Intern
Joined: 06 Jan 2016
Posts: 10
Location: United States
Concentration: Technology, Strategy
Re: Part Time Vs. Full Time MBA
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28 Jan 2016, 07:48
I am seriously considering the option of taking up a part-time MBA option in one of the top 10 schools. As you would know, this is not a cheap or easy decision. I have a graduate degree in engineering from a Top 30 research school here in the US and an undergraduate degree from a top-10 school in India. Combined, have almost 7 years of experience and a graduate degree. For various personal/financial/other reasons, going full-time is ruled out, even though I would love to do it. I have been with my current company(Blue Chip MNC) as a software/automation/R&D engineer for the past 5+ years and also have almost 2 years of manufacturing/consulting services experience in India. I definitely love my current career/job, but getting into consulting (Management/Technology) for primarily engineering businesses has always been my long term career goal.
My biggest concern now is if a part time MBA is worth the investment in terms of time, money and effort, especially if I want to make a career change at this stage. I still want to work for tech/engineering firm, but on the business side. Some of the admission officers I talked to in my target schools such as Kellogg/Ross/Tepper (Tech/consulting heavy schools in Midwest) etc are promising that part time students enjoy almost the same benefits as full-time students in terms of career opportunities. I talked to a few current students and they also seem to give a positive opinion about these part-time programs.
Given that I would be around 34 with some 10 years experience by the time I graduate, do you still think it is still a good idea? How do recruiters/companies view such profiles?
Thank you very much.