Hi robhalfdollar,
Thanks for writing. It sounds like you have already been out of college for at least a few years, so you do not necessarily need more work experience before you apply to business school. If you do not see the opportunity in the charter school as a step forward in your career path with significant additional leadership opportunities, taking the new job likely will not make sense for you. Business school admissions committees want to know why you want an MBA, and why you need one right now. If you feel that you will not be able to move up as a leader in the education system without an MBA, apply to business school now. If you do decide to pursue a job opportunity outside of the education space, do not make the mistake of trying to just get a typical job in investment banking and/or consulting as this will leave you relatively undifferentiated in the admissions process going forward (and one of the huge benefits of having done TFA is differentiation). It would be far better to pursue opportunities in an entrepreneurial firm or international positions. Try to also find positions that will leverage your former experience in education so that you can tell a compelling story to the AdComs when you do apply.
I have worked successfully with dozens of TFA corps members who have similar career goals to yours on their business school applications, and I would be happy to discuss further how we could work together and how we have helped students with just two years of teaching experience into the top b-schools in the nation. Feel free to email me at
shawn.oconnor@stratusprep.com to schedule a free consultation.
Best,
Shawn