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needcareerdirection
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Is the MBA right for me? 31 Dec 2017, 20:16
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Hi,

I'm an English language teacher. 33 y/o and have no career direction really. Teaching is fun but pays poorly. I am considering an MBA as I feel like I would enjoy a career in industry/business at this stage in my life. Before teaching language (for 2 years now), I worked as a researcher for a small research consultancy.

I know that language teaching is not a viable career. The pay is poor even though I enjoy it. I need alternatives and the MBA keeps popping up as an option. I mean I guess I could leverage it into numerous opportunities but am not totally sold on it. I am well educated (Bachelors and Masters in Politics) and have a decent experience but have no idea what I want to do with my life.

Does the MBA sound right?
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Farrell Nelson: MBA
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Is the MBA right for me? 31 Dec 2017, 21:36
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needcareerdirection
Hi,

I'm an English language teacher. 33 y/o and have no career direction really. Teaching is fun but pays poorly. I am considering an MBA as I feel like I would enjoy a career in industry/business at this stage in my life. Before teaching language (for 2 years now), I worked as a researcher for a small research consultancy.

I know that language teaching is not a viable career. The pay is poor even though I enjoy it. I need alternatives and the MBA keeps popping up as an option. I mean I guess I could leverage it into numerous opportunities but am not totally sold on it. I am well educated (Bachelors and Masters in Politics) and have a decent experience but have no idea what I want to do with my life.

Does the MBA sound right?
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Hi needcareerdirection,
As you probably realize, before investing $200K, it's important for you identify a clear path here and make sure that the MBA is necessary to break into the new career. So often, people fail to do the proper introspection when they are in this situation and hope to take this problem and "pitch it over the fence" at business school in hopes they will fix it.

Especially for older applicants, to be admitted, you need to demonstrate a very clear direction with specific goals that are supported by your past experience. If you want to do this, do so sooner than later as 33 is kind of borderline with full-time US programs. You will likely want to take this route so you can do an internship. EU/UK programs are warmer to older applicants, however, they are 1 year programs with the exception of LBS. Snagging a consulting job is possible with INSEAD without an internship.

Why do you feel you would enjoy a business career? It's important to think about that question and then consider how you think an MBA would give you the feeling/experience you are after. The fact that you enjoy what you do is important to consider - is there a way to take what you do, in a different setting, and make more money? Like becoming an ESL tutor or English tutor to executives via Skype?

As far as an MBA career, one consideration might to research a Learning & Development path. If this interests you,
do informational interviews and speak with recruiters to identify whether or not an MBA will get you a post-MBA job in this field. https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/learning-and-development-specialist-salary-SRCH_KO0,35.htm

Did you enjoy the time you spent in consulting, what caused you to move out of that path?
What drew you to getting a Masters in Politics? Any interest in ghostwriting or speech writing, communications or training role at the state or federal level? Here in Sacramento there is a job classification at the State called Informational Specialist and for those with a Masters Degree, Associate Governmental Program Analyst.

So just make sure you need another masters before making your move. The first step is to identify what you like about your job and how to apply that in a higher-paying career path. Recommend that you do the Career Leader assessment. Might want to post this in Ask Admissions Consultants to get more input, that thread is more active.

Hope this helps!
Farrell