I believe that from a purely financial standpoint, an MBA is a better
investment than a PhD. An MBA is only a two-year program, whereas a PhD is
typically four to six years. The extra time for a PhD probably not yield the
extra income needed to make it a good investment of your time. A typical Harvard MBA gets a starting
salary a bit over $100K; the typical econ
PhD does not start much higher than that.
But the issue is not entirely pecuniary. The question you should be asking
yourself is what kind of job you want to have when you conclude your education.
A PhD makes sense if you want to consider the possibility of being an academic.
You may pursue a PhD and then decide along the way to pursue a different path
than being a professor. That is okay: Many PhD students leave for the private
sector when they are done with their degrees, and they get very good jobs there.
But if you are sure from the beginning that you want some kind of private-sector
job, then the MBA is probably the better route.
Ooppss! What have I got myself into?
But they also say "PhDs rule, MBAs manage" hehehe.
Salaam.
Ps. No matter what, I hope I'll get out of here, alive!
