Greekmythology wrote:
How well do you feel johnson prepares career switchers? I'm looking to switch from marketing to finance ( equity research or investment banking) I'd prefer not to do investment banking as I would like to have a life outside of work. Did most career switchers get the jobs they wanted?
I came into Johnson looking to switch careers, from tech to marketing and was able to land an internship successfully. Johnson does a great job at getting you ready to switch careers, and be aware that the majority of the reason people come to a 2 year program is to do exactly that. Now when it comes to Finance, especially IB Johnson is above most places at getting you ready to switch careers. With Old Ezra as well as career work groups and other professional clubs, you'll be ready to land an internship. Now getting students ready for that internship is the place where Johnson shines. The immersions give you all of the hard and most of the soft skills you'll need to convert the offer. The main reason I came to Johnson was to get hands on Brand Management and Consulting practice prior to an internship. I felt it was needed to be successful, and get up to speed with those around me. Myself and other Johnson interns around me where well ahead in preparation from other interns from other top programs. With IB, you're golden in landing an internship (as long as you're willing to put the effort in) I don't know as much about equity research though, so I'm not fully sure there. I know that people are heading down that track from johnson, but I'm not what their journey was that got them there.
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How would you rate the immersions? Did you feel like the immersions did a good job preparing you? Is it possible to do 2 different immersions? For example, Investment banking and Capital Markets and Asset Management.
Personally, I loved the immersion. Like I said, it was the reason I was interested in Johnson in the first place. With SMI (Strategic marketing immersion) I was able to do a consulting project for a fortune 100 CPG and actually help change a package on the shelf. It was extremely valuable, and gave me the skills and confidence to be successful over the summer. Now although it isnt possible to take 2 immersions, you can be customized (not take an immersion, just take electives and a few core classes). The IB immersion is intense, I know they make sure you're technically ready for the summer. CMAM is probably the smallest immersion, and I honestly know very little about it. But, also keep in mind that the immersion you take does not have to be connected to the job you do over the summer and post mba. But for IB I'd do the IB immersion, for equity research i think you can get away with either.
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How was the career center/ networking? Did you feel like they were extremely helpful to most students?
Eh the career center is fine. So the great thing about johnson is what you get from the students around you. Through Old Ezra and Career Work Groups, you'll be ready to both understand how to network as well as interview with banks. The career center sets up some great things for you, like mock interviews, treks to companies, lots and lots of corporate briefings, coffee chats and so on. You will almost certainly get your internship and full time offer through this avenue. Lots of leg work by you (networking and such at events that are set up by the CMC and Old Ezra). If you for some reason do not land a role through this, the CMC can be helpful. I personally did not have much interaction with individuals there, and on the few occasions, it was more deciding between offers, or protocol because of missing a deadline. I cant comment specifically for IB or equity research (considering I only looked at marketing, tech, and strategy)
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Is it hard to get into managing the Cayuga Fund? If I have no work experience managing a fund will it be impossible to get?
I can't tell you for sure. I'm not fully sure what their process is, and if experience is needed. I can however tell you that I did BRC (big red consulting) without consulting experience, and know many people did BRV (big red venture fund) without investing or even finance experience. I would reach out the the cayuga fund managers and get an idea of what they look for in managers. People tend to be pretty transparent at Johnson.
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I know this next question is tough to answer but do you feel like going to a school in the top 10 such as Columbia or Uchicago would open up more doors/ get you a better job than Johnson?
Personally, no. I got one of the top non banking or consulting jobs an MBA could want. I think the opportunities Johnson gave fit my goals perfectly. Now, you see some pretty crazy numbers from top programs, say Kellogg and their staggering numbers heading to MBB. I'm sure the same is true with Big Banks in IB when looking at Wharton, Booth and CBS. But, also understand that many student there are brought into those schools partially because their background makes them slightly more hire-able. The point is, if you cant land a your dream job from Johnson, you wouldn't be able to land it from Columbia either. You're competing with a pool at those schools that are more hire-able... So, landing the job/opportunities... I dont that this is the way to look at it. Now, would my overall network be better if I went to a higher ranked school... Yes. Would I have more connections at these places. Yes. But... would I be as close to them, and feel like I could depend on those people to be an advocate for me... I'm not sure.
I think the times where top schools matter more are in niche industries, or small companies. Some funds only hire HBS grads... I mean, is something like PE or VC easier to land our of HBS... I dont think so, I think HBS does a great job selecting the people with the correct background to land those jobs. If you have a specific bank you want to work for that hires only from certain schools, and one of those arent johnson... dont come to johnson and hope to land it.
I know what my options where for CPG (my first focus) Johnson does well with east coast CPGs, P&G and SCJ. I knew if I wanted a different midwest or west coast CPG I would have to network my way there.
Johnson places people in all of the roles you'd want. On top of that, Johnson has fewer sponsored students from those firms (which can inflate numbers). So, do I feel I would have had an easier road at a different school, or landed in a better role... no. I feel like some of the students around me would have been much more qualified for those roles. My background is not HBS quality. That doesn't mean I'm not as talented as students from there, just that my previous experience wasn't as shiny as theirs. You'll land at the school that makes sense for you. If all money is equal and you get into Johnson and Booth... you should probably go to Booth. Columbia I could make an argument and It depends what you want from your experience... NYU, Yale, Duke, Ross, Virginia, Anderson.. Totally personal Pref (although if you want IB in NY, I think Johnson ranks above all of them... though NYU could argue). If I got into Tuck, I would have gone. If I wasn't WLed at Duke, it would have been a tough call, but after doing welcome weekends, I'm pretty sure i would have still selected Johnson
BUT, I dont feel my placement post grad would have been better from Tuck.
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How is the social scene there? I heard the undergrad is frat dominated. Do most grad students interact with the undergrads socially? ( Just asking because the ratio of guys to girls doesn't seem great in most MBA programs.
The Social scene is great. The best part about Ithaca is that most people stick around during weekends (If you're recruiting for IB, you're weekends during your first fall may be spent heading to NYC just an FYI). There are many undergrad frats, many many frats, but you can keep the scenes pretty separate. Yes, if you're interested in partaking in that culture, it's there... But I came into b-school married and in my late 20s, so I was over that... Thats not to say I didnt drink way too much way too often, or play tons of undergrad beer games... just normally not with people under 25... There are MBA/Grad bars, and bars where MBAs and Grads go to meet undergrads... There is crossover, but people may ridicule you a bit. (it's all in fun)
Now the ratio sucks, but there was a lot of cross over into other grad schools at Cornell. Hotel, ILR, Vet, and Law - This is where you'll most likely find MBAs dating non MBAs. There is a Bar on campus that does many gradschool events, like speed dating and happy hours. Also, the Vet school holds a bunch of events, like beer pong tournaments and parties. Some of the Johnson events were also sponsored and attended by the Law school as well.
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If you could do it all over would you still choose Johnson? And if not why?
Thank you so much for any info you can provide.
Knowing the range of school that were possible for me (16-9 on p&q) I would have selected Johnson again. I only applied to 3 schools, Johnson, Fuqua, and Tuck. Through the process I fell in love with all three schools, and all three were my top at different times. There is a small chance I would have applied to Kellogg if given the chance to try again, but outside of that when thinking about schools like Duke, Ross, Darden, Haas, Stern, Yale, Johnson, and Anderson, Johnson was the best school for me.
When selecting a school think of a few things,
1. Do the companies I want to work for recruit at that school? (On campus recruiting is KEY)
2. Do I like the people I've met? (VISIT, Interact!)
3. Am I happy with the location? (I wanted to escape the city, and really connect with my peers. If the city more important I'd go somewhere else)
4. Are they giving me money? (Don't feel bad accepting an admit from a school that isn't as prestigious if its for free, or close... and the other 3 questions were a yes)
There are 4 parts of an MBA.
1 - Landing the job you want.
2 - Learning everything you you need to in order to be successful in that job.
3 - Doing that around people you like, and creating great connections, friendships and memories because of it.
4 - Most importantly, growing personally
Ugh, 2 lists of 4 things instead of 3 things... how un-MBA of me...