Which MBA program would be more beneficial? MBA Finances or MBA Healthcare management

[Riddley]

Since I'm not into dual PharmD/MBA program I'd be getting the MBA after completing residency.
Which of the above two would be more beneficial in your opinion. I know you'd think the obvious choice is healthcare but I'm interested in investment, stock market and entrepreneurship stuff.
Would I learn about these even if I took healthcare management?
What are advantages of finance program in a hospital/clinical setup?
I don't wanna go retail for sure and might not put up my own business just investment stuff is appealing.
Thank you

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[PharmDBro2017]

Personal Finance is something you should learn on your own time, and is quite easy to do. Buy & read the White Coat Investors books off Amazon, and you'll be more educated than the vast majority of the population.

Definitely do Healthcare Management if you're set on doing an MBA, but honestly if your company isn't paying you/paying for the degree, I personally wouldn't do it. PharmD/MBAs are a dime a dozen now.

 

[mentos]

You got a PharmD and did residency but don't plan on using them? How will you pay for all of this?

MBA is usually only worth it if your company pays for it or if you get into top schools just like with a law degree.

 

[VictorOfHungerGames]

Almost did pharmd/mba dual program since my school offered it but backed out at the last minute. Now my friends who finished with both degrees are in $50000 more debt than I am and make less money lol so... my advice for those whos seeking mba is, dont? Haha but then youre probably not gonna listen so do as you wish lol

Also, are you already in residency? Or are you still in school? If youre doing residency, why would you even worry about not wanting to go to retail? That shouldnt even be a question. But then again, about half of my friends who completed their residency couldnt get jobs in their respective specialties. Some ended up as just a staff in outpatient hospital and one actually is working for cvs lol. Funny enough, two that didnt even do residency is working as a “clinical” pharmacist at a hospital lol. Go figure.

 

[TheBlaah]

I don't think they have their residency completed or pharmD yet. It seems like they're planning on doing them, which would be a very poor plan indeed.

 

[mentos]

Almost did pharmd/mba dual program since my school offered it but backed out at the last minute. Now my friends who finished with both degrees are in $50000 more debt than I am and make less money lol so... my advice for those whos seeking mba is, dont? Haha but then youre probably not gonna listen so do as you wish lol

Also, are you already in residency? Or are you still in school? If youre doing residency, why would you even worry about not wanting to go to retail? That shouldnt even be a question. But then again, about half of my friends who completed their residency couldnt get jobs in their respective specialties. Some ended up as just a staff in outpatient hospital and one actually is working for cvs lol. Funny enough, two that didnt even do residency is working as a “clinical” pharmacist at a hospital lol. Go figure.

LoL I work at a LTC and they chose me over people who did residencies. I kinda feel bad for them but not really.

 

[grizzlesgrizzlies]

Personal Finance is something you should learn on your own time, and is quite easy to do. Buy & read the White Coat Investors books off Amazon, and you'll be more educated than the vast majority of the population.

Definitely do Healthcare Management if you're set on doing an MBA, but honestly if your company isn't paying you/paying for the degree, I personally wouldn't do it. PharmD/MBAs are a dime a dozen now.

Nowadays instead of doing independent learning/research and learning new skills, a lot of people prefer to pay for a degree thinking that throwing money at something would solve their problems...

 

[JamesL1585]

You got a PharmD and did residency but don't plan on using them? How will you pay for all of this?

MBA is usually only worth it if your company pays for it or if you get into top schools just like with a law degree.

Don't listen to this person. They don't know what they're talking about.

 

[JamesL1585]

Since I'm not into dual PharmD/MBA program I'd be getting the MBA after completing residency.
Which of the above two would be more beneficial in your opinion. I know you'd think the obvious choice is healthcare but I'm interested in investment, stock market and entrepreneurship stuff.
Would I learn about these even if I took healthcare management?
What are advantages of finance program in a hospital/clinical setup?
I don't wanna go retail for sure and might not put up my own business just investment stuff is appealing.
Thank you

Hi,

I'm in a grad program right now, and basically hang out in an elite MBA program everyday, so picked up on a lot of things. What do you ultimately want to do with your MBA? That would basically depict which one to pursue. If you're willing to share I can provide some insight.

 

[mentos]

Don't listen to this person. They don't know what they're talking about.

Ok, how are they supposed to pay off 200k+ for pharmD then another 100k+ for MBA? Have a few friends who got MBA and it made absolutely no difference in their career path, they didn't even get a raise.

 

[Jbrl]

Don't listen to this person. They don't know what they're talking about.

He’s completely correct, actually; you didn’t refute him since you talked about “elite MBAs” that tend to have a better value prop (and only for a specific segment of pharmacists).

@Riddley You should consider what you want to do and work backwards. For example - hospital pharmacy director -> Health admin residency with MHA component at low/no cost might be a good choice because they specifically will look for MBA/MHA for Director positions.

A PharmD -> 1-2 year residency -> 1-2 year MBA doesn’t make much sense. MBAs in general have mixed utility for pharmacists which has been covered extensively in other threads. Furthermore, personal finance, investing and entrepreneurship are things you learn to do on your own time. Instead of thinking specialization, which generally doesn’t matter anyway, click a level up and start thinking why you would spend 2 years of time and money on an MBA to begin with after 1-2 years on a residency.

 

[Riddley]

Hi,

I'm in a grad program right now, and basically hang out in an elite MBA program everyday, so picked up on a lot of things. What do you ultimately want to do with your MBA? That would basically depict which one to pursue. If you're willing to share I can provide some insight.

First of all thank you for your opinion.
The thing is since there is so much saturation in the pharmacy job market I wanna do everything I can to be on the top of my game and I'm keeping all my options open. So as of now I'm just planning.
I'm interested in stock market and financial investment stuff. So I was wondering if I should do MBA in Finances.
But since I'm in pharmacy the healthcare branch would be more helpful.
So I don't get it which is preferable

 

[MindGeek]

Among other topics, MBA programs teach managerial finance and corporate finance. If you want to learn personal finance, an MBA is overkill and you should be using a certified financial planner for annual checkups anyway. If you want to start your own business, an MBA is overkill to learn bookkeeping and you should be using an accountant anyway. MBAs are geared toward operating in a corporate environment and complying with standards for publicly traded company, not starting a small business. I don't see any utility in an MBA in Finance for healthcare administration. I have seen many MHAs in healthcare administration, but they were not pharmacists by training.

If your goal @Riddley is to get into life sciences equity research then go for an MBA with a concentration or specialization in Finance. I had applied to 11 life sciences equity research positions at 9 different firms/banks back in Spring 2016, with my PharmD, generalist MBA, and 4 state licenses all in hand, but did not get a single phone interview with any of them. I think that they may either be looking for Finance MBAs or candidates that have at least interned in equity research at some point. Just remember, entry-level analysts do not make as much as entry-level RPhs.

 

[JamesL1585]

Doesn't sound like for someone with your interest, the MHA would be beneficial. If you want to continue to be on the business, marketing, growth, M&A, etc type things. Do the finance degree. Get into the absolute best school you can (and it will likely change your life). If you don't go to a great MBA program, don't pay more than 50k for the degree, I don't believe it will be worth it (you can double check). Goal would be to go to a top 20 school, and the sky is likely the limit.

MHA to my knowledge is for someone who moreso wants to run a system or healthcare operations. Less so for business/finance etc

First of all thank you for your opinion.
The thing is since there is so much saturation in the pharmacy job market I wanna do everything I can to be on the top of my game and I'm keeping all my options open. So as of now I'm just planning.
I'm interested in stock market and financial investment stuff. So I was wondering if I should do MBA in Finances.
But since I'm in pharmacy the healthcare branch would be more helpful.
So I don't get it which is preferable

 

[JamesL1585]

Also, on a daily basis, I interact with executives at the pharmaceutical company's all who have MBA's. Many of them went to B and C list programs. I think the MBA on a baseline is worth the hustle you have. Now for the elite, highly sought after positions, the pedigree matters. Just personal sentiment.

 

[Lubeckd]

My question is how do you become a product manager or project manager with the MBA and pharmd.

 

[DIPEA]

Also, on a daily basis, I interact with executives at the pharmaceutical company's all who have MBA's. Many of them went to B and C list programs. I think the MBA on a baseline is worth the hustle you have. Now for the elite, highly sought after positions, the pedigree matters. Just personal sentiment.

Well, my former employer only recruited at MIT Sloan and Harvard. When pedigree matters, it only applies to no more than 5 schools to be honest.
Get the MBA when you absolutely needs it for promotion, then get it as cheap as possible or get the company to pay for eMBA. non-top 5 MBAs are just poor investment.

 

[DIPEA]

My question is how do you become a product manager or project manager with the MBA and pharmd.

with the pharmd, get the entry level position first. work the way up, and when ~3-5 years exp, go for the manager position directly.
unless MBA is absolutely required, do a cheap online MBA to meet the requirement. At that stage, MBA becomes just a box to check, and no one gives a damn whether it is from Harvard or state school.
Elite MBA programs are usually for working professionals who wants to pivot to other field, like marketing or sales to finance, etc. Have the right experience then MBA, never the other way around. But still, many would argue that if already having the right experience, why bother doing MBA~

 

[Lubeckd]

with the pharmd, get the entry level position first. work the way up, and when ~3-5 years exp, go for the manager position directly.
unless MBA is absolutely required, do a cheap online MBA to meet the requirement. At that stage, MBA becomes just a box to check, and no one gives a damn whether it is from Harvard or state school.
Elite MBA programs are usually for working professionals who wants to pivot to other field, like marketing or sales to finance, etc. Have the right experience then MBA, never the other way around. But still, many would argue that if already having the right experience, why bother doing MBA~

some product managers are actually doing software engineering. Usually the project manager directs the project and they can make or break a project

 

[DIPEA]

some product managers are actually doing software engineering. Usually the project manager directs the project and they can make or break a project

yes, but software product managers usually are promoted from software engineers or sr. software engineers. Rarely I have seen or heard some random MBA have become software product managers without paying their dues as actual developers first. MBA may work well in finance or sales and marketing, but silicon valley techs really don't give a damn about MBA. A lot of tech startups actually look down upon MBAs, cuz their mentality (business administration) is contradictory to the fast-paced, adaptive and innovative startup culture.

 

[greenteapanacea]

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[Lubeckd]

yes, but software product managers usually are promoted from software engineers or sr. software engineers. Rarely I have seen or heard some random MBA have become software product managers without paying their dues as actual developers first. MBA may work well in finance or sales and marketing, but silicon valley techs really don't give a damn about MBA. A lot of tech startups actually look down upon MBAs, cuz their mentality (business administration) is contradictory to the fast-paced, adaptive and innovative startup culture.

well you can be a scrub master, they usually direct the projects in the tech world

 

[DIPEA]

well you can be a scrub master, they usually direct the projects in the tech world

well, one of my family friend had an MBA from stanford in 1990s. She was under-employed and survived on side hustles since 2008. back then when MBAs were scarce, they actually mean something. So she worked for bank of america for a few years, then switched to tech. But since her background was in liberal arts, she was inevitably marginalized and laid off in 2008. Since then she is basically just doing side gigs.

MBA is only good to help getting the first job. The so-called alumni network used to work when the program was small and everyone knows each other. nowdays, not really~