I applied to a leading business school and have been called for interview but I am getting cold feet. If I get in, I would have to leave my job (safe, if a bit dull), would pay a fee of ￡45,000, and after a year and a half would emerge with no guarantee of a job. Is this one of the worst returns on investment going? Or is it worth it for what I would learn, for the career boost and for the hope that the economy will be better when I graduate?
Professional, female, 31
LUCY'S ANSWER
Yes, it's a terrible investment: if you get out your calculator and run one of those discounted cash flow calculations that MBAs favour, you'll find it hard to come up with a positive number. Many people leaving business school now are not only failing to change career, they are crawling back to their old jobs with their old employers.