CRJCapitan

I have been kicking around the idea of pursuing an online MBA. My educational background to date would mesh fairly well with an MBA track. I'm not 100% sure whether the goal would be to potentially open doors to a management-type role or facilitate a side hustle. Obviously, that is something I would need to nail down with more certainty prior to potentially starting this to ensure a proper ROI.

I am wondering if anyone has had any experience doing an online MBA program while still flying the line. I am generally "productive" on layovers, so that would be a logical time to dedicate time to the coursework. Of course, some time would be required at home as well.

Here are some of my concerns:

- Biting off more than I can chew in terms of time commitment
- Having availability to view lessons if they have to be viewed at a certain time (conflict with a trip)
- Availability to take an exam at a designated time (conflict with a trip)
- Not being able to attend a mandatory in-person event of some sort (again, conflict with a trip)
- Not getting proper ROI

I am curious if anyone can provide any insight regarding these concerns or additional input from their own experience. I have strong interest and I have tried to read what I can on university websites, but it is unclear as to how this can match up with a pilot schedule. Obviously, these programs were designed with the 9-5 schedule in mind.


Thanks!

-D

todd1200

I think the biggest risk is your fifth bullet point, not getting the return you may be expecting. I did an in-person, weekend MBA program during COVID and loved it, but I'd say a small fraction of the MBA experience is intellectual. A lot is experiential, network-building stuff; developing verbal communication through presentations and mock interviews; and hanging out with your classmates outside of school hours. Obviously an online MBA would largely eliminate those factors, so you'd want to make sure the curruiculum somehow compensates for that absence.

Since you're not trying to change careers, an online MBA may be enough to seperate yourself from other applicants for Flight Ops/Project Pilot/Union type jobs. It can also help with TMAAT interview questions about time managment, teamwork, etc. I think the odds of helping you spin up a side hustle are smaller, but not zero, especially if you find a strong entrepreneiurial program. In my experience, a lot of that is based on in-person interaction, doing customer discovery, pitching your idea, etc.

As a next step, you may want to talk to people in the positions you are working towards and ask them about how they got there. Also, talk to alumni of the program you're considering. LinkedIn is a great tool, and you can filter by both company and school, to see if any graduates of the program work in airline industry, etc. Reaching out to them will also give you a feeling for how receptive and helpful the alumni network is. One of the biggest factors in my choice of school was how numerous and helpful the alumni were and how highly they spoke of the school.

DogPit

I didn't want to put in the effort for this when I was at a previous job that would have given me the time to do it and the company would have paid for it. There is no way in hell I would even contemplate doing this while at a major.

VacancyBid

That would be my concern. You're (presumably) not leaving the airlines which puts the first pass ROI at zero.

If you are looking to change careers ... I would try to find someone 5 years down the road who has had success with an online MBA. My strong impression is that online grad school makes grad school successful and not grad students.

Assuming you are going to use it towards some business of your own ... well, OK. In that case the degree itself is meaningless and ... to quote Good Will Hunting “You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library."

If we know where you want to be in 5 years that's different because you took an online MBA, we might be able to offer better advice.

hoover

I did an online masters while flying. Not an MBA program but a masters nonetheless. It was entirely online with no proctored exams. There was a schedule but basically weekly assignments and no live meetings etc.
I found I had plenty of time as long as I used it wisely. Could read whilenflying easily and even write papers while flying. Longer legs have that benefit.
Doing the work on layovers requires time on layovers to also eat, exercise, sleep as well as homework.
I still did a lot at home. About half.
I took minimum amount of classes so I knew I could devote enough time to studies. This took longer but I made sure I got good grades that way.
I guess youd have to really look at your schedule and see if you had a couple hrs a day while flying to devote to reading and writing and then another couple in your layover and then decide how quick you want to do it. Practice it in your next trip. Read something for at least 2 hrs while flying then another 1 on your layover each day and see if you like it.
its definitely possible.

CRJCapitan

Thank you all for the opinions and perspectives so far. I'd say the more likely goal would be to get into the flight office, flight ops or in traditional management. I definitely wouldn't leave aviation (if I have anything to say about it at least) and wouldn't want to give up flying completely unless an opportunity came up that I couldn't resist. I sincerely hope none of this comes off the wrong way. I assume nothing and am grateful for everything that this career has provided me so far. This job is about as good as it gets. I'm just evaluating all potential options and gathering opinions.

Please keep the opinions and perspectives coming! All are appreciated.

Sputnik

I know a guy doing in person law school while flying as an LCA in an international category. Compared to that, I think an on line program would be easily doable.

I'm all for education for educations sake. But for ROI, I recommend researching the jobs youre interested in first. Which others here have already covered.

NuGuy

This. MBAs are a dime a dozen, and other online programs even more so. If you need it as a resume filler for what is essentially another grunt level position slightly up the food chain, then fine, those programs are designed for precisely that. But the serious mojo doesn't accrue unless you have an in-person MBA from a "big name" school, a law degree or you're seriously juiced into the network.

Online programs are used to "game the system". Companies put barriers to climbing the ladder to filter out applicants based on whatever education metrics they want to lay down. Someone saw a profit opportunity to let people check those boxes without actually taking the time to go to school, network and be on campus. But never assume that the corporate overlords are blind to that game. That checked box will get you past the bot scanning applications, but they'll still hire their drinking buddy from Wharton, who knows less than zero about the business, before ever considering someone with an online degree from Wherever U. That's the secret about MBAs.

rickair7777

I've considered doing (another) post grad evolution, for personal fullfillment. MBA would be pretty low on the list... not particularly interesting or useful for an established pilot. Unless you want to get into flight ops management with an eye to working your way up the food change to big money jobs, MBA would be of couse applicable to that.

Consider aviation safety, safety management, or similar. That's very relevant to many union and management jobs, and would be pretty interesting to me anyway.

CRJCapitan

With regards to the first paragraph, I find the business side to be incredibly interesting so that speaks to me and is probably a direction that I'd have interest in pursuing. I've heard of it being done in an instance or two, but I'm not sure if there are so many barriers to entry for a pilot that it would make that path a total gamble. Obviously, the outcome would be very much dependent on the individual but the question remains.

The other stuff you mentioned is also interesting and worth looking into. Thanks for the suggestion.