MSA vs MBA

[Firehawk]

Can anyone explain to me what the difference between a Master of Science in Adminstration and a Master of Science in Business Administration is?

I know that the MBA has more business related courses, is more technical, more theory, finance, etc. I know the MSA is more of a general adminstration degree.

I know the MBA has alot more prerequisites (about 9-10) than the MSA (about 3). The MBA requires a GMAT score, the MSA does not.

So, obviously, the MBA seems like it's a better degree based on requirements. I have a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering. I want to pursue management career. So, which is best? If I could go the 'easier' route and get the MSA, and still achieve goals, I'd rather do that. I've already had a ton of math and theory so it'd seem I have all the necessary background for an MBA and it'd be like taking it over again.

I guess what I'm really asking, is show me the difference by using job examples so that I can better judge which is better for me.

In the career world you compete in, I think the name of the school you attend is probably more important than the alphabets of your degree, although MBA does have a more popular ring to it in the business world.

I have an M.S. degree rather than an MBA degree but my masters work was in taxation so it was more specialized than the MBA which tends to be a bit more generalized. In hindsight, it hasn't meant as much for my career as my CPA designation, and I'm sure the same will be true with your career in hindsight. Your engineering credentials will probably give you more mileage. But to answer your question, I would suggest the MBA route.

Cool that you are considering more coursework. More sitting on your butt which makes squeezing in workouts a bit harder while maintaining a full-time job. I went through some serious episodes of fitness erosion working on my M.S. while working full-time which I finished, finally, when I was 30 years old.

Good for you for wanting to take career things to the next level! Keep me posted.

[Lady C]

I have a BSME and an MBA. The best answer I can give you is what do you want to do? If it is manage other engineers then I suggest the MBA. It will give you the business understanding to make quality business/engineering decisions.

My MBA program did not require the GMAT. Some schools have found there is no correlation to GMAT scores and good MBA graduates. Like Pierni points out, it depends on the school and how well it is rated. I personally didn't have big bucks to spend to get an MBA from a top 10 school. I chose the best school for what I could afford.

I had to take 9 pre-requisits since my under grad was engineering and not business (accounting, finance and marketing). I did my area of expertise in ecommerce since that will be the wave of future businesses. It took me 3 years working full time and taking one class continuously (even in the summers). I was working to become a Six Sigma Black Belt at the same time. So it was lots of training/learning for me. Now that it is done - I wished I had taken more statistics classes. I am thinking of getting a certificate or another masters in Applied Statistics.

It depends on more of how the MSA or MBA will fit with your career goals.

[CF-OC_gal]

I have a BID and an MBA. The MBA is a generalist's degree. Nothing wrong with that as management is about that. Most of my colleagues were engineers. In the private sector, that is what was asked for. A lot of them had their education or part of it paid for by their employer.

I did the GMAT. Don't sweat it. There are lots of prep materials out there. Each school has their own expectations for candidates on the GMAT. Like they say the hardest part is getting accepted into an MBA program. The courses themselves are not all that tough (IMHO).

After a few years in a management position, once you've proven your worth, it won't matter where you got your education. The finance and accounting side of the program should come easy to you as a engineer. The case analysis, decision making and strategy side of things came easy to me as an entrepreneur. As a manager I can always hire out my weakness in quick number crunching to a bean counter. Having the ability to make a decision with limited information and take responsibility for it is the bottom line.

If a management science degree can give you that confidence then you should be able to present yourself in that light at any career related interview. But then I've never been known to take the easy route.

[Firehawk]

I am not sweating any tests, going through a true engineering 4 year degree is tough enough to prepare for any other education save a doctor in my honest opinion. Those who took engineering level math (Calculus and above) would probably agree. My issue is with the length of time it takes to get the degree, and thus I don't want to be swamped in prereqs for a year. The MSA program has 3 (all of which i can waive), the MBA program has 9 prereqs, 3 of which i can waive, which still leaves 6. The program they are offering is an 18 month program not including prereqs. If i can't do this degree in 2 years or less, I won't go for it, simply because, in all honesty and to be blunt, I can't stand school.

Pierini, I started trying to lose weight when i was in the middle of my college education. I was going full time school, full time work, and never missed a workout because it was important to me. Some nights i was lifting at 10pm, but i felt if I wanted to lose weight that's what I had to do, so I made time. I'd do the same this time. I don't miss workouts ever, even on Christmas. If it's scheduled and i can't rearrange my schedule before or after that day, i do the workout on Christmas then .

Anyways, perhaps some of you can site examples as to when it'd be beneficial to get the MSA as opposed to the MBA and vice versa. I don't want to have to do more than i need here. Also, I'm not even certain i want to stay in engineering management, but that's probably the most likely place for me. I wouldn't mind going into health management, or jsut another technical management area. Make no doubt about it though, this is about money ultimately. I'm looking to get paid.

My concern is:

I don't want to go get an MBA and find out later i went the hard route when an MSA woulda been just fine.
On the other hand, i don't want to go get an MSA and then find out that an MBA is what I needed and hence i"m limited.

I wonder if the type of BA degree you have before getting an MSA or MBA also plays a role. For instance, since I have an EE degree, it stands to reason that I have plenty of math and theory under my belt, so an MSA would be a nice compliment since they don't hammer you again with that stuff. But, is that good enough, or not? I just don't want to hamstring myself.

Bottom line though, i won't go for more than 2 years back to school. I just won't. I hate school, still hate it as much as the day i graduated, and that was 3 years ago. I can't stand the atmosphere, classrooms, professors you're supposed to give respect to just because they know more about 1 subject than you do...yadda yadda. It's all silly to me, but that's life i guess.

Sorry for the rant, but if someone could post more examples of when an MSA would be important over an MBA, or when an MBA would be more important to get over an MSA, that'd be appreciated. Keep in mind what I said about getting paid as well.

I'm sorry but I don't have alot more to offer you in response to your specific additional questions. Lady C is your best bet, engineer to engineer.

Better to bang out the additional education now than when you are older in my opinion. And in hindsight, it will always be easier than it was when you were doing it.

This education stuff is a lifetime for most professionals. I need 80 hours of continuing professional education every 2 years to keep my license current. I average a bit more than that just to stay competent.

Out of curiousity, do you ever see yourself going the self-employed route? That might be a factor in your choice.

[Firehawk]

I would like to go self employed but it's so tough to start up a business, and it's a big risk. I am not a big risktaker so not sure how well i'd do.

I'm sure it'd be easier now to get it out of the way, but honestly, i can't tolerate years and years of schooling again. It took me 6 years to get my bachelor's, because the first couple years I wasn't going full time, and was lollygagging around, but then when i was sick of it I just loaded up courses and worked through it all to get done. Ironically i did better with grades when I did that than when I just took 1 or 2 classes at a time. My last 3 semesters i carried 15, 15, and 17 credit hours to finish out, while working full time, and never missed a workout .

But anyway, I guess my hatred for school might certainly hold me back. It's different if I had to go for a few seminars, etc, but enrolling in an entier program is another story. The 18-month program is right up my alley, 1 1/2 years, alot of work crammed into short semesters, and I'm done. I'd rather do that, I just need to make sure if I go the MSA route i'm not handcuffing myself.

[Lady C]

Like Brat points out after a few years of working no one pays attention to what school you did the work. Just that you completed it.


This is my opinion, take it for what it is worth. If you plan to manage (technical or otherwise) do the MBA. If you plan to stay technical and do some management do the MS. The MBA does carry more weight in the upper exec. realms than the MS.

You can do some pre-req courses on-line. If you don't want it bad it enough then don't do it half way. There is no easy route. Bite the bullet and do it right. [Clarification I did 3 courses of 3 units to get the pre-reqs. 1 year. I did them while doing the MBA - I just could not take the upper level course without the undergrad course first.] The courses for an MBA are more reading and busy work than hard.

[CF-OC_gal]

I guess I was lucky in that I only had one MBA prereq and that was a math class since I had been out of school more than 8 years by then.

I too had to do 2 years of the engineering program as part of my undergrad degree. I slogged through 2nd year calculus and algebra and thermodynamics along with the rest of the 6 girls and 300 guys in my year. (It was much less by the end of 2nd year).

The only person I know who has done a MSA was a woman, also an EE, who left a 6-figure engineering job (in Canada) after getting her MSA in Europe. She married a Dutch chef who was in the same management program and they quit their jobs to start a catering company. They broke into the top 3 caterers in the city within 5 years in a very competitive market in the Nation's capital.

Engineers can be quite smart!

When I was choosing a program she encouraged me to do an MBA. Because of her job location, she could only do an MSA.

If you hate risk, forget going out on your own. I remember one prof saying that an MBA often makes managers scared because they now understand the risks involved in taking a chance on trying something new.

[Firehawk]

I think i'm going to investigate the MSA further.

[Firehawk]

Can anyone shed any light on the credibility between the MBA/MSA versus the Masters of Science in Engineering Management degree? MY buddy found this degree being offered at a local college and it has no pre-reqs, no exam requirement to get in, and so immediately that kind of flagged me that maybe this degree is 'weaker' or not as 'quality' as an MSA/MBA.

Can anyone shed light on that?

[CF-OC_gal]

Maybe the college is weaker or of lessor quality. There is an accreditation standard for business schools. The one I went to has it.

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