don't have any ibank or consulting experience or you would know how few jobs there are like this. More likely the average MBA works at a bank, realtors and investment advisor from what I can see. 1,000s of new MBAs each year and a handful end up in investment banking.
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Jun 12, 2009
1474 posts
193 upvotes
commie wrote: How many years do you think you and your body can handle working 80-90 hour weeks?
What will you do with yourself when you are 40-50 years old?

STFU.

How many years can anyone work? How many years can you take it up the ass from your boss?

This guy is intelligent (accept it). He has the ability to make enough money in the next 10 years, to set himself for LIFE. He has not even talked about SUB. Factor that in? Hell, I did this for 2 years @ half his base rate and I'm still laughing x years later.

Based on what you said, how do those $16, 000 pay checks feel? A lot of people on here will never understand how someone between 18-25 can pull in over $15, 000 in one 2 week paycheck. It's a good feeling eh?
Deal Addict
Sep 18, 2008
1064 posts
355 upvotes
Woodbridge
let's take Schulich

is it too much different for your future career journeys having a part time MBA diploma versus full time MDA diploma from them?
Deal Addict
User avatar
Apr 1, 2006
3370 posts
346 upvotes
Brisbane
I'm writing the GMAT in May.

I'm not going to get an MBA for the money. I want to get it because there's so many tools out there (like a couple in this thread), that believe making good money is more important than being a good, respectful and effective manager. A lot of people want to be in executive management because they want to increase the size of their cock. I want to do it because I honestly believe not enough people do it right.

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