MBA at 35??

Question

Hi,

I am a chemical engineer having about 15 years of Oil and gas, petroleum experience. I am currently working as a Consultant for a top Oil and Gas consulting firm. I am about 34 and die to do my MBA from top B schools.... But my doubt is at age of about 35, will there be any issues in recruiting me...? Pls help out... I am very very keen of doing only from either HBS, Wharton or Stanford.... So assuming, I do in one of the three ( hope my dream comes true...)..... Will I be recruited or sidelined becos of my age...???

Pls advice..

Friendly,
Sathyan

MackyCee · Answer

Have you had a think about an "Executive MBA" - 15 years is quite a bit of experience

Can you tell us any more about yourself? Which country you work in, areas of MBA interest, whether you've done the GMAT or not, what kind of employment you seek post MBA, etc...

You should also take a visit to the Admission Consultant's sub-forum to get a better indication of your chances

MC

sathyanril · Answer

Hi MC,

Good to see ur reply. I am from India. Most of my work profile or experience is in Oil and Gas and Petroleum downstream. I have experience in design of deep water oil and gas feilds and in supply and distribution of Petroleum products. I started my career in Petroleum supply and distribution, and slowly moved to design in Oil and gas. As I come from non Management background ( core technical), I felt 2 year MBA would help me to gain more knowledge and experience rather a 1 year executive MBA.

As on date I am 31 years old and planing to write my GMAT only after 3 years ( as I need to increase my savings and finance my self for MBA)... I am good in acadamics and very sure of scoring more than 700 in GMAT... ( Already started my prep for GMAT....hope 3 years of quality preparation is more than sufficient..).

I am dreaming to specialize in Strategy or Operation Managment and planning to join Energy firm ( post MBA) like Exxon, Shell etc.... as my complete experience is in Oil and Gas and Petroleum...

It would be very helpf if you could guid me.

Friendly
Sathyan

MackyCee · Answer

I'm no expert Sathyan - but 3 years prep for GMAT is TOO long

You need to focus over a MUCH shorter period (3 to 6 months max)

Being an engineer with a solid academic background, getting a Q48-Q51 shouldn't be too difficult for you. Us engineers usually have a tough time on the Verbal part of GMAT. Considering that you are a non-native English speaker, I would focus the majority of my study efforts on the verbal part moreso than the quant part.

Best of luck - and I hope this post helped you

sathyanril · Answer

Hi MC,

Thanks for the reply... Ur rite.. I need to concentrate more on Verbal. Actually 3 years is not preparation.. but to get some fiancial stability.. as the investment is huge..( $150K..).

I have a confusion that, will I be able to get a job after all this...... as I would be 35 years old ( Now I am 31.)... And will the recruiting companies consider age as a factor ..?

Any comments?

MackyCee · Answer

You will be at the mercy of the Global economy mate - when there's a boom, everyone's hiring - when there's a bust, everyone's firing...

The global economy will hopefully be coming out of it's recession in the next 3 or so years.

cano · Answer

You may find this thread very interesting: riverripper-s-guide-to-energy-76849.html

MBAUncle · Answer

Not to discourage you, but the statistics show that it is nearly impossible to be admitted to HBS or Stanford with your age. At HBS, only 1.7% of the students are over 30, and from this group almost all are US military veterans.

sathyanril · Answer

Hi Cano,,

The link u sent is very good..

Hi MBA Uncle,

Hm.. I am always possitive... Let me see how would it end... All for good... But anyway the statistics you had told is very informative and gives me more energy to do it... Not sure how successful I would be... But lets see... Thanks a lot..

rachelkillian · Answer

Hi Sathyan I'm an Admissions Director at Warwick Business School, based in the UK and ranked in the Financial Times' top 50 programmes. Hope you don't mind me posting - I've been reading this thread with interest. Unfortunately I agree with one of the earlier comments - you are unlikely to get admitted to a full-time programme at a US top school with your level of experience. Your profile is much better suited to an Executive MBA and you are therefore more likely to be successful in getting admission to an Executive MBA programme. I do have a vested interest in replying to your post

- I think you would make a great candidate for our Global Energy MBA, which is an Executive MBA aimed at people like yourself. It's designed to be studied from anywhere in the world and is part-time, so that you can continue to work and apply your learning. Hope this helps - even if the full-time programme isn't right for you, I'm sure you'll find another route which will still help you to reach your goals. Good luck, whatever you decide to do. Rachel.

MBAUncle · Answer

I disagree a bit with Rachel... The original poster can still be admitted to a top US school even in his late 30s. As I said, HBS and Stanford are very unfriendly to older candidates, but on the other hand top schools such as Wharton and Chicago accept many mid 30s.

I am not aware about the EMBA from Warvick, but EMBA programs in the US do not make sense for an international that is not sponsored.

Posted from my mobile device

sathyanril · Answer

I also strongly agree with MBAuncle (sorry i dnt know ur name)..... He is rite.. I also went through the websites and finding that Wharton takes people in mid 30s.... Secondly,, there is no use of doing MBA throu distance mode..... It will only be use full to increase a degree in our CV... and the knowledge we gain is not bare minimum..... Anyway... I am very happy to see all your responses... and its really a nice discussion....

rachelkillian · Answer

Hi all

Whenever you are considering whether a program is right for you, you should look at the profile of the students that they admit and the sort of recruiters that they typically work with - but also the type of teaching that they use. So an experienced 35 year old (the sort of candidate we love to see at Warwick, btw) will not gain as much from a teaching style that doesn't give them a chance to relate their own experiences to their new learning. A program aimed at younger, less experienced candidates for example, may not include as much group or syndicate work as another. I believe that an experienced candidate has more to offer to other students but is also likely to be able to put their shared learning from working with other experienced people into context.
Just my own opinion

Rachel

kaiser · Answer

The only valid reason to do an executive MBA is if your company is paying for it. As you will learn in your marketing class, they are just segmenting the market and giving you the same product for about twice the price. Older people also do the executive MBA because it is less competitive to get into the program and they have been out of school for a long time and typically don't score as well on the GMAT as candidates in their twenties. Another reason may be that they are working. However, at many schools the equation would be something like a regression in which you put in different variables such as gender, nationality, gmat score, and professional experience and having more years of experience would actually improve your score after they run the regression. What you should be more worried about is the fact that you are coming from India and are not a female, as you will be compared to the MANY similar candidates and that means that even at a state school that is in the top 30 you will need around a 700 to get in. Also, I find it faulty logic to look at what % of candidates are above a certain age, as this could be due to correlation and not causation. I for one am 35 and had a 700 on my GMAT, but went to a school that only has an average GMAT score of around 675. That's because older candidates like us are more likely to have families or wives with jobs, roots in an area, etc. Thus as an aggregate we will be less likely to pack up and move everything just to go to a business school with a more prestigious name. Next, I want to say that you might want to consider what it will be like for you at this point in your life to possibly be moving around the country to do a summer internship and then possibly a leadership development program. It becomes awkward when trying to compete with younger candidates for these internships, and I have seen that it is often the candidates with the lower GMAT scores in my class that get the better internships. Just something to think about...as you are not in school yet you may be worried about things that will become somewhat irrelevant. Finally, I don't think any school will hold your age against you, the issue will be that in addition to the GMAT they can evaluate what you've done all these years and this will help them decide whether you are the caliber person they want in their program.

sathyanril · Answer

Hi Kaiser,

I strongly Agree with you... Ur rite... Anyway lets see...

humphy · Answer

You will never know unless you try. Hate to be so cliche but if everyone just went on stats and probability there would be no invention and no startups. Why go through life wondering if you should have?

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

nagarjuna13 · Answer

Hi Sathyan,

My 2 cents. Please excuse me if I am overboard.

1. I think, you are interested in jobs outside post MBA. In that case, your plan of applying to US MBA schools makes sense. Otherwise, some of the Indian business schools are as good.
2. If energy sector is what your post MBA goal, then Rice MBA is better than HSB/S-GBS/Wharton for you. Rice is number one for energy.
3. One year versus 2 years: Usually the amount of course work is same. What differentiates is other activities involved. If you are not career switcher and know what you are doing, then one year MBA will be more beneficial for you.
4. Saving for tuition expense: Usually most of the people go for educational loans. You can take that route as well. I feel "150$K debt + 2 year early MBA" is better than "nodebt + MBA at 35". Effectively you lose the years at the end of the careers. Learning, recruitment and career path wise also, couple of years early might be better for you.
5. By all means, you can try for HBS and S-GBS. But, the chances are slim and you will have to stretch real hard to get in. INSEAD, Wharton and MIT might be better choices. But, again these schools might not open as many gates in energy sector as Rice MBA can open. Please dont just go by brand. Your area is special one and Rice MBA serves it especially well.
6. Extra curricular (EC) activities : Almost most of the US and Europe MBAs require serious involvement EC. EC is not mandatory, but it is as important as deal breaker. So, you should start doing your work on EC front now. Otherwise, you will be stuck like me at the age of 33.

Having been cynical all this while, I want to congratulate you on your decision to pursue MBA and take your career path to next level. All the best.

regards
nag

jko · Answer

Hey sathyanril, I just wanted to post on your comment about applying 3 years from now so that you could save up money to finance the MBA.

You may be better off taking out a loan and then paying off the loan post MBA when you're likely to be making more money. The plus side of this would also be that you'd be applying when you're 31/32 instead of 35/36.

Most people who get their MBA cannot pay for it up-front.

sathyanril · Answer

Hi Nag,
I have worked with few guys from ISB.... Problem is in ISB the intake has increase abnormally in recent years and the quality has come down... Moreover the avg salary is about 8 lac (INR) which is about USD$ 20,000 which is very very low.... As mentioned Rice is good.... but as far as MBA is concerned,,, the term "Branding" starts from level before even you enter the a institution.... so.this is where Rice falls back.... In my 10 years of professional exp,, I can bet that attitude and commitment of a person is more important and plays vital role in contribution towards work rather than the college or Univ they come from.... But "Old Habbits Die Hard".... Public mentality cannot be changed....Anyway thanks a lot....

Hi Jko,

I strongly agree with you.... I am also planning for the same..... Thanks buddy...

histgirl · Answer

Branding? Seriously? Do you not hear what the rest of us are saying? Rice IS the brand you want to be associated with. Just check the employment stats and % in industry at any of the schools you're looking at. If less than 2% of the graduates go into your target industry, you can guess than 98% won't have any interest in you.

I wouldn't delay applying at all. Neither would I bother with H/W/S. Apply to one that's truly your dream, but it's a much better use of your efforts to focus elsewhere. Go to a school with a history and reputation for Energy, you will get courted far more there than at H/W/S. Yes, Shell/Chevron/Exxon go to top tier schools. But the smaller and mid-sized Energy companies won't. I'd think it's  better to go to a school where you have many companies interested in you and you're also interested in them , instead of going to a school where the majority of recruiters don't fit with your goals.

Additionally, in Oil&Gas especially, industry loyalty and experience is extremely important, and (at least from all the oil people I know), degrees from elitist schools are not. For example, degrees from top-schools are less common on executive boards in Energy, than in other industries.  Rice and McCombs are both good (Texas) because they have a close relationship with Energy. If you're open to it, consider reputable programs in Oil/Gas bases of Britain, Canada, or Australia (Alberta, Calgary, etc????).  People have launched great careers in Energy through these schools too. You will also have a chance at more $$$ for school at well-respected program than a top-tier. The $150k sticker price isn't necessarily true, make a decision after you see your aid package. Echoing what other people said, yes, saving does not justify the lost time (especially at your age).

Your experience/profile looks similar to what I've seen recruited at general management rotational MBA programs at the supermajors. 10+ years is a bit much, but not uncommon. From what I know Chevron likes them younger from more prestigious schools (top 15 preferred, top 30 ok), and Shell prefers older, more experienced (more common to see 10 years experience). Look into general management MBA rotation programs at your target companies, all the supermajors have one. Then compare it to people on linkedin to see common traits in their work history and school. There are few H/W/S people, though plenty from Darden, Stern, McCombs, Rice...

As for the poster talking about being at the mercy of the global economy, that's BS. Energy follows it's own booms and busts... For example, heavy layoffs and downsizing in the 80s/90s, but now the industry is booming and hurting for talent. Most people in energy are under 30 or over 50, so it's a great time to get in and have the ability for rapid advancement.

If H/W/S is your dream, fine. Just saying, if oil and gas is where you want to go, you don't really need it. You're far better served getting GOOD into a program ASAP, than wasting time for a desperate shot at ultra-super-elite program later. Good luck.

MBA at 35??

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