People that are highly motivated and moving up will only be helped by getting an MBA, as it will provide additional opportunities. But which MBA program is an important consideration and very dependent on the candidate.

I’m currently working on a book that looks at this topic in depth: http://www.bitesizebschool.com/thebook/.

It seems employers have been more impressed with the fact that I considered the business components of the degree over the tech merits. From a practical since, I’ve been able to apply knowledge from both aspects of the curriculum. It’s too early in the process to quantify the payoff but early indication is that it was well worth the investment.

Business awareness modules, embedded within other degrees (including traditional masters degrees which have become very much under-valued at the same time), would add significantly more value to our future employee base in my view. We need far more broadly competent people, as well as a reprisal of with a strong foundation in engineering and science.

Uh, that seems to be in line with the downturn in the economy rather than something to indicate that getting an MBA isn’t worth as much. It reinforces the Outliers point of when you were born makes the most difference in your generation’s income level more than anything else.

Startups may not value an MBA, but from my experience with dealing with a lot of startups, they certainly could use some marketing and business sense, whether or not they have an MBA or not.