Nekomeanscat wrote:
Hey, thanks everyone for all the very helpful info on this forum. Been poring through here a while now (also checked out the post-mil HBS blog, thanks for that) and hoped I could jump in / solicit any advice/feedback anyone might have.
Been doing healthcare admin w/USAF past 5 years and am at a crossroads for whether I get MBA thru the AF (AD pay/benefits thru school but ostensibly commit to 20 years) or separate / GI Bill.
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Funny, I typed out all the stuff I've been considering, but it occured to me most of those questions I've seen addressed in various lights on this forum... so perhaps the root struggle I'm having is whether "the grass has turned out greener" for the post-mil MBAs? To try making that *not* a loaded question, thought I'd try to summarize my thoughts in case it resonates w/anyone:
1. Enjoy military "being part of something bigger than a profit machine" vs. frustrated by the bureaucracy & often lack of clear/common goal (i.e., being a profit machine)?
2. Sort of enjoy running circles around colleagues/superiors and being comfortable with rank/structure vs. frustrated by working with folks who only want a paycheck with minimal effort and/or anxious my colleagues in the private sector will be running circles around me (since I've been "sheltered" the past 5 years?)
3. Enjoy/proud of helping my enlisted folks vs. wondering if at Lt Col as I'm disciplining some drunk E-3 at 2AM whether I'll envy an MBA who's working with IT gurus on a new electronic health record or something...?
4. Can anyone speak to - for once you started your MBA - whether you ended up saying "Wow, these people/ideas/opportunities are _____, I wish I'd stayed in / gotten out!"
In case it's helpful answering/relating, my top picks would be Haas/Foster/Mays (West/SW desired) and, cause life's funny like that, I'm weighing all this while my wife's also an AF nurse (and 6 months pregnant!).
Thus, needless to say, any gut check / advice would be most appreciated!
Disclaimer: I'm currently applying to school, so I haven't actually seen the other side.
I'm getting out after my initial 4-year contract. Almost exactly a year ago, I decided to go for an MBA after debating for 4 months over whether to stay in the military, get out and start working, or go to school. I won't get into the work vs school dilemma, so these are the reasons why I decided to leave the military:
-I joined the military in the first place to go to Iraq/Afghanistan, not necessarily to do 20 years. I was fortunate to deploy to Afghanistan shortly after I hit the operating forces. After I returned, though, garrison duties just didn't provide the sense of fulfillment I got from my deployment. The bureaucracy/lack of clear goal was definitely frustrating, and it won't get better any time soon.
-After my 4-year initial contract, I'd be sent to the supporting establishment for my next tour of duty. None of the supporting establishment tours excited me. I wasn't even excited to return to the operating forces as a company commander -- to me, it just seemed like more of the same in garrison. MilitaryToBusiness has a great blog post with a graph showing the level of responsibility a military officer holds over his/her career. I didn't want to spend my second 4 years stagnating somewhere.
-I never want to live in a military town again.
One thing I will miss, though, is the camraderie. There's nothing like debating zombie apocalypse plans for 2 hours while you're sitting in the middle of the desert. I'll probably never be able to experience the same sense of purpose I got on my deployment, but that might not have happened if I stayed in the military either. Hope this helps.