get an unaccredited mba

the average MBA costs somewhere between $60,000 and $200,000. that's a house down payment. that's years of financial freedom. and for what? a credential that tells employers you can sit through two years of lectures?

here's the thing nobody in academia wants you to know: the knowledge is free. the credential is what costs money. and depending on your goals, you might not need the credential at all.

the self-study path

josh kaufman wrote "the personal mba" after realizing that the core business concepts taught in top programs could be distilled into a reading list and some deliberate practice. he wasn't wrong.

the fundamental areas you need to cover: accounting, finance, marketing, operations, strategy, organizational behavior, economics, and negotiation. that's it. every MBA program on earth is some variation of these topics.

how to actually do it

pick one subject at a time. spend 4-6 weeks going deep. read the best books in that area — not textbooks, but the books that practitioners actually reference. for finance, start with "the intelligent investor." for strategy, "good strategy bad strategy." for marketing, "influence" by cialdini.

supplement with free courses. mit opencourseware, coursera, and youtube have world-class instruction available for zero dollars. the content is identical to what students paying $150k are receiving.

the real mba advantage

let's be honest about what the traditional MBA actually provides: a network and a signal. the network of classmates and alumni is genuinely valuable. the signal to employers that you're serious is real.

but you can build networks through industry events, online communities, and actually doing the work. and you can signal competence by, well, being competent. results speak louder than diplomas.

start this week

pick one area. read one book. apply what you learn to a real problem. repeat for a year. you'll have a better practical education than most MBA graduates — and you'll have it without the debt hangover.

the knowledge has never been locked behind tuition gates. only your belief that it was.

if this resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.