Hacker's words against MBA-bashing (or other forms of dismissing each other)

Minnow Among Sharks

I am a a minnow among sharks.  I am an MBA among Hackers.  At hackathons, I am the business guy, the idea guy - or as it turns out - the guy that generally inspires disdain at worst and condescension at best from the developers (especially those who label themselves "full stack").

So, I ask around and try to figure out how I can make myself more useful.  So I pick up some graphic design skills - GIMP (aka poorman's Photoshop), HTML/CSS, some sensibility with typeface, learn to make logos and icons, etc.  Even so, oh how tall and lofty those full stacks appear.

Keep Learning

So, I learn to code.  It is a long process, but turns out it's a fun process, so I am happy to learn.  I learn.  And even as I write procedures and google stackoverflow answers for error messages on my local server, I realize that you never stop being a minnow among sharks.  Here I am learning to write a factorial, and there Drew Houston is building Dropbox.  Holy shark!

Speaking of sharks, Mark Cuban is a colorful entrepreneur, well known for among other things his disdain for MBA's.  He didn't write this, but his views are well-known, as captured in this blog by Walter Frick called "Don't Get an MBA."  It turns out, that there is a whole list of those who dismiss MBA's.  It's a sport.  Even famous business people advise against MBA - like Tom Peters (who was himself an MBA), Jeff Pfeffer (who writes about Power - you should read it).

The shark, mocking the minnow.

Even the uber-Hacker Paul Graham wrote "evidence suggests you'd do better to learn how to hack than get an MBA." (Though to be clear and fair, PG was speaking about startups and what gets you there.)

PG: The Oracle of Silicon Valley says forget the MBA

But, I am an MBA. I am a minnow. I can't change that.  Ironically, as I learn to code, I find one of the best responses to those who play the popular game of MBA-bashing.  It comes from an introduction to SQL from the author of the popular "Learn [programming] the Hard Way" series Zed A. Shaw.  In the section called "Against Indoctrination," Shaw warns against those who thinks technology x is superior to technology y (i.e. SQL vs. NoSQL debate).  Shaw advises:

"The problem with these people is they are trying to indoctrinate you, not educate you."

He goes onto note:

"I want to educate you so that you have the ability to make your own choices and learn anything you want."

Wow.  I want to hug this guy!

So, there you have it.  Keep learning.  Learn for the sake of learning, so that you can be a better person.  So that you can help others.  Don't label each other.  Don't disdain each other.  Instead, learn from each other.  Full stacks, share your stacks with rookies.  MBA's, learn to respect developers.  Developers, be curious about what the non-engineers do before you write them off.  And your personal learning path may involve learning to code, or getting an MBA, or whatever.  Keep an open mind.

And the lion and the lamb shall lie together ...

St. Zed, the patron Saint of Minnows

More reading?

Are you considering a full-time programming course to get a career as a software developer? Or are you considering an MBA program?  Either way, be sure to consider the ROI of your time and money investment.

I am continuing to learn and grow, and shared my story of how I am breaking into tech in this blog post.