OUT OF LEHMAN: Don't rush into an MBA

It's a new year and you may be thinking about doing an MBA. My advice is to stop, and think twice. Last autumn, my business school requested my attendance at the World MBA fair held in London. I was representing them as an alumnus and stood in a booth patiently answering questions from prospective students.

The experience wasn't totally pleasant. I came away sensing an air of desperation - prospective students appear driven by panic more than anything else. This is not wise. An MBA is the biggest investment decision of your life. If you have a methodical approach to your other investments why follow the crowd when it comes to this one?

If you're one of the people panicking into taking an MBA, I'd suggest taking a deep breath and running through the following two points:

1) Why do you want to do an MBA? Unless the answer to this question involves a career (think general management, consulting) or a personal goal (multi-disciplinary skill enhancement) that requires you to have this qualification, you need to re-evaluate your options. Recession, fear of being made redundant, or lower opportunity cost are not good enough reasons. The decision to study an MBA should be driven by personal, not external factors.

2) What's your strategy? The common misconception is that the MBA gives you time to think and find what you really want to do. This is not the case. If you don't step into the programme without having narrowed down your career options, you are unlikely to succeed. The recruitment blitz will catch you unawares and recruiters will go after the most focused candidates. If you are completely lost, a two-year MBA will give you more thinking time. But you will pay a hefty price as well.

Most of the prospective students I met during the MBA fair were quick to point out what happened in 2001. Then, the recovery was swift. Students who went into business school in 2001 and came out in 2003 were very well placed to ride the growth wave of the last five years.

Now, nobody knows how long and deep the current recession will last. Do we have to be reminded that past performance is no guarantee of future results?

In my case, I went into business school during the two best years of economic growth. This had some advantages. There was a plentiful supply of jobs, and banks and consulting firms spared no effort in courting us.

The downside to starting your MBA during a recession is that competition for summer and full-time jobs will be intense. Firms are unlikely to recruit until they see clear signs of recovery. If you are thinking of studying a one-year MBA programme, the risks are even higher. Unless your graduation time coincides with market recovery, you are likely to graduate unemployed and completely broke - not a pleasant thought.