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Well, a few things. First, it's not like you're talking about going to a community college versus Harvard. The Fisher College at OSU is ranked 27th which isn't that bad. As an OSU grad who moved to L.A., I can tell you that you have NO idea what you are in for in a big city. Here in L.A., making money is a blood sport and $ 150,000 is nothing. I assume it is similar in other high COL big cities. Your (and your wife's) quality of life will definitely suffer and it will take YEARS for you to have the same quality of life that you have now. And how will that affect your marriage? Sometimes wanting what you have is more important than having what you want.
Hey glad to see an alumni. Yes I agree with that you said. I actually spent 3 years in LA for high school. I didn't remember too much about life in LA as that was a long time ago and I didn't think too much about life when I was only 17.
As I said in my original post, OSU is on top of my list for many reasons and it is a reputable program. It looks like most people here suggested staying in Columbus and I see the reason. I guess now the questions I need to ask myself is if it is worthy to leave the workforce for 2 years and get the MBA.
For someone to worry as much as you do about money, yet have so much that if you're being smart with it you could retire in 10-20 years (if not sooner) means you must be a Millennial. With your current thinking you'll never have enough.
What if you lost your job next year?
Then you live on your savings and rental income until you find another one. With the money your making you should have enough in savings over the past 4 years (assuming that number has been the same across those years) to live for a good long time with the low COL of Columbus and no debt you say you have.
However, if you were in one of those bigger, high cost of living cities it would be a concern, but not where you are currently.
Anyway switching careers is a reason. Now the next question you have to ask yourself/others is if in that particular industry a MBA is necessary/desirable to have.
For example if we're talking starting your own business no degree is needed. If you're talking moving up the ranks of a Fortune 500 company then maybe you don't need the degree, but need the paper to unlock more opportunity (the company requires it even if you don't need it). Or if it is in computers or some other technical area often certifications are better than higher degrees.
It will really come down to the industry you're trying to get into.
In Columbus you should be able to have a comfortable life on 60k to 75k and unless you need a Mcmansion or Ferrari or something you'll be fine.
Usually what gets people in trouble who make a lot is they also spend a lot or have a lot of debt.
Besides being in the company of your family and time are so much greater than money could ever be. The point of money is it gives you the ability to do as you please, not for the sake of having money itself (psst, it's not real).
Thanks for your thorough response. I appreciate all the time you spent drafting these notes. I want to switch from accounting to operation and Fisher MBA is famous for the operation side. I don't have a heart for big city and I enjoy Columbus. Money wise, I don't think what I am making now is important. What is important is the ability to keep making money/providing good resource for my family. I think at certain level, more money means better life--i.e, if my household income increases to 500k a year, that will have a significant effect on my family. For Bill Gates? Probably not so important.
OK, one thing I want to mention is that I don't want to attract any hate here. There is nothing to brag about of making 160K. Not to mention that is is the combined PRE TAX income of MY WIFE and ME. So each of us get about 80K. We do have a college degree and I already have a master, both of us are Ohio CPAs. And I should say, 80K for a CPA with 5 years of working experience is just plain normal.
Part of the reason why I want to do an MBA is to switching career. I don't want to do tax/audit forever, and MBA is famous for helping students change careers. Yes, money matters, but at my current stage, I don't consider myself "rich and need to do nothing". What if I lost my job next year? It's not like I have 8 million in my bank account and don't need to worry about anything. And if you think someone who has 8 million and not need to do anything, research " Lehman Brothers" .
And I am not asking money from my parents. They simply want to diversify their investment by investing in some real estates, and since I am interested in real estate, they give me the money and let me manage it/buy properties.
The whole purpose of my original post was to get some thought form the forum to see if a more expensive MBA was worth the extra cost, given my current situation. I never tried to "brag" about how well I am doing. It doesn't make too much sense to brag here as this is an online forum and no one really know me.
There's a good possibility that artificial intelligence will, as with lawyers, disintermediate the demand for tax accountants, especially if tax reform actual results in tax simplification. E.g., an adoption of a territorial tax system in the U.S. would eliminate the demand for many foreign tax accountants.
When I was in the audit game, advanced statistics and auditing through the computer were already being implemented. I can't imagine the productivity increases already realizing in auditing, and they may be dwarfed in coming years.
So switching to operations by obtaining an MBA actually is very astute.
Have you considered obtaining a CMA instead of an MBA, or perhaps both concurrently. CPAs that I've known who made the transition to operations often did so by obtaining a CMA.
For the record, I don't think OP is bragging at all. I think he has weird priorities and doesn't appreciate life. I wouldn't switch places with OP, nor even be tempted to. Just how it comes off, sorry if this isn't accurate.
As an OSU alum in Boston, I have seen many people obsessed with money and credentials. It's quite ugly. This might not be OP, just how it seems to me living in a place where nobody cares about anything else.
Regardless, OP asked for opinions about this situation. So that's mine. He didn't ask to compare MBA programs or ask how people adapted to life in a bigger city. He listed a bunch of personal info and asked if he should. I am merely saying, unambiguously, "no." If the original post was just looking for people to confirm what he already decided, then I guess I'm not helping.
For the record, I don't think OP is bragging at all. I think he has weird priorities and doesn't appreciate life. I wouldn't switch places with OP, nor even be tempted to. Just how it comes off, sorry if this isn't accurate.
As an OSU alum in Boston, I have seen many people obsessed with money and credentials. It's quite ugly. This might not be OP, just how it seems to me living in a place where nobody cares about anything else.
Regardless, OP asked for opinions about this situation. So that's mine. He didn't ask to compare MBA programs or ask how people adapted to life in a bigger city. He listed a bunch of personal info and asked if he should. I am merely saying, unambiguously, "no." If the original post was just looking for people to confirm what he already decided, then I guess I'm not helping.
As I understand from your other posts, you aren't married, don't own a house, and have no children. If this all is true, you will have some real wake-up calls ahead in life.
The costs evaluated below often require after-tax dollars and don't include higher education costs. Throw in a couple multi-week vacations and a trip to Disney World, costs perhaps not included in this study, but on many family wish lists.
I want to switch from accounting to operation and Fisher MBA is famous for the operation side.
If you already know this and have been accepted then way bother with anything else?
I personally don't think you need all that you think you need money-wise, but hey it's your life so either you'll make it work or you'll wake up one day with regret.
As I understand from your other posts, you aren't married, don't own a house, and have no children. If this all is true, you will have some real wake-up calls ahead in life.
The costs evaluated below often require after-tax dollars and don't include higher education costs. Throw in a couple multi-week vacations and a trip to Disney World, costs perhaps not included in this study, but on many family wish lists.
I've known many CPAs and others who successfully balanced careers and family life with much less duress than those with fewer financial resources.
I don't know what this has to do with anything. My point is that there is way more to life than obsessing over status and credentials and money.
Anyway, your post is confusing because you have also missed my point entirely: I have moved to a bigger city so I actually know what I'm talking about. Plus, I want to be married with kids and am not. Wake up call? Please, that's what I already have. Very surprised you didn't pick up on that, since you've read other posts about my life.
I'm also a minimalist. I have very few possessions outside of clothes, bed, a phone and I just bought my first laptop. I also cook all my food. I prefer to give myself raises by saving money and staying simple and not participating in the vapid, narcissistic rat race all around.
I don't know what this has to do with anything. My point is that there is way more to life than obsessing over status and credentials and money.
Anyway, your post is confusing because you have also missed my point entirely: I have moved to a bigger city so I actually know what I'm talking about. Plus, I want to be married with kids and am not. Wake up call? Please, that's what I already have. Very surprised you didn't pick up on that, since you've read other posts about my life.
I'm also a minimalist. I have very few possessions outside of clothes, bed, a phone and I just bought my first laptop. I also cook all my food. I prefer to give myself raises by saving money and staying simple and not participating in the vapid, narcissistic rat race all around.
It's great that you're a "minimalist" if you're totally committed to that lifestyle and have found a partner who shares your philosophy.
It takes great audacity, however, when posters assert a superior lifestyle philosophy in order to criticize another poster for bettering himself in order to have more career satisfaction AND a higher salary for the same, or perhaps even less, amount of work.
Some people want the financial freedom to send their kids to summer camps, to have the funds for extracurricular training such as for dance or even just to participate in hockey, to afford a house in a better public school district or to afford a private or parochial school, to have great vacations or to rent a summer home, to secure a better retirement, to have more financial security, to purchase possessions, etc.
Life as an accountant, even a CPA can be very demanding, especially with the ever expanding and ever changing accounting standards and tax laws. It's also a passive job in the sense that you are reviewing or rehashing other people's work. Billing your work hourly, especially when your billing rate is much greater than your salary (overhead, partners compensation, etc.), is no fun. Work as a CPA also often is relatively unrewarded given the financial liability and great stress that accompanies the job. I've known many persons who felt it necessary for their sanity to make the same career move contemplated by the OP.
I also wonder what this country would be like if all Americans lacked the ambition to pursue post graduate degrees.
There's always been an anti-academic culture in the U.S., but it apparently has now spread to certain professional degrees, such as MBAs, if not all graduate degrees.
Persons with MBA degrees apparently have a different perception:
<<The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) issues regular research reports on how graduates from business schools rate their experience during and after school. The survey results are encouraging. Their 2016 Alumni Perspectives Survey Report shows that 95% of MBAs regarded their degree as of good, excellent or outstanding value. More than three out of four reported that their expectations from their education was met. Moreover, 93% of alumni would still pursue a graduate management degree if they had to do it all over again knowing what they do today.>>
Some persons even today still enjoy pursuing knowledge and skills just for the sake of learning. Is this really a worse use of someone's time than following pro and university sports, going to music concerts, etc.???
It's great that you're a "minimalist" if you're totally committed to that lifestyle and have found a partner who shares your philosophy.
It takes great audacity, however, when posters assert a superior lifestyle philosophy in order to criticize another poster for bettering himself in order to have more career satisfaction AND a higher salary for the same, or perhaps even less, amount of work.
Some people want the financial freedom to send their kids to summer camps, to have the funds for extracurricular training such as for dance or even just to participate in hockey, to afford a house in a better public school district or to afford a private or parochial school, to have great vacations or to rent a summer home, to secure a better retirement, to have more financial security, to purchase possessions, etc.
Life as an accountant, even a CPA can be very demanding, especially with the ever expanding and ever changing accounting standards and tax laws. It's also a passive job in the sense that you are reviewing or rehashing other people's work. Billing your work hourly, especially when your billing rate is much greater than your salary (overhead, partners compensation, etc.), is no fun. Work as a CPA also often is relatively unrewarded given the financial liability and great stress that accompanies the job. I've known many persons who felt it necessary for their sanity to make the same career move contemplated by the OP.
I also wonder what this country would be like if all Americans lacked the ambition to pursue post graduate degrees.
There's always been an anti-academic culture in the U.S., but it apparently has now spread to certain professional degrees, such as MBAs, if not all graduate degrees.
Persons with MBA degrees apparently have a different perception:
<<The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) issues regular research reports on how graduates from business schools rate their experience during and after school. The survey results are encouraging. Their 2016 Alumni Perspectives Survey Report shows that 95% of MBAs regarded their degree as of good, excellent or outstanding value. More than three out of four reported that their expectations from their education was met. Moreover, 93% of alumni would still pursue a graduate management degree if they had to do it all over again knowing what they do today.>>
Some persons even today still enjoy pursuing knowledge and skills just for the sake of learning. Is this really a worse use of someone's time than following pro and university sports, going to music concerts, etc.???
I answered OP's question for opinions on his situation. He specifically asked for opinions, not objective information about anything.
Anyway, I understand if you take issue with my tone, but gotta tell ya, I think this whole idea of degree seeking and money seeking at the expense of life is ridiculous. Children need a father more than they need a salary increase for someone already in the top 95%.
I answered OP's question for opinions on his situation. He specifically asked for opinions, not objective information about anything.
Anyway, I understand if you take issue with my tone, but gotta tell ya, I think this whole idea of degree seeking and money seeking at the expense of life is ridiculous. Children need a father more than they need a salary increase for someone already in the top 95%.
Persons that I know with greater financial resources have much more quality time with their kids, especially after retirement, than others. Even when their kids are younger, they spend much more time with their kids than my working parents were able to do so. One wealthy friend of mine attended almost all of his kids' athletic events, which amazed me. They do work harder, especially earlier in their careers, but many also emphasis making family time available. Many have cut the cord, and spend little time obsessed by life's more meaningless distractions, such as sports or television programming. They have families later in life, given their time spent in acquiring an education and professional security. Their kids don't graduate from college with any debt, and have their college options unlimited by financial concerns; this is not a petty difference in the current U.S. society when university debt often is crushing. They don't have concerns about having quality medical coverage. Their kids also had immense advantages, such as exceptional summer adventure programs, and foreign language study abroad while in high school; these programs were very consequential in the kids' intellectual development and future careers.
They have robust financial security.
So, it's not my experience that those with better career training and income, neglect their children or their lives. Quite the contrary. I'm certain, however, that there are workaholics that do neglect their families. Surprisingly, I didn't know many.
What happens to our society if persons don't seek advanced skill and training? E.g., we already are far behind many of our economic competitors in the production of engineering talent. A significant percentage of U.S. graduate school engineering students are foreigners. Russia is almost double the U.S., despite its much smaller population and the high percentage of foreign students in U.S. engineering programs.
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