Cal Poly/ U Washington/ UCSB

OsakaDad
Thu, 04 Apr 2013 21:57:33 +0000

I was an international business major and have an MBA from a top university so I can answer this with authority.

Cal Poly – Not as hard to change majors as you may think. The school may be ranked 64th nationally, but it is in the top 5 West of the Mississippi for all schools and even higher for the public. In CA it is probably #2. The difference is that it is a learn by doing program which is absolutely critical in business. Theory in business is useless unless you plan to teach. Kind of like a boxer that has only trained in the gym, but never been in the ring. You gotta be on the front lines where it is real. Business is a contact sport. As much as I love the Cal Poly program, they lack international business. For outdoorsy people, SLO is paradise year round.

UW – I have close friends that have graduated from there. Seattle is a great town full of people that love the outdoors. Yes, it rains and it is cold. Winters are long and dark. However, if you like extreme sports go climb Mt. Rainier or hike in the Cascades. UW will have a distinct advantage for international business and law especially for Asian business and languages. However, for practical application Cal Poly has the edge. Lots of tech firms, interesting culture. Pot is legal, but not on campus.

UCSB – Gorgeous campus. On the beach. A good solid UC. No business program. Econ is a social science not business. I know several people who went there and absolutely loved it. For a memorable life experience and an education that will not prepare you for business in the real world, choose this school.

The value of an MBA. I went to a school that did not prepare me for business. It was a large research university much like a solid UC. After graduation, I lived overseas for years and got some real business experience on the ground. It was very difficult and I had to unlearn so much in order to be successful. My undergrad degree gave me language and cultural skills, but did not prepare me for business. I then went to the top international business program in the US to get my MBA and it prepared me to be successful in getting a job at a large corporation in a management position, but not as an entrepreneur. I had to learn that on my own. Trial and error.

When it comes to business, I strongly suggest you get a hands on education and really learn what it is like on the front lines. Do as many internships as you possibly can and find a successful mentor that can guide you. Business really follows the apprentice model more naturally than the educational model. However, you still need certain basics that you can learn in school. Take accounting, especially managerial accounting and financial statement analysis. The language of numbers is the language of business. Take marketing and understand it. But never forget that “sales” and “marketing” are not the same and sales is far more important. No sales = no revenue = no company = no job. Sales pays for all the overhead and the cost centers of the business (like management and legal, etc.).

The MBA is a great networking tool. I loved every minute of my education, made friends for life and use the knowledge I got from there every day. But it was only a start that opened the door. I never really “mastered” anything. That took years of experience in the real world. The MBA, and I don’t care where you get it, even Harvard, is just a piece of paper. It should not be call a Master of Business Administration. It should be called a “Qualified to Start Learning Business Degree.”