I just finished up Quantitative Methods (no grade as of yet but I know I passed) and I have learned a thing or two about opportunity cost within the last week as part of my studies. The short and ugly definition of opportunity cost is the money which you lose doing something other than what you could be doing making "X" amount of dollars. As an applied example, I am earning my MBA working part time in the mornings and evenings. The actual cost of my degree is probably in the neighborhood of $20,000.00. The fact that I could be working a part time job during the time I spend earning a degree for say $12.00 per hour and I work an average of 15 hours a week on my degree means that my opportunity cost of this degree is about $180.00 a week. Over the span of 2 years that amounts to $18,720.00 over my initial $20,000.00 investment.
Of course this is a simplified application of the concept but it does throw a new spin on the time sacrifice of getting a degree. Time away from a second job which probably would not take nearly as much effort to do as this coursework, time away from family, time away from friends and time away from relaxing. I would have to really believe in a degree program to absorb this kind of personal cost again. I have weighed the possibility of getting a second masters degree, but when viewed from this light I would have to really come up with some motivating factor other than money. Make no mistake though, I think an MBA will more than certainly pay for itself; it has certainly helped me to understand the world a lot more from management to finances to how I spend my time and money. Heck, the Wall Street Journal is even beginning to make more sense. The reality though is that there is an opportunity cost associated with most things but the costs associated with getting a degree are all about improving the quality of life, whether through education or finances I believe there is a great benefit in getting a primary masters degree, especially one as useful as an MBA. As for getting a second masters? I don't know now.