Mariana writes from experience getting herself an MBA several years ago at a highly ranked program in Europe. She talks about the program, her experiences, etc., but more importantly for readers the consequences and post-MBA observations.
She explains how the schools make it seem like you should be HONORED to be accepted into their program and have the "right" to blow $100,000 on a two year program. She discusses how much personal time and effort is expended, where you sacrifice everything else in life to earn that almighty MBA. Then there is the job hunt where you slowly realize the whole thing was a masturbatory hogwash for professors who have no real world experience to screw you out of enough money you could have bought a house. And that is where the real lessons come in.
Career service centers that don't have any real jobs to offer you. The painassery in attending "job fairs" and networking events. The "hidden labor market" where you soon realize it is who you know, not what you know that gets you a job. And how employers love business schools because they generate obedient little cogs to put into their machine. Because of these experiences and observations, not only does the book serve as a warning to any would-be MBA pursuers, but as therapy for those unfortunate enough to have fallen for the MBA scam.
The only complaints I have are two:
1. My review has much more hatred, anger, and color in it than her book. She is nowhere near as angry and vicious as she should be. Or maybe she is, but does not allow it to show through her reading. She should be LIVID over just how she (and an entire generation) got screwed over, and should have eviscerated her school, her professors, and the entire industry. Instead she is overly polite, way too timid, and constantly provides caveats about "not all schools are like this" or "I definitely enjoyed my experience, but."
2. It sounds more like a diary than an expose. She does a great job telling stories from the front lines and her experiences, but delves a bit too deeply into them and the emotional consequences, telling her personal story. Naturally this could be because I am an impatient, angry, hate-filled man, and women readers may actually like this aspect of it, but I personally was saying, "yeah, yeah, get to the point."
In short, this book would not be for any regular readers here on Cappy Cap (because we've known about the education bubble for about a decade now), but is a must for anybody either currently in or contemplating getting an MBA. My minor criticisms (opinions, actually) aside, the book is precisely what is needed in today's education industry and should be read by every undergraduate thinking about grad school. Of course, it is a self-published piece, and it goes against the trillion dollar annual scam academia has set up, so don't expect it to get out there through the traditional channels. It will be up to you to buy it or recommend it to a pertinent reader.
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