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15 Jul 2015, 14:05
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Hey everyone,
I am currently in the initial phase trying to figure out if an MBA might be a worthwhile venture for me. As I couldn't find a post on this forum that fully covers my thoughts I decided to start a new topic.
My background:
I have a Msc. degree in engineering and 3 years of work experience as a development engineer / project manager in the automotive industry.
Recently I have decided on my career goal to join my family's business, where in the medium-run the plan is to take succession of the CEO role. The family business is in the manufacturing sector with roughly 300 employees and has a global exposure. (Headquarter in Europe. Manufacturing in Europe, America, Asia. Customer base worldwide)
I am looking for a way to quickly catch up on some key skills I will be needing in my future role. The MBA seemed to be the ideal degree to improve on those skills:
- Business Fundamentals (Accounting, Marketing, Strategy, ...)
- Improve on soft skills (Communication, Negotiation, …)
- Develop leadership skills
However after reading through this forum I got some reservations if my needs really fit the MBA-programs:
- MBA programs noways seem to be tailored more towards Consulting / Banking than “management crash courses for non economists” which they used to be in the past.
- One of the key reasons to addend a high profile course seems to be career placement. This would not hold true for me.
- Preparation and application for a MBA Program is a huge effort. For a 1-year program I would need to spend almost an additional year of preparation.
Alternatively I am also looking at “certificate of management” type of programs. These are shorter, cost much less and do not require any preparation for me to get into. Of course they don’t compete with a high profile MBA-program, but they might still be enough to catch up on the business fundamentals.
Doing such a shorter program would also allow me to gain more “hands-on” experience in the family business in the same time frame as it would take me to do my MBA.
So here are my questions:
- Do you think an MBA makes sense based on my profile / goals?
- Was anybody in a similar situation? How did you decide? How have you benefited from an MBA?
- If I decide for an MBA program it should be 1-year and preferably in Europe. Which schools should I look into?
I appreciate any insight on the topic.
Many thanks.
I am currently in the initial phase trying to figure out if an MBA might be a worthwhile venture for me. As I couldn't find a post on this forum that fully covers my thoughts I decided to start a new topic.
My background:
I have a Msc. degree in engineering and 3 years of work experience as a development engineer / project manager in the automotive industry.
Recently I have decided on my career goal to join my family's business, where in the medium-run the plan is to take succession of the CEO role. The family business is in the manufacturing sector with roughly 300 employees and has a global exposure. (Headquarter in Europe. Manufacturing in Europe, America, Asia. Customer base worldwide)
I am looking for a way to quickly catch up on some key skills I will be needing in my future role. The MBA seemed to be the ideal degree to improve on those skills:
- Business Fundamentals (Accounting, Marketing, Strategy, ...)
- Improve on soft skills (Communication, Negotiation, …)
- Develop leadership skills
However after reading through this forum I got some reservations if my needs really fit the MBA-programs:
- MBA programs noways seem to be tailored more towards Consulting / Banking than “management crash courses for non economists” which they used to be in the past.
- One of the key reasons to addend a high profile course seems to be career placement. This would not hold true for me.
- Preparation and application for a MBA Program is a huge effort. For a 1-year program I would need to spend almost an additional year of preparation.
Alternatively I am also looking at “certificate of management” type of programs. These are shorter, cost much less and do not require any preparation for me to get into. Of course they don’t compete with a high profile MBA-program, but they might still be enough to catch up on the business fundamentals.
Doing such a shorter program would also allow me to gain more “hands-on” experience in the family business in the same time frame as it would take me to do my MBA.
So here are my questions:
- Do you think an MBA makes sense based on my profile / goals?
- Was anybody in a similar situation? How did you decide? How have you benefited from an MBA?
- If I decide for an MBA program it should be 1-year and preferably in Europe. Which schools should I look into?
I appreciate any insight on the topic.
Many thanks.
Updated on: 07 Feb 2018, 22:41
Originally posted by SanjayChandra on 31 Jul 2015, 12:50.
Last edited by SanjayChandra on 07 Feb 2018, 22:41, edited 1 time in total.
Last edited by SanjayChandra on 07 Feb 2018, 22:41, edited 1 time in total.
Kudos
Bookmarks
I have similar situation and let me explain.
My career path is too weird.
Family business is cement manufacturing and its a large scale manufacturing plant.
Funny enough, My bachelor's degree stream is "electronics and communication" (ECE) with specialization in Networking (which comes under CS) and I have research background on communication side (3 paper publications). Many lab projects and my biggest project are on signal processing. My current job offers are from IT (which have nothing to do with networking). My family business is cement manufacturing (which mainly needs chemical engineering or civil or mechanical stream skills coupled with management skills).
My initial plan was to pursue MS and stand on my own but now that decision changed.
Its been two months since I completed my bachelor's degree. I am going to join my family business next month. I want to work for solid 3 years before thinking about higher education. So I have to apply in 2017.
I have to learn many things in these 2-3 years in terms of both technical and management skills and I want to pursue a degree related to finance and management.
Being a manufacturing company, the main campus has to function 365 days a year. There are no such things as weekends or holidays. Very limited amount of holidays and being a family business, we have to nurture the business like a baby.
Getting into good MBA program is very challenging. It requires good score in GMAT, solid profile and lot of formalities need to be done. Sometimes I will be like "Instead of putting efforts on GMAT and my application formalities, Instead I could help the company if I put same efforts on it[company]" but again be like "having a higher degree does no harm to me, it will make my career look more solid".
I want to gain insights on finance and management skills.
My career path is too weird.
Family business is cement manufacturing and its a large scale manufacturing plant.
Funny enough, My bachelor's degree stream is "electronics and communication" (ECE) with specialization in Networking (which comes under CS) and I have research background on communication side (3 paper publications). Many lab projects and my biggest project are on signal processing. My current job offers are from IT (which have nothing to do with networking). My family business is cement manufacturing (which mainly needs chemical engineering or civil or mechanical stream skills coupled with management skills).
My initial plan was to pursue MS and stand on my own but now that decision changed.
Its been two months since I completed my bachelor's degree. I am going to join my family business next month. I want to work for solid 3 years before thinking about higher education. So I have to apply in 2017.
I have to learn many things in these 2-3 years in terms of both technical and management skills and I want to pursue a degree related to finance and management.
Being a manufacturing company, the main campus has to function 365 days a year. There are no such things as weekends or holidays. Very limited amount of holidays and being a family business, we have to nurture the business like a baby.
Getting into good MBA program is very challenging. It requires good score in GMAT, solid profile and lot of formalities need to be done. Sometimes I will be like "Instead of putting efforts on GMAT and my application formalities, Instead I could help the company if I put same efforts on it[company]" but again be like "having a higher degree does no harm to me, it will make my career look more solid".
I want to gain insights on finance and management skills.
07 Aug 2015, 13:07
Kudos
Bookmarks
SanjayChandra, Ariaspace,
There are quite a few B schools such as NYU Stern, ISB, SP Jain, UNC Chapel Hill,etc. that offer a Family Business specialization in their MBA programs. Alternatively, you can also look at MBA in Entrepreneurship or General Management. You will definitely find value in these programs.
To get the most out of the MBA, you might want to spend a year or two in your family business to understand it thoroughly so that when you go for the MBA, you have a broad idea of what you are looking for.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Aryama
There are quite a few B schools such as NYU Stern, ISB, SP Jain, UNC Chapel Hill,etc. that offer a Family Business specialization in their MBA programs. Alternatively, you can also look at MBA in Entrepreneurship or General Management. You will definitely find value in these programs.
To get the most out of the MBA, you might want to spend a year or two in your family business to understand it thoroughly so that when you go for the MBA, you have a broad idea of what you are looking for.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Aryama
