How do I go about this?

[tee17]

I have a bs in Elementary Education, and after being out of college since '04, and working at an investment firm (long story), I have decided that I would really like to pursue getting a business degree of some sort...perhaps to become a CFA or investment advisor.(Please ignore my screen name, as that's a story in itself)I am planning on taking the GMAT soon...but what steps do I need to take? Do I straight up apply for grad school? Do I have to first have a BS in economics or business? Are there any pre-req's? Can most of this be accomplished online?I already work at the firm I am interested in, I just want to be able to move up within the firm and am wondering how to get the necessary paperwork.Thank you so, so, so much for your help!

 

[philjr]

Some MBA programs do have specific pre-req courses they want you to take. Those are often stats and accounting. But some don't require any specific pre-reqs. You can check the website for the MBA programs that interest you, learn if they have specific pre-reqs, and then take them at your local community college. The MBA was originally designed for people who had undergrad majors unrelated to business, and it's still completely accepting of people who had non-business undergrad majors. Don't worry about that at all. You should be able to find a good part-time MBA program near you. If not, then you can consider going online. But no matter where you go, make sure that the program is both respected in your region, and AACSB accredited. A lot of employers won't hire MBAs if their program wasn't AACSB accredited, so be careful of that. There are some AACSB accredited MBAs that offer online degrees, including some great ones: Babson, Carnegie Mellon, Thunderbird. Other good MBAs that are offered online are from UMass Amherst, Northeastern, (I think Boston University does as well...), and several others.

 

[!*Kazzle*!]

i don't have all the answers , but.. you can definately start by taking one or two classes @ a local college/university at the graduate level , before being accepted into a particular program. This way you'll be able to access all the ressources a school can provide, including your professors insights ( and guidance consellors, etc.), as well as it giving you an overview of the field(s) that interest you and the current approaches of teaching them etc. I wouldn't go the distance ed route initially. but do check out http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htmyou may find free inspiration there to chart your path! all the best to you !