Writing MBA after your name.

That seems odd, DH has never done that, he’s a CFA. His company paid for it, I suspect the majority of people at his company have an MBA.
 
I recently graduated college and obtained my BA at age 42 after 4 long years of working full time and going to night school. I have added BA to my name on Facebook as I am a member of multiple professional networking groups. In my industry it is not the norm to have a college degree or even a masters, most people get by with just self taught skills and work experience. By me having a college degree and putting BA after my name, it makes me stand out in a very crowded and noisy industry and gives me extra credibility and trust worthiness. It means that in the Facebook groups for example, that when I give advice that I know what Im talking about. Also for potential clients, they are more likely to hire me (Im self employed) someone who has academic theory to back up my claims and advice, then someone who just is self taught.
 
It's never been my personal preference (and I have an MBA as well as a CPA), but yeah, I see it all the time around here (I work at a community college). In fact, one of my staff puts every single initial she has on her e-mail signature (her signature says, and I quote, Ed.D., MBA, C.P.M.. It's pretty obnoxious, IMO.
 


I work in the energy industry, think Big Oil. Most do not do it unless they are in research or legal. Most everyone else does not list it. I have an MBA and MA in History and list nothing.
 
Not sure what field that is, but I have never seen anyone do that in all my years of working. It seems more like someone wants to brag about an accomplishment and it means nothing to actually doing their job.

I work in academia, although on the research side and not the educational side, as a pp said, it is common in academia. I don't see it as bragging, and I doubt most people in the field do, especially when everyone has some sort of degree, with the vast majority having a graduate degree of some kind. Different fields do things differently, not going to get worked up about it, or call people braggarts because their field has different customs so to speak.
 


I have CPA after my name for my professional signature. Would I sign something non-work related with wvjules, CPA? No. That's just silly. But at work, absolutely.

Agreed. I should have clarified. I wouldn't put designations in normal day to day e-mails, such as with friends. However, in your given profession absolutely. It's not bragging, and even if it is, so what?
 
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However, in your given profession absolutely. It's not bragging. and even if it is, so what?

Exactly, now that I have my degree I make a point of stating it when I am giving professional advice. If it gets up peoples noises, so what! In my industry at the moment, every guy or gal on the street THINKS they can do the job and therefore there are alot of "armchair experts" . Making it obvious I have a BA degree relevant to the industry is a way of shaking down those fly by nights who promise everything but deliver nothing.
 
I have an MBA but its never been a designation that should go after the name, to me at least. I have seen it before at work and especially on LinkedIn. I'm not offended by people who do that, but I think MBAs are more common than PhD or JD (or whatever else), so it has less of an impact when I see it.
 
I find it odd that a 4 year degree designation would be on someone's signature.

is that aimed at me??

Well actually, I changed careers and went back to college at age 38. My previous career / industry I didnt have a degree. Also my new current industry, it is NOT common to have an academic qualification, as it is a relatively new industry, my actual job did not exist 20 years ago. Having an academic qualification and stating it in professional circumstances gives me competitor advantage in a crowded and noisy industry.
 
A family member has an MBA and a CPA but only puts CPA in his professional signature.
 
Not aimed at anyone, actually. But I do find it an odd practice to use name, BA. Heck, I changed careers and finished my degree at 43 and it never occurred to me to use it as part of a signature. But since you are in Ireland, maybe things are different there. :confused3
 
Not aimed at anyone, actually. But I do find it an odd practice to use name, BA. Heck, I changed careers and finished my degree at 43 and it never occurred to me to use it as part of a signature. But since you are in Ireland, maybe things are different there. :confused3

ok I didnt want to post but I guess you are not understanding my reasons. I have a BA in Online / Internet Marketing and I am a Marketing Consultant. I specialise in website and social media marketing and advertising. This job did not exist 20 years ago and my actual degree has only been available for less than 10 years.

The majority of people who call themselves Internet and Social Media Marketing Experts and Consultants do not have ANY marketing academic qualifications. They just think oh anyone can do this, its easy, I have 6000 followers on Instagram, I blog about makeup, I can do this as a job and get paid to be on social media. And thats where they are wrong. There is a huge huge amount and range of skills and knowledge that is necessary for the job of Internet Marketing.

By having my degree and stating it when I give professional advice means that I am showing potential clients that I do know what I am talking about. Lets be honest here, if you were a business and looking to hire someone to run your company Facebook page and to manage your company website, most likely 9 out of 10 job applicants would not have a relevant academic qualification. By me having my BA in Online / Internet Marketing makes me more likely to get hired AND I can get higher pay packet than someone who does not have a relevant academic qualification.
 
Why does the "humble brag" bother you, OP? Why is it OK for a doctor, but not others? That person probably worked very hard for their MBA, and if they want to use that designation after their signature, more power to them. DW has her masters and she should be proud of it. As others have said, in many professions it's not only accepted, but sort of expected. I have several designations in my field, and I use them in my sig line. I don't get the outrage. :confused3
A dr writes it b/c it’s his/her license. My credentials include my license not my degrees. I think it’s just tacky if it’s not relevant to your job...maybe that’s why it bugs OP?
 
I just looked through all my emails from this week and most people list their designations behind their names. So, it would not seem odd to me.
 
I'd think it's situational and industry/profession based.

Business cards and I'm assuming e-mail as well denotes not my husband's degree but rather his licensing. A company is going to want to know that they are working with not only with someone who is has a P.E. license if they have one but also where they can work if a license is required on a personal level (so his business card denotes he has a license in X state).

But I know my husband's personal e-mail doesn't denote anything related to that.

I'd like to know that the accountant I'm working for has CPA license for example.
 

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