Life has been plodding along, your career somewhere between simmer and low-boil ... dull, predictable. So, maybe it's time to hot it up. Time to make a brave move, leapfrog up a rung or two, turn headhunters' heads. Is earning an MBA the sure-fire ticket to all of the above? Do those three letters guarantee payback in the current business climate, even when everyone and his dog seems to be pursuing one?

Most experts reply with a cautious yes. Others disagree. And each is quick to qualify his or her encouragement. It depends, they say, on your age, rank, industry, previous degree and MBA program of choice.

Of those factors, age is by far the most important, with the best window of opportunity being one's 30s. Forty-somethings may be better off putting their time and money into a leadership training program, although if their ambitions are modest (the corner office of a small company or the growth of their own entrepreneurial venture), return on investment is a possibility. The law of diminishing returns obviously applies to those in their fifth and sixth decades, although that hasn't stopped a number of eager geezers from heaving themselves onto the bandwagon and promptly basking in higher remuneration.

On the other hand, 20-somethings, lacking the work experience and rank that maximizes the degree's advantage, may be jumping too soon.

Interestingly, the pundits generally agree that once you cross out Harvard and Stanford, the institution of choice is of lesser importance than their registrars' offices would have you believe, and that on both a national and North American scale, B.C. has nothing special to offer. These days, in many employers' eyes, an MBA is an MBA, whether offered by a longstanding bricks-and-mortar institution, or a just-up-and-running distance-education program. No surprise here, but there are academics who find the latter a disturbing trend, and executive recruiters who carefully assign different values to different logos on the certificate. But overall, in a market in which the institutions offering the degree cannot keep pace with the demand from both students and employers, and where a growing number of programs are joint ventures or distance education/classroom hybrids, 'name' no longer pulls the rank it once did.

British Columbia awards 30,000 bachelor degrees a year, of these, 3.5 per cent go on for MBAs, a modest increase over the three per cent of 10 years ago. But more than double that percentage (eight per cent in 1994) choose the MBA path in the United States, and increased demand for the degree here has not been matched by available programs. Further, most experts say MBA grads are getting scooped up and seeing payback in short order; some start getting offers halfway through their studies.

"We're way behind in our ability to supply the local market. Students are going other places," says Ernie Love, director of the management of technology MBA and online graduate diplomas in business administration at Simon Fraser University (SFU).

But does demand for the degree necessarily imply demand for newly minted MBAs? Of course, scoff those same experts. What consumer is more demanding than an ambitious middle manager shopping around for a career-boosting set of letters? Who is in a better position to know the score? There are other graduate degrees out there, other courses to let you top up your skills and make higher-ups take notice. No one -- especially not 30-somethings simultaneously embarking on rearing young families --commits two years and thousands of dollars on the off chance it will help. MBA programs are swamped with applications because MBA-wielding graduates go places. And the fact that roughly 70 per cent are being sponsored wholly or in part by their companies proves that the market craves this credential. Much of the other 30 per cent are self-employed, which implies they value the training even more than the degree.

All of which begs the question, why this degree, why now? The University of British Columbia (UBC) introduced an MBA program in the 1950s, followed by SFU in the 1960s. Initially, the degree was seen as a virtual guarantee of advancement. But as more and more businesspeople secure the degree, has it been devalued? Some say yes.

"We don't feel it's urgent," says David Schine, president of CCD Corporate and Career Development in Vancouver. "The calibre of MBAs has declined because there are so many organizations that give them. They don't have the magic they used to have.

"I'm probably in the minority on this, but it's my opinion." He's right; no one else echoed this point of view.

"I work hand in hand with a select number of executive recruiters in Vancouver, and one of them recently stated definitively that the MBA designation is an 'absolute must' in their pre-screening process," says Diane Voth-Stewart, a career strategist and personal coach with D. Voth Consulting. "It speaks to discipline and to the fact that the individual is strategically planning their career." She anticipates no tapering of demand. Adds Love: "There's no doubt that people get points for an MBA among human resources people."

An MBA may not be a necessity, but it does set you apart, according to Susan Sharp, a human resources consultant in Victoria who is currently working toward her MBA at Royal Roads University. Far from the degree's popularity bringing down its value, she believes B.C.'s growing army of MBA-holders has added value to the economy. International competition, speeded-up product cycles and collapsing hierarchies have led to a need for more, not fewer, workers who understand the broad business picture. Where once perhaps only major corporations valued MBAs, now every operation, even one-person outfits like Sharp's, need rank and file to possess bottomline savvy and leadership skills.

"Even public sector organizations have to watch their pennies, and an MBA is giving individuals the skills to help those organizations meet fiscal responsibilities," says Sharp. She signed on to acquire the degree over a two-year period, part-time on top of running her business, to serve existing clients more strategically.

Deborah Nelson, assistant dean of UBC's commerce, career and alumni services, agrees that business has a growing need for MBA-style skills. "As society in general becomes more sophisticated, there's a better understanding that this kind of general knowledge is useful in whatever area you're in."

And yet, not every MBA-toting applicant will benefit. The MBA, like any graduate degree, is most useful for someone who has a clear idea of how that degree fits into their long-term career plans, says Julie Stitt, director of career services at UBC. A 25-year-old might find it helps her climb the ladder faster, while a mid-career professional will find it useful for changing fields.

In turn, an MBA is not particularly useful at junior levels of management, warns Joan Harrison, principal of The Osborne Group in Vancouver, contract resource executives. "Where it really pays off is trying to get into the executive ranks." And yet, for individuals over 40 still keen to enter those ranks, Harrison recommends leadership training combined with a few top-up courses, the MBA payoff being too uncertain.

Eric West, director of management programs at Royal Roads, agrees with her about 20-somethings, but disagrees about 40-somethings. Those who wait to add an MBA onto years of work experience get full benefit. "It gives the context and experience base to look at real management issues, which 25-year-olds straight out of university couldn't and don't have." On the other hand, West has ushered 60-year-olds through Royal Roads's MBA program and believes even late-40s students have plenty of time to see a return.

While age and rank may be the most important factors determining MBA payback, one's industry and previous degree also figure in. Royal Roads research has documented an increasing need for MBAs in the human resources, public relations, communications and digital technology sectors. Jane Martin of SFU's career services notes particular demand from the finance, accounting and technology fields. Like many others, Martin points to a trend toward specialized MBA degrees.

In general, an MBA degree partners best with a completely different discipline such as engineering, information technology or chemistry. The undergraduate designation lets you rise to a certain level within the ranks; the MBA helps shoot you past your peers into upper management. Combining one's first discipline with management skills is a terrific asset, says Nelson. It's an easy way for employers to distinguish one applicant from another and implies a set of leadership skills one cannot gain anywhere else. CCD's David Schine -- not big on MBAs in the first place -- notes that this multi-disciplinary approach to career acceleration works in any combination of fields. For example, someone with both a law and chemical engineering degree will draw quick attention.

The last and least of one's considerations these days, so say the experts, is the choice of degree-granting institution. And here's where things are changing fast. If the demand for MBA programs exceeds the supply, who's out to straddle the gap? The Internet, of course. Distance education suppliers are joining in shotgun marriages with Internet folks, sometimes under the umbrellas of traditional universities. Then again, the bricks-and-mortar types are just as busy romancing one another.

Even longstanding MBA programs are busy renovating themselves to work more technology and teamwork into students' training and attract the fast-growing 'executive management' demographic: mature students with a frequent preference for working toward their degree part-time. New distance education programs, of course, can go to market with dizzying speed, save tons of money on infrastructure, attract the self-motivated who value flexibility (both essential qualities of MBAs anyway), and reach into even the most remote communities of B.C. Since they are adept at replicating the longstanding institutions' written class material --not to mention raiding their faculty to do so -- the brick set has been wisely concentrating on its trump card: teamwork and leadership training. The latter are all-important aspects of MBA training less easily downloaded from a computer than gained in a classroom setting.

Realizing this, a growing number of programs bridge the two experiences, allow students to work mostly from home over computer lines, but require some classroom time (in some cases via satellite) spent on teamwork projects.

Love, at SFU, and Harrison, the independent, say both classroom and hybrid programs work, while distance-only programs suffer for the lack of teamwork training they impart. While employers desiring MBA employees often fail to acknowledge the difference between such programs, students with teamwork and leadership training will come out ahead. Ultimately, running a business involves people development, emphasizes Harrison.

Companies know an MBA involves more than throwing courses up on the Internet, claims Love, who says that so far, the quality of MBAs has not dipped, thanks to government regulations and market forces (poor programs don't fly with savvy, wannabe-MBAs). But a shakedown between the traditional, distance and hybrid programs is coming, he predicts. "[Distance-only programs] are the ones that are going to fall by the wayside. Face-to-face supported by technology works best."

As for brand-name MBAs, Voth says prospective employers aren't particularly concerned. They're curious about, and indulgent toward, the newfangled distance MBAs and understanding of mid-career candidates' need for flexibility. But in the end, the leadership skills of an individual MBA candidate are make-or-break.

Asked which MBAs offer the most prestige, Voth says that if one cannot get into Harvard or Stanford, "an MBA is an MBA." Pressed, however, she said she'd pick Queens if she had to go Canadian "and the tried and true: UBC first, SFU second" here in B.C.

Harrison says SFU is the only B.C. institution she'd recommend. "SFU has a very practical kind of program if you're on the job in a senior role." But she recommends investigating U.S. programs. When her son recently applied to numerous programs around North America, he was accepted at all the U.S. schools before UBC had even replied. When he chose a U.S. program and approached her about the fee, she went pale. "He said, 'I'll have it back in one year,' and he did."

According to SFU's Jane Martin, while more and more British Columbia MBAs are finding jobs in eastern Canada and the U.S., three-quarters tend to remain in province.

Nelson at UBC points out that business contacts formed during the pursuit of an MBA are an invaluable part of the process. "What you pay for is the network. The more you pay, the more prestigious and valuable the network."

Harrison adds that MBA students learn how to market themselves, a skill absolutely essential in the new economy.

In the end, most agree that an MBA will offer either career liftoff or a strong new direction. And who's to argue that both aren't worthwhile pursuits in the current economic climate?

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By Pam Withers

Pam Withers decided to forego the MBA slog in favor of more Internet-specific training.