msday86 wrote:
I'm not going to try to argue that a 24-year old has less professional depth than a 28-year old, but of all my class visits, most of the discussion was on analysis of the case, and not dependent on individual experiences. And I think one does not necessarily need 5+ years of work experience to be able to analyze a case on its merits. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that some "b-school babies" might even be better than you will be at analyzing cases, because I assumed they are very intelligent and accomplished to get in at a younger age.
With age comes wisdom. Sorry but I would argue everyone that gets into a top 20 business school is going to be intelligent and accomplished. I would actually say the older folks I have met have been far more accomplished, not necessarily because they worked for longer but because the bar for them getting in is MUCH higher than a 25 year old. There are things that experience brings, and at times the ability to analyze things goes beyond the academic portion. I still say its a management degree and if you are going into a field to manage or provide advice (aka consulting) then having experience is important. IB where your first few years are close to the bottom then its not so much a big deal.
msday86 wrote:
In 5 years after b-school, if you haven't made it up the ladder far enough to avoid reporting to a fresh MBA grad, then you have bigger problems than deciding whether you're going to listen to a kid who was in diapers when you were in high school. No?
I think you misunderstood my comment...many recent MBA grads in lots of fields will work with people who dont have MBAs. Often they will manage them. I was making the statement from that point of view. If you go into banking once again where MBAs dominate the higher positions and people either move up quickly or move out then it doesnt apply. But for many other jobs where you are either leading things where not everyone will have an MBA or advising executives of companies...then you are even at 30 going to be younger than many people you interact with.
I wont say that no one who is 24 or 25 is prepared for an MBA or in need of one. Obviously it helps you advance faster in some areas and other careers are hard to break into without them. Its up to each person to determine what is right for them. However, judging by what some people have said, recruiting can be an uphill battle for young students for some industries and companies. Much like there are companies who only interview US citizens, there are ones who look for more experience than a few years.
Dont get me wrong there are definitely young folks that belong in school. But there are some who would probably benefit from some more experience...even if they get in, in the long wrong for their growth and success additional experience could have been an advantage.