MBA Applications affecting work - anyone?

Question

I look to this board for therapy and my salvation Today I found out that I have been sidelined on a project I started last year. 

The management just dropped me and put a new guy in charge who just joined work in August. He is actually a good friend of mine. Nothing against my colleague but it feels sad to know that I was not even approached, nor even considered for leading this project.

I am concerned how things are turning worse at work. Ever since my 2 recommenders have heard about my MBA plans, things have gone haywire.

I got sidelined for promotion, received no bonus and now not even getting to continue the projects I started. Now I have been put into a project that has the reputation of being assigned for people who like to be in a rut.
The movie Office space and the stapler guy is coming to my mind now.

Is this how a company sends out signals to let me know that my services are not required?

To top it all, I dont even know whether I will get into B-school. So if I don't get in and on top of that I lose my job, the phrase the s@#t hit the fan will hold a entirely different level for me.

I am now making plans to either 

1. look for jobs - which is really hard.
2. quit work, put my stuff in a backpack and do some globetrotting.

Anyone else in this sinking boat?

mNeo · Answer

I have a different problem. My company is treating me just fine and I am getting sufficient chances of progression. The problem is that because of my focus on the B-schools, info sessions, visits, research and essays, I haven't been able to focus at work or those chances.
Sometimes I find myself passing my work to others and sometimes I just postpone my tasks. We have a few critial releases in next few months, and I am worried that if these releases do not go well (A good possibility), then I may be one of the first few slackers that are shown the door. How the heck do people balance so many appilcations with work?

dosa_don · Answer

I dont have a whole lot of work right now (slow time for retail marketing). But I did get passed on for a promotion at work and I attribute that on my MBA plans. Oh well...happens

riverripper · Answer

My main problem is the combined stress of work, applications, and a house in new england that I have to finish putting the heating system into before it freezes. At times I am working on essays when I am thinking of a work problem and there are times I am sitting at my desk and totally spaced out with thoughts of essays in my mind.

It sucks that everything has come down at the exact same point in time. I mean if I wasnt busy with work and my house this would be simple. If I wasn't dealing with apps my house and work wouldnt be a worry. I have to many things going on and not enough time in the day. I think I am averaging 5 hrs of sleep a night because I have been going to work at 6am so I can get out a decent time to work on essays all evening. I know if I didnt get home till 8 at night I would only get a few hours before I lost all focus.

forcefeed · Answer

I don't really understand what is going on at work right now. I just had a performance review and had one of my best reviews ever, which was quite surprising. Today they added another member to my team that has the same role I do, so I can't figure out why they added him to the team. He has been around for awhile tho, so its not like I would have the opportunity to manage him

.

If I get into a bschool, I really couldn't give a hoot tho, haha.

. If I get into a bschool, I really couldn't give a hoot tho, haha.

max125 · Answer

I might be shown the door too...if not now, very soon. I have not been concentrating at all!!!..Had been yelled at a few times too..

It will be really tough, if I do not make it to a B school this year.. God, are you listening??

rhyme · Answer

Have you thought of confronting them about it? I mean, in a nice way. Say "Is my pursuit of an MBA a problem?" 

Pro Tip: Tape record it.

dabots · Answer

the only promotion on the horizon for me is to major shareholder on this site

rhyme · Answer

LOL

KingKREEP · Answer

Well, I've definitely been sidelined for sure. But I wouldn't say that my manager is against my B-school plans 'cause he's doing a pretty good job with the reccos. I feel that he really does want me to get into a top school. I guess he's just making sure that there aren't any critical dependencies on me if I end up leaving. Can't really blame him for that...

aviroop · Answer

amen to that,
I understand management's concerns that they dont want to be dependent on me. But the problem is compounded by the fact that I have acquired the status of a leper. Not a single manager is picking me up for projects. Now if I was admitted, I wouldnt care - I would be playing polo or trying hard for VP level by beating kryzak on this forum. But that hasnt happened. The attitude among folks now is - Hey you are going to b-school, so we dont need you.

rhyme - I talked to management. Did not have a recorder, but I could clearly feel that my manager just doesnt want to put me on any new/ interesting assigments. Nothing about assigning me to projects, but constantly prodding me to find out if and when I will turn in my resignation letter. He went one step further to ask me in plain English if I wanted to work in this company in the future.

The callous attitude is what saddens me.

R.E.D. · Answer

Oh, I thought that I'm the only one who has this kind of problem, while other people on this forum easily juggle work, family life and applications, writing dozens of drafts for every essay... It's almost the same here - while I was able to take off from work to prepare for tests - it was summer time and not too much tasks, now people return to their offices and want a lot to be delivered before the New Year. So, the workload goes up significantly and I already started to wake me up at 5.30-6.30 to devote some fresh brain to essays. At the same time, my boss asked me a week ago if I don't mind to prepare another guy to take my work after I'm admitted. By taking some more tasks on me I postponed this preparation until January-March. Hope for the best. Yesterday received brochure from Tuck and dreamed a little bit of being one of the people on these photos.

aurobindo · Answer

It seems I am slightly better off. I am able to spend adequate time on office work. Actually, there is n't much as of now

Not sure of promotion, but except my immediate boss no body else in the management knows about my b-school plans. But I did ask for promotion in the recent appraisal. Boss said I am justified in my expectations. However, not sure of the final decision. A few days back, there was some change in the reporting structure. Now I would be reporting to another manager. So it is a new game again. But this change happened before I asked for promotion.

sangoman · Answer

me too swimming in this very boat

have put all my eggs in the MBA basket.......work wise, I pretty much have locked myself out of my company's inner circle by turning down my bosses offer of a jaunt to Vegas after my sales trip in the US. Instead I went for a crazy 2 week - 6 college whilrwind. In fact while on that frigging trip (there were just three of us - my boss, me an the general manager - my nemisis), half the days after work, my boss would invite us out for drinks......an I would say no......an even when I went I would have like a beer tops. Boss I think saw this as a snub an would just hang out with the GM after that. So peeps........if things do not go as planned, I face a very real prospect of being made to report to this very GM. Aaaarrrggggg Oh btw.....where do they get those gals for the brochures?? All of them must have taken off the day I visited their schools

aviroop · Answer

Let me investigate that matter since it clearly lies in my domain and expertise - I will analyze every picture on the brochure

R.E.D. · Answer

aviroop, please, shed the light what are the girls in Columbia who make so many people in ED

bherronp · Answer

I wouldn't say that my work is bad yet, but its probably down to average. I am looking forward to January, not just because all my apps will be in and I won't have to worry about working on them, but also because I will be able to ramp up my effort at work.

TimeSquareDesi · Answer

Employeers are always doing what is best for them - which is why they sidelined you. If you are not focusing 100% on work then in their eyes, they need to find a replacement or turn over the work to someone who will accept it and complete it.

I am on your side, however. An employer is supposed to support your drive for a better education - which in turns makes a better worker. I have a situation where I work that everyone is happy and telling me to finish schooling, etc, yet - just like you - I am left entirely out of projects which are in my scope, I'm turned down for promotions, etc etc. They look at a studying worker as more of an obligation than an asset.

Things are becoming sour where I work because of my schooling. So my plan, ultimately, is to stay here and get screwed for as long as it takes for me to finish my Bachelors (~1 year away) and then continue onto my mba. After that, I'm obviously going to be searching for another job. I want to do an MBA in a different field than I am in today (IT). 

But don't thnk you are alone. Many of us are on the same sinking boat.

TimeSquareDesi · Answer

If they are like the jerks that I work with, to his face, they are going to rave about him going for his MBA and telling him that's the right thing to do, etc. It's behind his back - when evaluation/promotion/new project time comes, he'll be off the list because - oh yeah, he is going to school. He won't be able to focus on this project (or whatever it is) as much as someone else. That is how I am looked at here where I current work - a US Gov. funded organization - and I have been here for over 8 years with significant progress/growth up until recently. They are even giving me a partner - someone with maybe 2 years of 'repetative work' experience so I can (perhaps) mold them into an efficient worker like I am... Fat chance. Being screwed is a 2-way street! =P

riverripper · Answer

I luckily got my promotion this past spring before my plans were public...and due to my industry there is no more promotions in the near future anyways. My work hasn't cut me out of any assignments or treated me poorly. I think the difference is there is no one to take on my work anyways so they cant put it on someone else. 

Companies do that because they dont know when you are going to leave so they dont want to give you lots of responsibilities and then have you pack up and leave two weeks later. Also the promotion thing, if you get promoted over someone who is showing "loyalty" to the company by not leaving for a school or another company its going to hurt them. I know if someone here was applying to school and was leaving anyways I would be annoyed if they got picked over me for a promotion even if they were the best person for the job. Its just human nature to be bothered because at this point we are all basically saying goodbye in a very long drawn out way.

MBA Applications affecting work - anyone?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards