so1id wrote:
Hi everyone, I'm a bit off for the target demographic in this thread since I am still in undergrad (senior in AFROTC). However, I do want to get an MBA in the future after my service so I have spent plenty of time during my summer break to research different aspects of this path.
At this point, I am at a crossroads on choosing what job to do in the Air Force, and with that, the service obligations that come with the career fields. I have already received my pilot candidate slot but I am looking at different career paths as well. My background is in Aerospace Engineering at a top public school. If you guys/gals can offer some insight and advice, I would greatly appreciate it.
1. Should I just go through and commission with a pilot slot or go into an Engineering/Space Ops/Program Management path? However, the service obligation is 10 years + training (11-12 years before I would be able to separate) for pilot while it is only 4 years for the others.
2. Does the extra bump in prestige of being a pilot have an effect on Top B-School admissions?
3. Does age matter as a military applicant? If I do pilot, I will be about 34-35 y/o compared to 27-28.
4. With the experience and wisdom that you now have after your service and after having gone through business school, what would you have done if you were in my shoes?
I would like to thank everyone in advance for any advice they may have for me. This site has been such an invaluable resource about business school in general.
I'll address each question in a minute, but first things first...
I think you're putting the cart ahead of the horse a bit, and it's not going to help you get into a good school down the road. If you've yet to commission and you're already planning your exit strategy from the military, it makes it sound like the military isn't what you really want to do. Entering the officer ranks with your eyes already on "bigger and better" things is a disservice to the airmen you'll lead and isn't likely to result in you being a standout performer during your 4+ years.
Aside from the basics like GPA and GMAT, the main thing that top MBA programs want is people who have demonstrated outstanding performance relative to their peers and who (as such) have shown the potential to go on and do great things in the business world. That level of performance, as well as finding people willing to write strong recommendation letters, can't be faked.
That being said:
1. Go into the AFSC that you're most interested in and that you're most likely to do well in. If you pick a job that makes you miserable, you're not likely to perform well which means you're going to have a hard time talking about your outstanding performance when it comes time to write application essays.
2. No...see my answer to #1. The ~45 veterans in my HBS class covered pretty much every branch of service and every MOS/warfare community in the US military, in addition to the handful of foreign vets we had. The only "bump" to be had is from doing well in your assigned billets, and demonstrating high potential for future business leadership.
3. Yes and no. Business schools can't (for legal reasons) discriminate based on age, but it's not too difficult to see what the age distribution bell curve looks like in a graphic like this:
https://blog.militarytobusiness.com/2011/10/harvard-age-curve-part-iii.html There is a "sweet spot" for MBA admissions and it generally ranges from 25-27 years old at matriculation. I turned 30 at the beginning of my first year at HBS, and that put me in the oldest 8-10% of my class. Now there are a few different factors at play on a chart like that--namely, that your average civilian applicant is going to have 2-3 years of work experience vs. the 4-5 years (minimum) that a military applicant will have. Non-vets at business school tend to be on the younger side, because the top performers out of top undergrad schools tend to get jobs and the most prestigious firms, then the top performers at McKinsey and Goldman and Apple and GE get fast-tracked to go to business school early on, so if someone hits the 5 year mark as a consultant yet hasn't gone to business school it's probably because they're a sub-par performer....sorta like if someone hits the 4 year mark in the military and is still an E-2. Top schools want to grab the top applicants early on, rather than have them go to law school or elsewhere...this was a big part of the reasoning behind HBS starting the 2+2 program a few years ago.
You also have to account for the fact that very few people are applying at 30+ years old. Fewer applicants means fewer admissions, even if they're admitted at roughly the same rate. At 30+ years old people tend to get more risk-averse and less willing to take a two year break from earning to go to school with people a lot younger than they are.
There were a few vets in my class who were 32-34 years old at matriculation, but not many. I can think of a few reasons to explain those numbers. First, once someone reaches the 10 year mark in the military it gets hard to walk away from a decent paycheck, opportunity to command, get medical care for your family, and retirement not too far down the road. Most of the older vets I know at HBS and elsewhere were pilots who separated as soon as their commitment was up--I was definitely a minority in that I served 2 years past my initial 5 year commitment.
The really difficult thing I would point out about applying at 34-35 years old is that you may find it a bit harder to find internships and jobs. Once again, companies can't legally hire based on age, but the reality is that you'll be competing for the same jobs (and salaries) as your 27 year old banker classmates, as well as your 30 year old vet classmates. You won't get any boost out of the fact that you got out as an O-4 rather than an O-2, and you'll have to deal with the fact that your first boss will probably be younger and less experienced than you. If your personality indicates any resistance to that kind of adjustment, a company isn't going to hire you. You've also gotta keep in mind the opportunity cost of those extra years you spent in the military--meaning that if you're a 35 year old rookie at a particular company, the other 35 year olds likely have 8-10 years of experience in that industry and/or company. You'll have a lot of catching-up to do.
4. Focus on being the best (
whatever AFSC you choose) officer you can. Ignore the business school thing for the next 2 years, unless you decide to go ahead and get the GMAT out of the way since a score is good for 5 years. Then when you're about 2-3 years out from the end of your service commitment, start worrying about the application process.