[fintstone]

Originally Posted by cockerpunk

i have seen us ruin some pretty mind blowing opportunities (100 million+ stuff) and product lines because of MBA's not understanding what they are doing and why we did what we did.

goes to the point made about listening before.

...or maybe they did and you didn't understand business enough to recognize why their decisions were better than yours. Maybe they were listening and you simply failed to address areas they were concerned about or understand why they were concerned.

I agree with those that suggest engineers go on to grad school on their employer's dime. I suggest this to all engineers that I mentor. Some prefer an engineering MS and some business (MBA) depending on their interests/goals. Some do both. Like many engineers, my job became less technical and more managerial over time and the concepts learned in the MBA courses came in very helpful. It is much easier to sell the "money guys" on initiatives/programs if you can speak their language.

I also recommend that engineers get their PE as soon as possible (while school is still fresh as it gets hard later) ...even if their current career path does not seem to require one. Your path may change.