UW-Seattle TMMBA???

[bioning]

I got an offer from University of Washington Technology Management MBA program which will begin in Jan. 2009 but I am wondering wheather it is worth the price. Please give me some advices.

The program is designed for working professionals, therefore most classes are in the evening or on Saturdays. It has a rigid curriculum; no electives are availible. For a non-business background student, I doubt how depth I can build a professional after this 18 months program. Besides, it's tuition is >54000 a year, way more expensive than other full-time MBA. Considering the sky-price tuition and high life expense in Seattle, I am deeply wondering whether it is worth the cost. Most of the students are from companies nearby, like microsoft or boing, but I am from biotech and will go back to biotech industry so the software industry relatioship will not that helpful.

The advantages are the good reputaion of UW-Seattle and its 18 months design (faster is better?)

Please tell me, in this case, should I accept the offer?

[cburger]

I think you already list the negatives/positives well. I would probably ask: why did you apply to this school in the first place? If your intention is to go study MBA regardless of school curriculum this year, and reputation of school itself is good enough for you to decide, then it is probably not perfect but acceptable for you. If you are really set on biotech career and cheaper tuition, then you probably wouldn't have applied for this school. So it always comes down to: do you know what you want?

[bioning]

My goal is to be able to find a good job in the US, not only in Seattle, so I think reputation is importnat. But I still want to build strong professions from the program I am in, so that I can be competitive in the business working place. Do you think the TMMBA curriculum (http://bschool.washington.edu/tmmba/curriculum.shtml) can help me build a strong profession?

[cburger]

I will offer some personal opinions. I graduated from USC this year. and I lived in Vancouver, Canada for quite a while. So take my opinions at your own risk

Reputation: UW is one of Pac-10 schools. So reputation-wise it should be fine. but how far does the reputation reach? My guess is it's strongest with in Washington State, OK on the west coast, and minimal elsewhere

Curriculum: My personal opinion is that curriculum is pretty much the same across the business schools. The differentiation comes from the Professors' experience and the electives they teach, and the important thing is that you have to take initiative to look for the experience you want.

Career: As far as I know, there are not many bio-tech firms in the seattle area. On the west coast, those are mostly in Southern California. Big companies in Seattle are Boeing, Amazon, Microsoft, etc.

So my guess is that if you want to focus on biotech, you will need to travel outside of Seattle area, and since UW's reputation is good but doesn't travel far, you will need to impress your potential employers by your professional experience (I do not mean your curriculum, but your own working experience, combined with your curriculum).

[bioning]

cburger: Thanks for replying.

Curriculum: My personal opinion is that curriculum is pretty much the same across the business schools. The differentiation comes from the Professors' experience and the electives they teach

This program has no electives. That is my biggest concern. Though I love the technology industry oriented curriculum, I still need some flexibility to build one or more busines professions. I would like to build some financial profession and, after combinihng with my biotech working experience, hopfully would be able to enter VC or consulting firm. Do you think TMMBA could help that?

[cburger]

I think you said it yourself. You want flexibility but the program doesn't offer that. You want bio-tech focus but the program doesn't have bio-tech focus. That's 2 strikes....

Also, if you are thinking about US VC firms, i think your chance is between very highly unlikely to impossible. Consulting is a bit better.... maybe just highly unlikely... The reason VC is highly unlikely is because there are very few openings, and typically those openings are filled by referrals and/or personal connection. In terms of consulting, a lot of companies can be called consulting, so the chance is higher, but given the current economic situation and competitiveness, it is still very, very difficult.

I just realized that it's a part time program. Schools typically don't offer I-20 for part time students... So if you have green card or US citizenship, it helps a lot in terms of looking for job, but you should figure out something other than VC/Consulting.

Ultimately, it's your choice. there must have been something in the program that attracted you enough for you to apply. It might not be a perfect choice but you just need to weight the pros and cons

[bioning]

I finally made up my mind to give up this offer.
thanks cburger a lot.