given the economy, any H1 thinking about going back to school?

[pointlesswait]

YES..big time.. Online is a waste of time ,money and effort.
PT is still ok... FT is better..

Originally Posted by gcisadawg

did you guys consider Online MS/MBA? Lots of state universities are offering them now. Some of them are Univ. of Arizona ( WP Carey), PSU ( Smeal), UMUC, Thunderbird etc..

Does doing online remove some of the 'sheen' from your resume?

[praveenuppaluri]

hi King37, since you are a MBA, can you give this forum an insight on putting a $$ value (ROI calculation)

if you are continuing in your current job (H1, EAD whatever) and go to a B.school partime and finish in 2 years (or 3 if you want breaks) - what is a good $$ value that you can spend and come out victorious (ROI in 2 - 3 years)

ofcourse, this $ amount varies from person to person but I am using my case as an example. if I spend 30K over the next 2.5 yrs on my MBA by borrowing money (from personal loans, credit cards, friends etc) and get a degree from a decent state university, what is a good scenario with minumum risk ?? I should get a pay raise of atleast $15K after my MBA - how feasible is that for any engg in next 2 - 3 years ??

just food for thought....

Originally Posted by king37

my 2 cents is this case:
I myself an MBA.
Just have patience in this troubled times when all of us are in similar boat.

[a_yaja]

Originally Posted by gcisadawg

did you guys consider Online MS/MBA? Lots of state universities are offering them now. Some of them are Univ. of Arizona ( WP Carey), PSU ( Smeal), UMUC, Thunderbird etc..

Does doing online remove some of the 'sheen' from your resume?

My 2 cents:

Most of the online degree programs are not accredited at either the national or regional level. USCIS will not consider such degrees as valid degrees for EB2 purpose. It is better to do it at a proper school.

[crazyghoda]

If you are in mid career and want to do your MBA, you have to do from a top 10 university else its really no point. An MBA is more about the alumni network that it gives access to than what you are going to learn there. If you are already making 80-120K, doing an MBA from an average university is just a waste of time and money. The options come down to doing either a Part time or Exec MBA and those will cost you well over 100K.

My 2 paisas

[gcisadawg]

Originally Posted by a_yaja

My 2 cents:

Most of the online degree programs are not accredited at either the national or regional level. USCIS will not consider such degrees as valid degrees for EB2 purpose. It is better to do it at a proper school.

That is not the case. Most of the universities that offer online are regionally accredited.
Regional accreditation is much better than national. I'm talking about schools like PSU, UofAZ, UMUC, Harvard Extension, Stanford PDC etc....I'm not talking about capella, rushmore and all those diploma mills.

For ex: check
http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/Maste...ent_FAQs.shtml

I agree it takes some of the sheen but what are the options for someone who can not do part-time? My family commitment means online is the only option.

At the same time, it makes someone scary as to the reputation of the course/school.
Cornell is a great school. But check this website http://www.ecornell.com/catalog/fm/
and see how you can add 'courses' to your shopping cart!
Ultimate commoditisation of education!

Thanks,
GCisaDawg

[gcisadawg]

One of my friend did PT MBA from Carnegie Mellon. Shelled out top dollars. Worked in Deloitte. And got laid off. He is on unemployment and trying to find a job when we last spoke. But he is glad that he got his MBA from CMU.

My another friend did FT MBA from Duke University. Worked in Rosetta Net in product marketing, resigned, went to Europe for back pack trip, got back and now working in a startup firm in social networking area in DC.

My third friend did PT MBA from Temple Univ in Philadelphia. He was a s/w engineer but switched to finance. Got his CFA also (all levels) and worked in Wall St for a year before he got laid off. Now on unemployment and is looking for a job as well as doing world tours.

All of them are GC holders.

[praveenuppaluri]

gcisadawg...
that post will be the final nail to the coffin if someone is "tinkering" with the idea of MBA at top univ ($100K)...

anyway, thanks for sharing...

Originally Posted by gcisadawg

PT MBA from Carnegie Mellon. - got laid off..

FT MBA from Duke University. now working in a startup firm in social networking area in DC.

PT MBA from Temple Univ in Philadelphia. he got laid off.

[gcisadawg]

Praveen,

Yes, it gets scary. When the economy was good, MBA's looked sophisticated and 'driven'.
In the bad economy the first thing to depend on is tried and tested hard-work and the last thing is 'business-speak'.

No one can take the education away from a person once acquired. If one gets the value for the buck and employer sponsorship, then I don't see any reasons that stop anyone from engaging in value addition during this 'downtime'. But spending top $$$ is an altogether different ball game.

[aachoo]

There are two outcomes of the biz school experience- in this order:

- The alumni network as pointed out by someone. Typically better for the higher ranked schools. But not bad for the lower ranked ones- but more local (e.g. Anyone outside the Bay Area heard of Santa Clara University? Intel and AMAT hire a lot there). Typically better for the full time programs compared to the part time programs

- Learning something: There is typically very little knowledge you gain in biz school that you could not gain by reading things yourself/community college classes etc. Some minor exceptions (Financial analysis, options theory etc.). What you primarily learn is how to approach a problem from a business standpoint (rather than an engineering standpoint in my case): Not a whole lot different from a higher ranked school versus a lower ranked school versus a part time program.

My recommendations. Go for:
- Well ranked school
- State school if possible
- Look for assistantship (very possible in State schools)

My learnings:
- Do not expect you will be a hotshot right after your MBA
- There is stigma associated with engineers who got an MBA. Unless you are looking to join a tech company in a biz role.
- I have seen people with IT background go right back into the same area. People without an IT background (other engineering) have fared better
- Even if you manage to change into finance/marketing etc., you will have to build your career in that area
- Take your internship very seriously- change the area you work in. Work for free if needed to work in the area you really want. Makes the full time job search much easier

-a

PS- I switched from H1 to F1 for my MBA. You need to have F1 stamped (not just status change) if you want to work on campus. At least that was what I was told 10 years back when I did this.

[desi3933]

Originally Posted by reddy_h

No restriction on studying but if you convert to F-1 status, it is considered that you have abandoned your I-485 application since F-1 is not dual intent status.

Incorrect!

Once I-485 is filed, one can not change to F-1 Status. Even if you withdraw I-485 application.

Now coming back to studying on AOS status, it depends whether you are a primary or derivative of I-140 petition. For primary I-485 applicant, job offer and intent to join full-time must be maintained at all times while I-485 is pending. It is very difficult to prove intent when one is studying full time.

____________________
Not a legal advice.
US Citizen of Indian Origin

[rb_248]

Originally Posted by reddy_h

No restriction on studying but if you convert to F-1 status, it is considered that you have abandoned your I-485 application since F-1 is not dual intent status.

Can you go back to non-immigrant visa (F1) after applying for immigrant visa (I-485) ? Is it not a conflict ? Can you get approved in the first place ?

[rockstart]

Question I have for guys planning to go to school. What if CIS issues you a RFE asking for Paystubs and W2 how will you explain that employer needs me for a certain labor case example DBA or programmer and now I am studying MBA and will join back later? CIS will interpret that the labor is no longer needed since employer can do without you. Or once you are finished with degree why will u work on something u did before schooling