Should I get an MBA if I want to start a company in the future?

It depends on the type of company you want to start. Non-tech probably would be helpful. Tech probably not - how many Tech founders you see with an MBA. That said an MBA could come handy being an early employee. Now again we're talking about a non-top-tier MBA.

With a top-tier MBA you get to hob-nob with alumnus that will give you an advantage.

If you want to start a company in the future and have two years to dedicate to education on the subject, educate yourself by starting a company now. In two years of trying to get it off the ground you will learn more than in any MBA program.

MBA Professor here (Canadian mid-tier university): You are correct in splitting the problem into two unrelated issues: MBA for career and networking vs. MBA for knowledge useful in starting a company. You will get more benefit if the former is your priority, less if the latter is your priority.

That's not to say an MBA is useless for the latter; like all education you get what you put in, no matter the school. And you can get a <em>lot</em> out of it if you have a specific goal. Many schools have electives and tracks for tech entrepreneurship for instance. You will also get exposure to issues that non-MBAs are sorely deficient in: HR, OB, OT, and the people issues that experienced managers and founders always admit are the most important issues when running a real company (read Ben Horowitz's book, for instance).

But like the second poster said, you can learn a lot by simply starting and learning as you go (I wouldn't say <em>more</em>, but different and more specific knowledge). Many founders learn as they go and then hire real managers with the general base of knowledge they need. On the other hand, most founders fail and they don't realize it was because they lacked the general base of knowledge in business (read: people) issues an MBA will help with.

That's my take on it, for what it's worth.

If you really want to start a company, just start a company. You'll learn more that way. No b-school can teach you how to be a founder. You'll learn by doing and from mentors within your immediate ecosystem.

On the other hand, if you want to take 2yrs off, do some soul searching, meet some great people, then an MBA <em>might</em> be what you're looking for. Go for a top 5 or 10 program, else not worth the ROI.

Startup founder with MBA

MBAs are for dinks

If you can do it, do it. It can't hurt and if you have an idea you can work on flushing out a real concept with the expertise they can provide.

Start a startup, YCombinator are making their Stanford Course 'How To Start A Startup' available online, follow that program for the next three months and go off and do your thing.

I'm a founder with no MBA who sold my business for 50mm. i went to a top undergrad program and felt that was a good enough stamp of approval when i started my business. i've learned 10x more real world experiences than any of my mba friends can imagine, however this is only the case when everything works. My recommendation is that if you're young enough and you can get into a top top program, take the 2 years and do it. there's never a rush to start a business unless you already have the most amazing idea that you know will change the world... and if you did, this wouldn't even be a thought right now. the engineering career path will mix with all these skills you're interested in as you advance and the mba is a great way to consolidate those learnings into 2 years... Remember, top programs only with name wow factor...

NO MBA. Further, anyone who reads this who is already going through an MBA program and is aspiring to become an entrepreneur should DROP OUT NOW. You're biased in your position and feel compelled to complete what you started, but doing so will be at too great a cost. You do not need an mba. Finishing the program will HURT you and make it harder to fulfill your entrepreneurship dreams.

an MBA is like the anti-entrepreneurship track in that it prepares you for an "optimization role" in an established organization within an established market

With regards to entrepreneurship-- a b-school network is largely overrated, the education they offer isn't applicable, and you probably won't be able to afford forgoing income for the duration required to launch a startup.

I have an MBA from a Top 30 school and am a serial entrepreneur. Went through the tech boom and bust with two publicly traded companies. An MBA is good for turbo charging your career (my first work after undergrad had me going nowhere), but it seems you have a good gig now. Also good for working at a corporation and learning about the various aspects of business. Will it help you climb the corporate ladder? Doubtful?

You say, "What about focusing an MBA on entrepreneurship?" There is no better way to learn about entrepreneurship than doing it yourself. An MBA, no matter what people say, isnt good for that. No one asks me if I have an MBA, and if they did, wouldnt truly care after I said yes. Potential investors in my company could care less.

Unless you get your MBA from Stanford or Harvard, where the connections are very good, I say stick with the startup path and pass on the MBA. You have a good undergrad engineering degree.

I have no regrets in getting my MBA and I did so in my mid 20s, but my circumstance was different, and I got mine in the mid 1990s, before the Internet became big.