Ms. Jordan is a former operations vice president at Bank of America, her job was eliminated in 2008. Prior to Bank of America, Jordan spent three years with the personal insurance division of Countrywide Financial as vice president of customer retention. She lives in Laguna Beach, Calif.

Like many M.B.A.s, I am one of the millions who returned to school after a dozen years climbing the corporate ladder with only a bachelor's degree. I thought my M.B.A. would give me an edge. I thought the combination of the degree and my...