If you had to pick an MBA concentration

[Squatch]

from one of these, which would you pick? (based on potential salary, longevity, stability, etc)

Assurance Services
Decision Sciences
Finance
Info Tech
International Business
Management
Management Accounting
Maritime and Port Mgmt
Marketing
Public Administration
Business Forecasting

[kick-ass-bob]

1. So what is it that you want to do?

IMHO, you are approaching the question all wrong.

The one that will give you the most salary over the long haul will be the one that you stay with the longest - meaning you enjoy it the most.
If you hate something, they may pay you more, but you will quit sooner.

[Squatch]

2. I could enjoy any of those...

[Coyote_Bandit]

3. I have an MBA with concentrations in

finance and management. I also have a JD.

Unless you want to sell financial services and investments, finance is best coupled with a strong accounting background - and preferably either a CPA or a CFA. Management is a soft business science that will offer the most benefit if coupled with other skills.

There are advantages and disadvantages to every concentration. You will do best to pursue the one that is most fitted to your skills and aptitudes. For example, there are significant personality and aptitude differences between those who pursue concentrations in marketing compared to those who do so in financial modeling and forecasting. I've known some marketing profs that almost intuitevly know how to motivate behavior who barely got through the advanced stats required for their Ph.d. programs. Meanwhile, the engineers and quant heads can almost intuitevly draw inferences about relationships between multiple variables based upon a cursory examination of a mathematical formula. Different work, different skills, different aptitudes. Look for the one that best suits you. It will be the better long-term investment.

[miss_kitty]

4. My sis has a finance degree and its been a struggle for her

Mind you its not an advanced degree, but her companies get bought and then they downsize. And I think there is a large ratio of assholes working in the field. Her best friend's sis, on the other hand, has no college degree and is a Vice President at a HUGH!!1!! financial concern, but that's because she is gifted in the field in the truest sense of the word and started there about 25 years ago. The same company has had many downsizing episodes in that amount of time.

So based on the personal experience of others around, I'd think long about choosing finance.
IIRC Accounting is supposed to be the big field to get into.

[TXlib]

5. I have an MBA, and I picked finance

Specifically, quantitative finance.

I would only recommend that if you have a math or physics background, though.

It definitely has high salary potential.

[NewJeffCT]

6. international business

learn either Mandarin Chinese or Hindi (?) while you're at it, too.

[On the Road]

7. I Went to Maryland's Program

in which most courses were fixed and only a few were electives.

I was advised NOT to concentrate in Marketing alone, but to combine it with something harder, such as Finance (which I did). The same might apply to other "soft" or staff disciplines, such as forecasting and decision sciences.

Although as far as Finance goes, I learned everything in the Accounting courses, which were great. The Finance courses were abstract theory, which were almost useless. Financial accounting was very helpful, in that it taught how to look at a set of financial statements and tell the story of the company from those. Management Accounting I found difficult to get into, and it seemed preoccupied with manufacturing ("inventory is divided into three parts: materials, work in progress, and finished goods").

Personally, I like the most specific ones, such as maritime and port management, if you would really enjoy those. The goal is to make yourself stand out, and how many people have that as a concentration? You just need to check the job market and make sure there are openings in places you would want to live.

I would recommend against Info Tech, which is glutted, and in which an MBA doesn't give very good preparation. There are tons of hungry programmers out there, many of them with management experience.

I would also recommend something that you could a line job in to begin, rather than being career staff. Both are valuable, but it's much easier to move in one direction than the other.

Hope this helps. it's a bit disorganized, so please post again or PM me if you'd like follow up. Good luck -- it's difficult to make that kind of decision at the beginning of the process.

[Wapsie B]

8. Healthcare Administration

Healthcare is the mother-lode for MBAs.

[XemaSab]

9. .

:boring:

[ProfessorGAC]

10. It's Not What I Did, But I Would Say Marketing Or Finance

Major firms seem to be essentially driven from those two disciplines. So, the career path is probably best.

I did a focus in economics. That was consistent, because of the mathematical modeling, with my prior two advanced degrees.
The Professor

[Squatch]

11. Alright, thanks everybody!

I just wanted to get a feel for peoples' ideas.

I was thinking about Int'l business since I speak fluent German and would love to move back to Europe.

I also enjoy the hell out of Finance.

So, it's going to be a toss-up between those two.

Thanks again!

[Montauk6]

12. Info Tech AND International Business

You might as well cash in on that Giant Sucking Sound any way you can.

Oh, I forgot, this may come in handy when you're ready to defect, should the Rethugs steal another one in '08.

[bleedingheart]

13. anything accounting....

a lot of the finance/accounting guys I know are quite wealthy and always employable...