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23 May 2017, 13:11
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TL;DR:
I have a tech background with international experience and I'm looking for a career change to management.
Which business school or other way of advancing my career would you recommend that doesn't require me to quit my job?
Now some details if you're interested:
I have been working as a software developer part time since I went to high-school.
For the last 6 years I have been I have been working as a senior consultant for different Scandinavian IT consulting firms, even though I didn't finish my bachelor's degree before earlier this year (I just turned 30).
I was one of the best in my year, though my grades could have been better, had I been more interested in my studies.
I really only finished my degree to be done with it (it took me 8 years).
Even though my job pays well, I lack the enthusiasm to pursue this career path further.
I just feel there is more to my personality than sitting in front of a computer screen all day.
I don't mean to brag, but I've taken classes in psychotherapy, communication and lifecoaching, which I feel has given me better skills in handling clients than my co-workers.
Having a non-Scandinavian background probably also helps as I don't perceive Scandinavian culture as very service-minded (in my opinion, most people are too "shy" to follow up clients properly, at least in IT).
I would like to either lead a development team (from a non-technical angle, more as a sales/project manager), or start a company of my own, for instance in fintech.
I have spoken to my superiors and they were open for me leading a team, but it would still be a technical role.
They don't really see me in a non-tech role as I don't have experience in that field, and I don't blame them.
I also think I lack the business skills to run a company of my own.
I could probably teach myself the necessary business skills, just like I taught myself programming when I was a kid, but I think getting an MBA would most likely make more sense.
One of the main challenges I see is that I don't want to leave my current job, which would leave me with part-time MBA programs.
Of the highly-ranked business schools, the only part-time programs I could find were IE's Global MBA (15 months) and St. Gallen (two years).
Naturally, I would like to get the MBA as quickly as possible, so IE sounds better.
IE is also supposed to focus on entrepreneurship, which might help me start a company of my own.
The program is mostly online, which I see both as an advantage in terms of flexibility (I really enjoy traveling), but also as a disadvantage because I think I would have an easier time concentrating on the studies if I were on campus for a certain number of days every month. That would probably also make it easier to connect with fellow students.
However, after following the suggestions on this forum, I searched for IE alumni in Scandinavia on LinkedIn, and it looks quite pale.
I only found few IE alumni to begin with, and those I found don't hold very high positions.
I then also searched for St. Gallen alumni, and almost all of those hold high positions like CFO etc.
I'm a bit torn now.
My girl-friend will finish her bachelor's degree in biochemistry next year and then take a master's degree in cancer research, which is offered in Zurich amongst a handful other universities (but of course we don't know if she'd get in).
I grew up in Germany, but I don't really see myself ever going back there, even though I have a professional network both in Scandinavia and Germany.
I could also imagine working in the US, Middle East or Asia for some, especially if it's only for meeting clients and the work would be carried out remotely (I can imagine working with outsourcing).
Any idea in which way to look?
Thanks.
I have a tech background with international experience and I'm looking for a career change to management.
Which business school or other way of advancing my career would you recommend that doesn't require me to quit my job?
Now some details if you're interested:
I have been working as a software developer part time since I went to high-school.
For the last 6 years I have been I have been working as a senior consultant for different Scandinavian IT consulting firms, even though I didn't finish my bachelor's degree before earlier this year (I just turned 30).
I was one of the best in my year, though my grades could have been better, had I been more interested in my studies.
I really only finished my degree to be done with it (it took me 8 years).
Even though my job pays well, I lack the enthusiasm to pursue this career path further.
I just feel there is more to my personality than sitting in front of a computer screen all day.
I don't mean to brag, but I've taken classes in psychotherapy, communication and lifecoaching, which I feel has given me better skills in handling clients than my co-workers.
Having a non-Scandinavian background probably also helps as I don't perceive Scandinavian culture as very service-minded (in my opinion, most people are too "shy" to follow up clients properly, at least in IT).
I would like to either lead a development team (from a non-technical angle, more as a sales/project manager), or start a company of my own, for instance in fintech.
I have spoken to my superiors and they were open for me leading a team, but it would still be a technical role.
They don't really see me in a non-tech role as I don't have experience in that field, and I don't blame them.
I also think I lack the business skills to run a company of my own.
I could probably teach myself the necessary business skills, just like I taught myself programming when I was a kid, but I think getting an MBA would most likely make more sense.
One of the main challenges I see is that I don't want to leave my current job, which would leave me with part-time MBA programs.
Of the highly-ranked business schools, the only part-time programs I could find were IE's Global MBA (15 months) and St. Gallen (two years).
Naturally, I would like to get the MBA as quickly as possible, so IE sounds better.
IE is also supposed to focus on entrepreneurship, which might help me start a company of my own.
The program is mostly online, which I see both as an advantage in terms of flexibility (I really enjoy traveling), but also as a disadvantage because I think I would have an easier time concentrating on the studies if I were on campus for a certain number of days every month. That would probably also make it easier to connect with fellow students.
However, after following the suggestions on this forum, I searched for IE alumni in Scandinavia on LinkedIn, and it looks quite pale.
I only found few IE alumni to begin with, and those I found don't hold very high positions.
I then also searched for St. Gallen alumni, and almost all of those hold high positions like CFO etc.
I'm a bit torn now.
My girl-friend will finish her bachelor's degree in biochemistry next year and then take a master's degree in cancer research, which is offered in Zurich amongst a handful other universities (but of course we don't know if she'd get in).
I grew up in Germany, but I don't really see myself ever going back there, even though I have a professional network both in Scandinavia and Germany.
I could also imagine working in the US, Middle East or Asia for some, especially if it's only for meeting clients and the work would be carried out remotely (I can imagine working with outsourcing).
Any idea in which way to look?
Thanks.
24 May 2017, 02:36
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I understand that you don't want to leave your job but quite honestly I think that you stand a lot to gain by doing so. And I think that doing this halfway is really going to be like flying to Paris to eat peanut butter sandwiches. You really can't make a lot of progress in your job now and really need to get an opportunity to retool. To be honest I'm not really sure that a part-time program is worth the time effort and money especially an online one like ie. That's a great program for somebody who is dealing with a family business or prepared to be an entrepreneur right out of business school or just trying to climb the ranks at work. But I'm not really sure it's the best place for a career switcher who really needs an internship that's going to give them leadership experience. As a side note based on what you've said I wonder if you would be good in a recruiting position, given your sales Savvy and communication skills. Or potentially a life coach for IT professionals, which is a training/job where you're working remotely defacto. Those are two alternatives I can think of that might sidestep the need for an MBA. If it turns out that an MBA makes sense for you I think that it would be best for you to think about top schools that also accommodate your gf goals as well. I'm wondering why st. Gallen isn't feeling like a good idea to you, why is that not a slam dunk? It's relatively nearby Zurich. One thing I would really recommend is that you take the time to work with a career coach to really think about your next move rather than going to business school and hoping something strikes your fancy. Because it's a very expensive way to figure out your life Dharma, it's not possible to leverage business school to achieve your goals unless you know what they are.
https://MBAPrepCoach.COM
https://MBAPrepCoach.COM
24 May 2017, 03:12
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Thank you very much for input.
Neither a job as a recruiter or lifecoach would necessarily pay very well, I think.
The job I have now does, however (I'm making about 100k USD a year).
And I'd also like to get a position with more responsibility.
We don't know yet if she'd get accepted in Zurich, and life in Switzerland is expensive.
And she has one more full-time year of studies for her bachelor's degree, so I wouldn't really want to move somewhere else without her, nor would I want to wait another year...
The only alternative to a part-time program I can think of is ditching the MBA altogether and starting my own company and acquiring the necessary skills along the way.
I don't know how smart that would be, though.
Neither a job as a recruiter or lifecoach would necessarily pay very well, I think.
The job I have now does, however (I'm making about 100k USD a year).
And I'd also like to get a position with more responsibility.
We don't know yet if she'd get accepted in Zurich, and life in Switzerland is expensive.
And she has one more full-time year of studies for her bachelor's degree, so I wouldn't really want to move somewhere else without her, nor would I want to wait another year...
The only alternative to a part-time program I can think of is ditching the MBA altogether and starting my own company and acquiring the necessary skills along the way.
I don't know how smart that would be, though.
