Wasting time on the wrong thing is my biggest fear

It's the era we live in. It's hard not to look around and see what others are doing. Where they stand. Which career ladder they've decided to climb. And which step they're on now. Am I moving at the pace I thought i was? Am I where I want to be? FOMO used to be a phrase that needed explaining. Not anymore.

So it makes sense my biggest fear is wasting time on the wrong thing.

I hear the same from my friends, wife and colleagues. People worry they'll sign up for the wrong degree, start working in the wrong workplace, or take any wrong step in their career. Have we lost our patience?

Probably yes — we've lost it. But it's not our fault. In a world that is moving so fast; where new professions are coming to life every morning and evening; where other jobs disappear — there's a significant penalty for making a move in the wrong direction. You could finish your degree to find out you were off target.

Taking this into account, we need to ask ourselves:

‍Should I go for a part-time MBA or full-time?

Well, what do YOU think? For me — part-time is the only option that makes sense. I guess that’s why it is the most preferable option for most people:

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On the one hand, quitting everything and going for a full-time degree - say - for two years, is a great idea. It gives you the focus to acquire the knowledge. It provides you with a chance to spend the time and energy needed to learn in-depth, to prepare for tests, and to do the homework. But on the other hand...

Well, let's begin to list the other hands:

Because (1) A full-time MBA is freaking expensive

It's a financial matter. Few can afford to take on a full-time MBA

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And beyond the astronomical costs of MBA degrees, (especially in London and other major cities), there are additional costs you need to take into account:

• You have to pay for the whole period you're not working. It's not cheap to finance yourself in a big city.
• You'll be stopping yourself from advancing your career for these two years. There's no way to give back those two years - you'll be behind.
• And, for most of us, the best time to learn is when we are still single, or married without children. On those years we have more energy and time during the day and night to invest in ourselves. Those years won't come back. It's when you can take this additional project on yourself at work without it all becoming too much. It's when you can stay later at work every now and then - showing the management how serious you are.

And even if you had the money

Let's assume you can fund those costs. And you don't mind losing two years for the diploma you receive at the end (not that an official degree is as significant as it used to be). Still -

There are many reasons why a part-time MBA (especially if you live in London or any other big city) makes a lot more sense than full time. For example -

Because (2) Working while studying is the best way to practice what you learn

Studies are a means to an end. For sure if you're going for a business school — you're not learning for the sake of the knowledge. It's not a philosophy degree, right?

Instead, you want to be more attractive in the job market. You want to acquire new business skills. Finally, you want to make new connections. So the thing is — these things work better if you study while you work.

Remember what you learned in your first degree? You've probably forgotten most of it. We all do. It's because we learn so much in class, but then we (maybe, hopefully,) use what we've learned only years later — learning while working means that you can practice what you learned yesterday, in your work today. And that's attractive both for you and the company you work for. That's especially right for business skills.

And learning part-time means, you can use the network you're building at school - right now. You don't have to wait for all of you to finish school to start enjoying the connections. And that still leaves us with the most significant benefit — 

Because (3) Part-time MBA means you start enjoying your new status immediately

If you learn business part-time, you're already declaring that you are on the way to own an MBA degree. Therefore, your status gets an immediate push.

At my company (Jolt — an alternative business school here in London), I manage the product and marketing teams. I have employees on my team studying business part-time. From the moment they've started school, I automatically put them in the A list. The list of "Potential Managers" or the list of "Potential promotion in the future." I don't have to wait until they graduate to know how serious they are.  

For me — those are people who have decided to invest extra time and energy beyond work — to acquire more skills, to invest in themselves, to invest in education.

It's a signal for me. Especially in today's world. Why? Because

I want adaptable and up-to-date players on my team

Because I need people who can adapt to the rapid changes in our world. And I need people with business skills that are relevant and innovative. And to the extent that the place where the person decided to study part-time is modern and creative - I get an employee who is sometimes more up to date than I am; one that can teach me new tricks; one who brings value to my team and our company daily. 

But there's one last reason why part-time MBA makes so much more sense - and it doesn't have to do with the organization you work for — it has to do with you. Learning part-time is the right thing to do mainly because — 

Because (4) it makes learning so much more effective

Because not only can you immediately take to work what you learned last night at the MBA. It is also works the other way around. You can take your work to school. And that's what makes this learning so much more effective.

Remember in your undergraduate, professors used all kinds of case studies from other companies, to demonstrate what the theories they've taught?

So when you study a part-time MBA, nothing is theoretical. You sit in the classroom, and when the teacher speaks, you apply it to an example you have from work. This is the most effective way of learning - the kind that gets into your memory. You'll have better questions to ask the lecturer, and you'll have more to contribute to the class.

Hope I was able to explain myself — and if you have one good reason why full-time programme makes more sense than a part-time MBA, please DM me on Twitter.