I could use an outside opinion

Why would you go to any of those programs? Study for the GMAT, do well and leverage your military experience to get into a real MBA program. Something in the top 25. Graduating from any of those programs will not help you get a job in either AM or consulting.

There are a few reasons: -The Army is picking up the bill, so I have a cap of tuition -By the time I can actually matriculate at a top 25 program, I will be almost 40 and my family would not be able to take the loss in income. -I will move at least once during the duration of the program due to a new duty assignment.

Basically, I have to make due with what I can do via online or distance learning. I know that Carnegie Mellon and Brown have options, but the residencies may be a bit too extensive for my schedule compared to other programs. Hofstra's program may look worthwhile after finding it.

I don't know anything about online MBA's but when the topic has come up I have seen experienced people recommend UNC so it is probably worth looking into their program. Good luck

Not sure why you're asking this question on this forum. This is a forum for high finance. I don't see how your career is progressing toward high finance. So the ability for people who frequent this forum to guide you is limited.

In any event, I'd consider an executive MBA that you fly into or drive to once a month. Georgetown and UNC are both quality programs with that type of offering. I think Maryland has the same thing. UNC even has its executive MBA located in the D.C. area (Leesburg, VA)--I get the impression that you're based out of the greater DC area based on the schools you're considering.

Remember that master's degrees come with diminishing marginal returns. Getting 3 master's degrees is probably not going to get you to where you want to be. You need to figure out what you want to do and the specific steps to get there--a game plan.

I had a squid friend the Navy allowed to attend Kellogg for two years. The govt then had him on the hook a little longer, but still, I assume Army might have something similar?

first, thank you for your service

it sounds to me like you're not quite sure what you want, MSF + MBA doesn't make a whole lot of sense. the MSF is usually used to round out a finance education for non targets/non finance majors who want to break into ib/ER/am, and MBA is usually left for career switchers or people on a senior management path. you sound like you want this for the knowledge and the resume clout.

my question to you is: what's the end goal? do you want to move upward? do you want to switch industries? if so, to what (this will drive the MBA decision)? or are you doing this purely for academic reasons? I think if you want to move up, you're overweighting the impact of a degree, I mean you have 13 years of management experience, that's plenty. if you want to switch industries post Army, I'd say it really depends on the industry, but I can see a MBA making some sense there. I agree with other posters that Kenan Flagler is a good program.

I will also say that I'd hesitate to dive into a MBA without a clear goal of what industry you want. if you want to do consulting, logistics, operations, strategy, or even marketing, I think you could possibly break in without a MBA.I doubt McKinsey will want you sans MBA, but given your experience, I doubt you'd have a hard time getting some sort of good job. the difference will be if you want to go into finance, in which case you'll need a MBA or MSF, but probably not both.

if you want this for purely academic reasons, I'd stop. if you want this knowledge but don't need it to switch industries/move up, you can do all sorts of things, from coursera to non-degree courses at a local university to just reading a lot.

tldr: your experience likely speaks for itself in 90% of the business related jobs out there. I'd only get another degree if you want to switch to something where your skills aren't relevant (like finance or accounting). I would not get a degree if this is purely to improve your educational profile, rather than to get you into a better job.

What do you want to do? That's the first question you need to ask yourself. The possible career choices you listed for your self are wildly different all require vastly different backgrounds and education.

I will be frank about your options so you don't waste your time on something that has little to no chance of success Finance (high finance) - Very difficult with out analyst experience which will be very hard to get given your age and previous experience Quant - Unless you have a very in depth knowledge of programming, computer science, and algorithmic learning I would just scratch this. The field is very small, insanely competitive and your experiences are likely to be better leveraged in something else. Energy Management - This seems to fit best with your life experiences, with a construction background you should be able to leverage your way into an energy focused construction position.

Now I do not know your specific knowledge and I could be completely wrong in my assessment but, you have to look at the realities of the situation. It makes little to no sense to spend 4 or more years getting an MBA or other advanced degree focusing on a career path that will be extremely difficult to break into given your current life experiences. Not going to say it is impossible, but it will be damn difficult.

UNC, Indiana, and Carnegie Mellon are really the only three online MBAs worth pursuing in my opinion

Do NOT do an online MBA program, take your time and go through a full time top 20 program. The whole reason for an MBA is the recruiting and networking, not the paper you get in the mail. I don't understand why you would do a masters and an MBA. After you get into some of the top 20 programs then you should weigh which school is the best fit for you geographically, financially and feeds into whichever career you want. You need to figure out what you want to do. Stacking credentials without a clear direction isn't a smart move.