Journey to Kellogg School of Management.

Also worth mentioning Kellogg has now doubled their financial aid compared to when I applied (northwestern as a whole is flush with cash from a multi billion dollar drug they discovered/patented), so new students are getting very generous scholarships compared to when I applied.

Posted from my mobile device

Wow - blast from the past...Got a message asking for an update, I had almost forgotten about this site.

I did two years in consulting, left after promotion to engagement manager, and have now spent about a year and a half doing corporate strategy at a financial services firm. Compensation is now mid-$200's, work is stressful but hours are great (As opposed to consulting that was 60-80 hours a week...). Paid off all my MBA debt a year and a half ago, and am currently saving $100k a year. Recently married and thinking of kids soon.

Still super close to about ~30-40 Kellogg friends. ~25 came to my wedding, and dozens of active group chats going on strong 4 years later. Pre-covid, did several trips a year with various kellogg friendship groups, in addition to frequently hanging out with the ones that live in my city.

How time flies!

WOW! Indeed blast from the past!!! Great to see you back MGG!!!
It is crazy to think you have graduated back in 2016.... it is really unbelievable and really scary too! Awesome update and thrilled to hear about your awesome progress! Congrats on your wedding and a new chapter in life.... I have changed quite a bit when the first kid came. Things suddenly became very real and my priorities changed. The rest of my life was no longer in front of me at that point. Fun times

Just wanted to post a quick update here, since I remember there being a lack of information about +5 years after MBA on here and elsewhere...

I'm now a director and make $320k, at a a large bank, in corporate strategy. Have a very high level of autonomy which is great, but also am losing my ability to ever fully disconnect. Could probably get it up to $400k if I job hopped right now, but will probably stay one more year for the experience and because we're trying to have kids.

My individual networth is a hair over $500k, was around negative $150k when I graduated b-school. I live in NYC, so rent, food is expensive, and taxes high, which slows down my savings a bit. If I stayed in consulting and lived in Atlanta or whatever, likely could be be at ~$750k nowadays.

I'd say my compensation and level of seniority is average among classmates. Some people are really killing it right now (e.g., MBB partners, senior levels at FAANG, start-up took off). I think everyone is above $200k at this point, even people in the easier and lower paid careers (e.g., marketing /brand management/ leadership development at F500). Hypothetically, I guess people who went into social enterprise would be lower, but despite 50% of people putting in their essays they wanted to do this, I can't think of one person who actually has yet.

Still close with a bunch of classmates, but a majority have young kids now, so that's hurt the social scene quite a bit. That said, the high level of income does allow options that a majority of america doesn't have. So still a decent level of socialization, even among the young parents.

9 year update.

At $420k comp. Stuck at same level and same job. Having trouble making MD (I'm told I have a platform, but always told to wait a year...), despite consistently strong year end ratings. This is definitely the hardest jump to make. I'm getting priced out of a lot of lateral external jobs, and I'm not having luck applying directly to MD level roles. I do think my layoff risk is low though.

On the positive, the job has gotten much less stressful over the last three years. One because I've gotten better at it / used to it, two because my team has gotten bigger (I have 5 direct reports now), and three I just care less.

My hours are great: 830-530 most days. Some late nights before very important presentations, but honestly my juniors do the hard work there. I am answering emails 24/7, but this doesnt stress me out at all anymore.

My networth is $1.15M now (plus my wife has an additional $300-400k or so). I looked forward to being a millionaire since I was little, but when it hit, I felt nothing lol.

I have a kid, as do most of my classmates, so socializing with ex-classmates is definitely much lower. Unless they live in NYC (and most have left my city when they had kids), really only see them at re-unions and weddings. Group chats / text messages / fantasy football leagues / etc, with classmates are still going strong though. Some of my section mates are planning to rent a house together for our 10 year reunion.

Tech classmates got hit pretty hard with lay-offs the last three years. A few H-1B classmates got deported when this happened. Most landed on their feet though.

Definitely think MBA was the most fun two years of my life...

Awesome!
Thanks so much for coming to update this topic. I have somehow missed it, so I’ll be going back to catch up!

I can definitely confirm from my conversation conversations and observations and personal experience, the connection from business school become one of those once a year affair or whenever somebody comes to town.

And once I got a family, my focus and priorities changed quite a bit.

As someone who was in your shoes and quite comfortable with their job because I got better at it and by corporate standards I was really good but when the pandemic came, the company laid off 65% of its workforce (hospitality) and I was really surprised with how hard it was to recruit at the director level and middle management so to speak.

It’s a pretty vulnerable stage. On one hand, it seems you’re doing well at work but on the other, when I lost my job, because I have spent 15 years in the same company and haven’t been networking for another job, I felt very unprepared for what was ahead so my advice is to always keep the tabs and see what options you have. It’s always good to talk to recruiters which is something I neglected.