The CAF as an organization is obsessed with credentialism.
I say that as someone who used to be in the CAF and now works in an industry where even some of the most Senior Leadership of the Company doesn't have a University Degree.
They did all their learning on the ground and accumulated experience.
I think education is important but that education needs to be tailored to the job at hand.
The entire purpose of a Military College should be to school its Officers in the Art of War and the Officers should all receive a broad-based education in Military Tactics, War Theory, History, etc.
Correct. MBAs are very popular in Government, Finance, Consulting, etc. They are not that prevalent in a lot of other Industries.
What I've found in my new industry is a lot of the "supporting cast" if you will, are the ones with the advanced degrees. The actual operations personnel though, and we are the ones who run the business and make the decisions (we also get paid the most). We receive our education on the ground. We go out, make things happen, and are rewarded with more challenging tasks to complete and promotions if we achieve our objectives.
There is value in education and I am convinced there is value in receiving a Military Education. I am wholely unconvinced the CAF wouldn't be better off creating their own education curriculum and awarding people who go through the program a "bachelor of military arts and sciences" in lieu of having them waste four years of their life studying "basket weaving"
The CAF does the opposite of what it should do. It offloads actual PD for its Officers and Senior NCOs until they are 15-20 years in to their career. Much too late and they miss the opportunity to saturate the mind at a young age.
MBAs target a very specific subsection of the private sector. Namely consulting and the financial industry. That so many Military Officers gravitate to that path post CAF says more about them and what they're comfortable with than it does about the actual value of an MBA itself.
I am personally interested in doing an MBA because I have an interest in it, and also for networking reasons
, not because it matters in my current occupation.