Who's done/doing extra study to further their career?

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Have you done study of your own accord (ie not required to by a job or school) to enable you to further your career? I'm not talking about going to TAFE or uni straight out of highschool, but something that you have done AFTER you've entered a particular field to change to a new direction or to further your career? What did you do (and why), how long did it take and has it proven beneficial to you in the way you expected?

Basically I've been thinking about doing some extra study to help me move my career towards a more business/leadership direction. I dont really have much leadership required in my role currently but its changing, and over the next 6-12 months hopefully I will be in charge of the technical side of some projects with small teams working on them. I wont be their boss, but I'll still be leading the work.

So what I'd like to do is to do some study which I can directly apply to my job and be good at it (or to help find a new job if this one doesnt pan out), and at the same time show my boss and other people that I'm serious about it as I've got a bit of a ... 'larrikin' image with some people. Ive thought about an MBA but at only 24/25 with this level of experience (and probably the youngest member of my team) I'm afraid noone would take me seriously. The phrases 'paper MBA' and 'Gen Y wanker' spring to mind. I've also thought about doing a diploma in some sort of business studies/management program if there is such a thing.
Is there something else that I can do along these lines? Would have to be online or night classes or something as I need to keep working in the mean time obviously. Im thinking something around 1 year long, but if I was doing an MBA obviously I'd need to commit for a bit longer. Lets take cost out of it for the moment.
 

slip

Beefcake...BEEFCAKE!!!
Ive thought about an MBA but at only 24/25 with this level of experience (and probably the youngest member of my team) I'm afraid noone would take me seriously. The phrases 'paper MBA' and 'Gen Y wanker' spring to mind.
People will take you less seriously without the MBA. I ended up running a dealership/finance company/warranty company in one at 23. In that company, I rocked. My abilities were known, proven track record and history, and was taken seriously.

Outside that company, I would not have been taken seriously. Especially in the car trade - 23 year olds don't run dealerships.

Talent/skill/ability to learn + MBA + youth = success. Far more doors will be open, and you'll be "one of them" when being interviewed by a fellow business or other graduate.
 
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