Here's an actual email exchange between me and a blog reader last week:
QUESTION: I have two technical undergraduate degrees (Mathematics, Electrical Engineering). Most of my experience has been in consulting, specifically project management. I was a partner at my consulting firm, and I am interested in a upper level position in a technical company. I am considering getting an MBA.
How important is having this degree is regard to placement in upper management? I'm mainly asking with regard to the placements that you usually handle, though I notice that you have an MBA yourself. Have you found it to be valuable? Thanks in advance for your advice.
ANSWER: Frankly, I love the MBA. Yes, I have one, and I would have regretted not getting one. However, I was one of those unusual students who was in business school mainly for the education and for that reason, I have found it to be invaluable. In fact, although I attended a fine school for my specialty (international business), occasionally I regret not having gone to Harvard.
So get an MBA -- and get one from the best school you can get into. Smarter folks than me will say I'm wrong. They'll say that the curricula is irrelevant. I don't disagree.
But from a career development standpoint, an MBA is like a union card in many industries, and it's an admission ticket to the top. Having one won't get you to the top -- but not having one might limit you later on.
After all, you are in business to compete and win -- so it pays to learn as much as you can about your field of expertise. My two cents.