OT: crowdsourcing career advice, formerly known as VT MBA help thread

All right, fam, I'm strongly considering going back to Tech for my MBA. I'm hoping to draw on the collective experience of TKP to help me out. I'm still very much on the fence as to whether it will actually be worth the expense or not. I've been with my current employer in finance for 6.5 years and I can honestly see myself retiring from there in 30 years or so. I've worked my way up the career path in a relatively short amount of time, and my next step would be VP/branch management, then district management, and then the executive level. Ultimately, my goal is to run this bitch and drag it kicking and screaming into this century.

So, on the one hand, I can absolutely see how an MBA would be beneficial to me and my career goals, but on the other hand, I've got 4 more years left to pay on my student loans and the light is at the end of the tunnel there and I really don't want to go back down that rabbit hole again. My employer does offer tuition assistance, but it's a measly $2500 per year. There is also an education bonus I would be eligible for, and it's annual, but it's not used to calculate merit/promotions, and it's really not much of a bonus when you consider how much the education itself would cost me. Basically, the monetary gain would not even come close to a return on my investment in the education.

If Virginia Tech offered an online MBA, I would apply in a heartbeat. Since they don't, I'm considering going the professional MBA route which alternates between Richmond and Roanoke each month, which would be completely doable for me. I'm in Raleigh, and both cities are relatively close for me. I am open to other options, and in fact Campbell University offers me a discount based on how many employees from my employer are attending at a given time, but Campbell is also a private university so even with a discount, I'm sure it's $$$$.

If anyone here could give me some insight or advice, I would appreciate it. Pros, cons, personal anecdotes, cake vs. pie, or other suggestions are also welcome.

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I told him I’d crawl on my hands and knees to be the DL coach at Virginia Tech. Now, all of a sudden, I’m sitting in this chair and I told him I’d still crawl on my hands and knees to work here. I just want to be here.
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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Jet Sweep

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Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

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"What kind of person would throw away a perfectly good dog?"

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"What kind of person would throw away a perfectly good dog?"

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"What kind of person would throw away a perfectly good dog?"

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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Jet Sweep

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30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
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I found TKP after two rails from TOTS then walking back to my apartment and re-watching the 2012 Sugar Bowl. I woke up the next day with this username.

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"The Big Ten is always using excuses to cancel games with us. First Wisconsin. Then Wisconsin. After that, Wisconsin. The subsequent cancellation with Wisconsin comes to mind too. Now Penn State. What's next? Wisconsin?" -HorseOnATreadmill

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His decision was made after a phone call with longtime Virginia Tech assistant coach Bud Foster. All Foster told him was, "We win. They don't."

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