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Comment by bitL | Hacker News Reader

I am thinking about starting MBA in the fall (having MS in CS from a Top 10 US school), just because I can and it could be helpful for running my own companies. Talk me out of it please!

(I might do a PhD in ML in parallel if I feel crazy enough)

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It sounds like you should do... neither.

Your expectations seem to be very high and different from what the degree will deliver, on an average (you might be an outlier and still want to do it).

MBA: * expectations: help start your business * reality: networking, understand business process, opportunity cost (both time and money)

PhD: * expectations: help start your business * reality: petty politics, super high opportunity cost (both time and money), possibly minor improvement in research field (if that)

How would the MBA help in "starting & running a company"? I think the PhD may provide a better launchpad to starting something up. You may want to correlate startup founders to MBA degrees at the time of founding if you need hard data.

That's why I am asking because I have some doubts. But there are specific entrepreneur/innovation oriented MBAs oriented in dealing with VCs, negotiation, strategy from initial state etc. Of course those are just guidelines, but I was thinking it's good to have all things on the radar instead of trying to invent all business processes myself alongside all the tech that needs to be developed.

Think about whether you need to get an MBA, or hire one.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen hired one* (Steve Ballmer)

* Ballmer dropped out of business school before he finished

If you have the time and money to spend (or it's otherwise paid-for) and a spot at a top 5 program--why not?

Opportunity cost

Thus "_time_ and money to spend." Studying for a year or two at Stanford would probably come out on top of most opportunity cost comparisons, absent a pretty compelling plan in some other direction.

what do you expect to learn specificly?

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