To MBA or Not to MBA

I've been trying to decide if I should get an MBA. I'm a Computer Programmer by trade. On the one hand, the MBA is expensive both in terms of time and money while, on the other hand, an MBA may be an expense which I cannot afford not attain given the line of work which I am in.

I'm sure that I could find the time, if I really wanted to, during the next couple of years to achieve an MBA qualification, and that would stand me in good stead for my future career progression. The question really is; "Do I want to?".

I'm generally self taught. I was frustrated during my Computer Science BSc as I felt that I was merely spinning my wheels, as it were, to get a piece of paper while I had been programming for many many years before hand, since it's the family business. With hind sight I could see that the BSc was not intended to teach me how to program computers, rather, it was intended to teach me how to teach myself. I have noticed that this appears not to always be the case with degreee programmes, however, that's a rant for a different day.

Amazon has loads, literally thousands, of books about business. I could easilly discover the required texts for some MBA courses and teach myself the subject matter. Unfortunately this would prevent me from benefitting from a side effect of attending a formal MBA programme, i.e. social networking.

What do you think?