New Horizons for MBAs

Question

New horizons for MBAs

With a tougher job market than ever, one thing MBA students have to be aware of is where they can find new career opportunities after graduation.

A recent report in London's Financial Times newspaper focused on one student from the Haas School at Berkeley who sees a growing number of his colleagues exploring opportunities with clean technology companies.

"Because this is an early industry, the cachet of an MBA is not really there. They (start-ups) really need to be able to work out what an MBA can mean for them," MBA student Naveen Sikka told the newspaper. He was quoted as saying that about 20 of his fellow MBA students were thought to be eyeing career opportunities with companies focused on clean energy and smart grid upgrades.

With traditional financial jobs tougher to come by, many MBA graduates are finding opportunities with startup companies and in rapidly growing industries that will provide the managerial and executive jobs of tomorrow.

https://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/04659bdc-0a6b ... fd2ac.html

lsuguy7 · Answer

I wrote my essays on energy technology (clean and traditional), I'm sure 6 months ago the adcom was probably thinking why would anyone say this was there goals. I'd say I win, except I haven't been admitted anywhere on these goals.

bigfernhead · Answer

Bummer! Sorry.

Just wondering, I'm looking at your GMAT score Wouldn't a Q49 and V40 put you around 730?

riverripper · Answer

I know a few people who had internship offers for clean tech type internships. They seem interesting however the pay is pretty bad, some of the internships are unpaid and even fulltime employment pays below market for those positions. Its hard to want to take a cleantech energy internship for 0 when you will have classmates in other energy companies making more than 9k a month. And even tougher to take a fulltime job that pays 85k when someone in a more traditional energy company will start at 110k to 130k plus bonuses. Start-ups promise the longterm pay, but you have to take the hit up front for the first 3 to 5 years and then they actually have to succeed.

AlexMBAApply · Answer

If it takes the severity of this downturn to boost the diversity of career paths that MBAs pursue, I'm all for it.

Management consulting and investment banking firms - particularly at top programs -- dominate the recruiting circuit. They essentially exploit a relatively risk-averse culture of MBAs to scoop up as many of them (they are usually the first on campus and the first to dangle job offers), and only to churn and burn them later on.

Even in good times, the average tenure of a post-MBA associate at a consulting firm or bank is 18 months. In good times, these people leave because they don't want to put up with the lifestyle. In bad times, it's because they get fired or laid off.

I really do hope that more people would go into clean tech, corporate, startup, nonprofit, and so forth.

DK · Answer

Sounds awfully similar to the tech boom. Are they getting good equity packages, at least?

Rubashov1 · Answer

Amen to that. I'm hopeful that a greater diversity of organizations shows up at and is welcomed by MBA recruiting programs.

spgny · Answer

+2

New Horizons for MBAs

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