# Mba?



## jordan_paul (Jul 1, 2013)

Is it possible to be able to do an MBA program as a dual ticketded journeyman? (Electrical Red seal, Instrumentation Red Seal)


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## Janus (Oct 23, 2013)

I have no idea what that means, but basically all you need is a 4-year university degree and 2 years of work experience (doing anything). I'd say just call up admissions, tell them your situation, and you'll have a very clear answer.


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## jordan_paul (Jul 1, 2013)

I was wondering if I could use those in place of a university degree.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

I very much doubt it.

http://www.oxfordseminars.ca/GMAT/gmat_profiles.php


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## wendi1 (Oct 2, 2013)

Jordan, you will find the MBA courses very hard if you do not have a background in finance, and have not taken business courses at the undergraduate level.

May I suggest you try an introductory Statistics course and an introductory Accounting course at your local university, to see what I mean.

Heriot-Watt University (in Scotland!) offers a distance learning MBA, but they won't let you in, officially, until you have passed three of their courses.

Athabasca University will let you in with substantial managerial experience (or some managerial experience and a professional designation).

These are the bargains. They are cheaper than the resident MBAs, and do not carry the same weight as, say, a Queens MBA or a Harvard MBA.

But the real barrier is your ability to learn quite difficult and arbitrary stuff without a classroom. I have a H-W MBA, which was all done at a distance, and I found it very challenging (despite having taken some of the courses at university).


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## Janus (Oct 23, 2013)

wendi1 said:


> Jordan, you will find the MBA courses very hard if you do not have a background in finance, and have not taken business courses at the undergraduate level.


That's completely untrue. I had a psychology degree and managed to "out-finance" all the engineering and commerce undergrads - and the same goes for the biology major and the philosophy guy. 

That said you definitely need a university degree.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

I did my MBA at the University of Manitoba more than a decade ago. There was a special access program for people without a university degree who had equivalent experience. There was one person in my class who did not previously have a degree. He had a strong track record in business as an entrepreneur. Before beginning the MBA, the school required that he take several foundational courses. He was a whiz at accounting and finance and more than held his own in the class. The rest of us benefited greatly from his business experience and knowhow.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

Having a red seal in electrical doesn't require a mba.You enroll through a technical college or a trade school(which only requires a hs diploma)You would be learning the installation/field work.
A MBA and a trade don't really have a crossover.Once you complete a red seal in electrical you would work be employable for field work not mangement positions.
general electric-would hire MBA/finance ect to "run" company depts et cetra
In turn they would hire red seals for field work.


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## dubmac (Jan 9, 2011)

I'd start by doing the Canadian Securities Course. Get that certification, then, if you want to pursue an MBA, move from there.

https://www.csi.ca/student/en_ca/courses/csi/csc.xhtml?icid=LNK-CSICSC--I01


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

You are mixing blue collar work with white collar work.

I don't think you can use your Red Seal's in order to bypass the 4 year of university. If that was possible, wouldn't everyone do this? It would be the smartest way.

You'd have every Chef in the world with a Red Seal and an MBA.


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## jordan_paul (Jul 1, 2013)

donald said:


> Having a red seal in electrical doesn't require a mba.You enroll through a technical college or a trade school(which only requires a hs diploma)You would be learning the installation/field work.
> A MBA and a trade don't really have a crossover.Once you complete a red seal in electrical you would work be employable for field work not mangement positions.
> general electric-would hire MBA/finance ect to "run" company depts et cetra
> In turn they would hire red seals for field work.



You actually learn very little "field work" in trade school (for electrical anyways), you essentially learn the theory and fundamentals of electricity. It's extremely in depth, equal to a three year college diploma. 

Regardless, an MBA and a trade have huge crossovers. An electrical contracting company is a business, an electrical supply company is a business and who do you think would be a better candidate to be the VP of Operations for Greybar Canada; a dual ticketed electrician with an MBA or a guy with a Bachelors degree in Environmental Studies and Anthropology with an MBA?



KaeJS said:


> You are mixing blue collar work with white collar work.
> 
> I don't think you can use your Red Seal's in order to bypass the 4 year of university. If that was possible, wouldn't everyone do this? It would be the smartest way.
> 
> You'd have every Chef in the world with a Red Seal and an MBA.


Maybe not, how many chef's have the ability or drive to get an MBA? The whole point of me getting my electrical and instrumentation licenses is to use them as a stepping stone to do something corporate. 7 out of 10 kids graduating high school are getting bachelors degrees in something then trying to bridge from there. The market is oversaturated with BsC's, I'm trying to be different.

Pretty much I'm 22, 8 months from now I'll have my Red Seal Instrumentation and Control license, A year after that I'll have my Red Seal Electrical license. I'll be 24 by then but by 30 I want to have a higher education, and work in the electrical field but in management. If I have to take other university courses to get there like "heyjude"'s classmate had to I will. I have 5 or 6 years to get where I want to.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

you might be right,but....just because a business is in a industrial sector and or operations/revenue comes from service work has little to do with mangement.
isn't that kind of like saying the executives at ford have a red seal in auto mechanics?
Small time example:I work for a builder/developer(small/local-prob 10 mill revenue-15 employees in the office)
The CEO is a ca,the vp is also a finance major along with a marketing degree,don't think either of them have ever swung a hammer yet they own/co own a home building company,you know what I'm saying here Jordan?


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## jordan_paul (Jul 1, 2013)

donald said:


> you might be right,but....just because a business is in a industrial sector and or operations/revenue comes from service work has little to do with mangement.
> isn't that kind of like saying the executives at ford have a red seal in auto mechanics?
> Small time example:I work for a builder/developer(small/local-prob 10 mill revenue-15 employees in the office)
> The CEO is a ca,the vp is also a finance major along with a marketing degree,don't think either of them have ever swung a hammer yet they own/co own a home building company,you know what I'm saying here Jordan?


I do understand what you're saying. One of the largest electrical contracting companies in Toronto (OZZ Electric) is owned by a guy who isn't an electrician and admittedly has never changed a receptacle. Wouldn't he understand a bit more what his employees are going through and or want/need in the field if he was an electrician though? Would that influence his decisions in any way?

What I'm trying to say is the best engineer I ever worked with was an electrician before he got his pinky ring. He is the best because he knows what works on paper doesn't always work in the field because he's been in the field before. 

From what I've heard talking with branch and regional managers at Greybar, what looks good on paper in the boardroom doesn't always work in their stores. Would someone with an electrical background help in head office? Quite possibly.

Would the owners of the company you work for be better owners if that had all that and they swung a hammer for a couple of years? Probably yes.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

not really(understanding his front line employees)that's why he has a team working for him and maybe the guy running the operations department might have a background but even than that's doubtful.
Not that the CEO doesn't care but he/she doesn't have the time nor is it any value to concern himself what roger one of his electrician is doing.
Atleast this is how I see it in real life(by the way I own a service business and work for other companies and I barley ever talk to the CEO and these are not even big company's)


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## jcgd (Oct 30, 2011)

jordan_paul said:


> You actually learn very little "field work" in trade school (for electrical anyways), you essentially learn the theory and fundamentals of electricity. It's extremely in depth, equal to a three year college diploma.


How would it be equal to a three year college diploma? I spent 36 weeks total in school for my electrical technical training. How could we possibly cover a three year diploma in 36 weeks?

As to your question, I think your plan of higher education is a good one. Our CEO is an electrician, but I have no idea how he got there. Most of the foreman have no business education, but they are half way between business management and site work. The superintendents are nearly 100% management and administration. I would think a business degree would be very helpful, but if you don't want to go that far you could always get your blue seal. It would help you learn some management that would be very tailored to what we do.

I'm considering a few paths myself:

- Master electrician with inter-provincial seal, next blue seal and finally gold seal. The gold seal is not easy to earn, and you need to be a foreman or super for five years, so it's not attainable for most journeyman.

- Master electrician, electrical engineering degree.

- Master electrician, electrical engineering technology diploma, electrical engineering degree.

- Master electrician, commerce degree.

I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. There are so many options it's hard to choose. The easiest path for me (and shortest) would be to get the technologist diploma and then the degree. I could do that in five years, two at college and 2.5 at university.

You could always cut out the middleman and start your own company. At least with that other people aren't ultimately deciding your degree of success.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

shouldn't the levels of seals in electrical trades go: gold, then copper and then silver for top level?

There should definitely be an entrepreneurial course for tradespersons. Whether a traditional MBA or not, some university could do well to market such a thing. 
Businesses may not see the logic in supporting it though. With a shortage of skilled labour, the last thing many of them want to do is promote from within and lose a productive person off the shop floor.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

I think you need to call a few Universities...


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Start your own business...hire a good MBA to work for you. Electricians are too useful to waste.


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## jordan_paul (Jul 1, 2013)

hystat said:


> shouldn't the levels of seals in electrical trades go: gold, then copper and then silver for top level?
> 
> There should definitely be an entrepreneurial course for tradespersons. Whether a traditional MBA or not, some university could do well to market such a thing.
> Businesses may not see the logic in supporting it though. With a shortage of skilled labour, the last thing many of them want to do is promote from within and lose a productive person off the shop floor.


Someone still has to organize the skilled labour, a lot of electricians move up the ladder this way.


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