syedsahmed101 wrote:
Hi GClub,
Can somebody shed some light on Post-MBA career options for a person 33 yrs age to strengthen the admissions application case to the top 10 B-Schools like Harvard, Wharton, Booth, Stanford etc?
I am currently in a discovery phase with regards to finding my real why to pursue an MBA from the best B-school. I have some clarity and options in mind but hesitant due to the age factor as these schools also look for a candidate to be easily hired by a reputed consulting firms like McKinsey, Bain and others who're mostly interested in hiring & grooming younger candidates.
Some of my interests in the order of priority includes:
1. Corporate & Management Strategy (The employers in this area are looking to hire younger candidates according to some famous B-School news website Poets & Quants)
2. A Business Professor
3. Marketing Consultant
4. Corporate Finance
These're some that I can think of but I would like to know what others in similar situation as me think or advise.
To help answer my question, here's some background about me.
1. GMAT 760
2. 8 years of experience working in Software Engineering & Data Analyst role in Fortune 100 organization.
3. Masters in Computer Science - University of Houston Clear Lake with GPA 3.5/4
4. Undergraduate from India with Computer Science Major with equivalent GPA 4/4.
Thanks
Syed
Hola Syed, I have actually done number two and number three here if you want more information.
But in your case, on paper, I would strongly recommend that you choose goals that are more closely in alignment with what you have done in the past.
an MBA goal that wins the game necessitates an MBA but doesn't make a full departure from what you've done in the past. You want for this to connect the dots.
One example is that I had a client who was a periodontist but wanted to work in hedge fund management. This is a poor choice because she didn't really have a lot of value to offers any prospective employers and they are not going to find her to be the most viable prospect.
Yes the MBA is the great equalizer to some degree but you are going to be competing with more experienced applicants and you will want to take a more stepwise approach to a career change at least when it comes to what you're doing on paper.
You don't want a flag yourself as a risky candidate who might be sitting on the books pulling down their rankings. I hope this sheds some light.
You are correct about MBB, at least of the US this is a pretty ageist goal but if you pursue this in Europe less so. INSEAD is very consulting heavy and also the average age is around 30 there. Same for LBS. If you have any inclination towards European schools they are more interested in seasoned applicants; INSEAD, LBS and IESE offer time for internships if you're looking to make a career change that necessitates an internship.
Candidates your age tend to be more successful with the one-year programs in the US but for obvious reasons that isn't always a great option if you're looking to make a switch.
If you want to apply to US schools, I would recommend goals that do not require a highly structured on campus recruiting process. Where you will be putting yourself side by side with 26 year olds because that makes it awkward for the recruiters. Project management tends to be a pretty decent goal for people of all ages.
As I'm sure you understand it's kind of a tough road to hoe for an Indian software engineer even someone with your qualifications. So you will need to do a very skillful job articulating how your past experience will prepare you for a different role in the future. When it comes to actual reality I totally encourage you to engage in total Blue Sky Thinking but you will need to map things house from the perspective of prospective employers for the purpose of your applications. Plan B kinda.
Other good options for people in your age group are Stanford MSX and MIT Sloan fellows.
Of course you can confidently apply for regular full-time programs, but the odds are a little lower especially for GSB and HBS. MIT is more friendly towards seasoned applicants and Ross sometimes as well.
Again just make sure that you steer clear of any goals involving ageist highly structured on campus recruitment. This goes for anyone with your background but really work hard to differentiate yourself from other Indian software Engineers which is probably the most popular applicant group out there.
Could be effectively done by focusing on interpersonal soft negotiation type skills sales skills as opposed to analytical skills where it's pretty tough to win the game as an Indian. If you have any inclination to work with the consultant I would strongly recommend that.
https://mbaprepcoach.com