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need help with some career choices/goals

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shaselai
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need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   24 May 2010, 15:28
I am still trying to figure out my long term career post MBA and would like some advice. I have a tech background so it is probably not smart to do a full career switch into pure finance. I am interested in project management and also business analyst but are those considered "long term" though? I definitely want to do a hybrid finance and IT so I just dont outright "waste" my tech degrees. Any suggestion on other careers are helpful, thanks!
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   24 May 2010, 15:48
Shaselai,

I agree that stating "project management" or "business analyst" goals to the B-schools would not convince them you need an MBA. You could state a technology management goal, i.e., rising to senior management in a technology company. You could state technology or strategy consulting focusing on the technology industry. You could state entrepreneurship goals: starting your own technology company. All of these long-term goals would be perceived as "MBA-worthy" goals and would be relate to your pre-MBA career.

Keep in mind, however, that most people use the MBA to change careers so there's no saying you want to change careers as long as you can explain where the new goal comes from and can show that you have done your due diligence on the new career. See Accepted.com's Advice for IT Applicants

Hope this helps,
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   24 May 2010, 18:15
thats the thing... does everyone who are applying have some kind of cool story on how he/she want to do? I honestly don't have some great goal but want to advance in my career in a combination of finance/it field. Isn't senior management as you mentioned same as project management or you are thinking like directors,vps etc? And isn't tech consulting somewhat similar to business analyst or consulting is more hands on and interacts more with customers?
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   24 May 2010, 22:12
I think you need to do more due diligence on post-MBA careers, i.e., reading, networking, informational interviews. You can't write a good MBA goals essay from a few comments (even mine!) on a GMAT blog. :) The point is you need reasonably ambitious long-term goals that are credible.

--Paul
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   25 May 2010, 06:13
pbodine wrote:
I think you need to do more due diligence on post-MBA careers, i.e., reading, networking, informational interviews. You can't write a good MBA goals essay from a few comments (even mine!) on a GMAT blog. :) The point is you need reasonably ambitious long-term goals that are credible.

--Paul



I see. Can I have couple of goals or it is better to have only one long term goal and go from there?
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   25 May 2010, 07:24
Yes, you could state two different goals. But both should be stated in concrete, specific terms (show the due diligence) and maybe give one more emphasis than the other (primary goal). Ideally, the two goals would be somehow related to each other.
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   25 May 2010, 10:30
would the following goal be good or I should avoid it because of the nature of the subject?

I always had a passion for gaming and had a goal working for a gaming company. This led to me and a couple of friends in developing a game and possibly creating a startup company if the product does well. With the MBA I am hoping I could gain entry into game companies' marketing department and in the long term goal I could be a consultant for startup gaming companies.
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   25 May 2010, 11:20
Yes, that would work. Just flesh it out for the goals essay.
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   26 May 2010, 08:40
A followup question. I know having a goal is important and frankly I had a mindset of "making more money" doing whatever before but now am more focused (thanks to you!) on my goals. But in the back of my head there is still the notion that I might end up snatching up whatever highest paying job i can get post MBA if my goal job isn't there - does this happen to a lot of people and is that a bit disingenuous?
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   26 May 2010, 08:47
You'll need to work that out for yourself.
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink] New post   26 May 2010, 10:06
Shaselai, in response to your last question, I'd recommend you read Ahead of the Curve by Philip Delves Broughton. He treats that question at length and very fairly. In fact, I'd say that question the primary question of the entire mini-memoir. Anyone struggling with the issue would do well to read the book while applying.
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Re: need help with some career choices/goals [#permalink]
26 May 2010, 10:06

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