Am I really giving this up?

Given the number of techies out there (especially us desis) who apply for an MBA, I thought this was worth a mention. In case all you bloggers have already discussed this ad nauseum since morning, I apologize in advance for beating a dead dog:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/top50/index.html

The best job in America is .... SOFTWARE ENGINEER!

YAY!!

Oh, wait a minute. I'm trying to escape it.

Seriously though. It does give me pause.If we techies are holding down the supposedly best job out there (based on growth prospects, flexibility, compensation etc.) , why are so many of us so eager to give it up and join the mba bandwagon?

Money?
Partly, but that's only if you want to go down the traditional IB/MC path. The median post-MBA income for other industries isn't all that better than the median tech income (atleast, the median tech income in nyc). Actually, are there any techies out there who are not going into IB/MC post-MBA?

Career Path?
I know there's been a lot of discussion on the value of an MBA career-wise, and I don't really want to ignite another one here, but this might be one of the biggest motivators, IMO. An MBA "opens doors" for you etc.

Quality of Life?
All said and done, we techies have it pretty good. More flexibility than most jobs, decent hours (considering the pay) notwithstanding the few weeks every year when we have to work insane hours.

Just curious.

My reasons? Personally, I've been doing IT at an iBank the last couple of years, and have developed a pretty strong liking for the business. Plus, hey, if I'm working wall street hours, might as well get paid that wall street bonus, eh? :-)