MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 2457
Given Kudos: 2
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: another MBA, or Phd or Exec Ed. for boost
[#permalink]
22 Jun 2009, 12:20
Sure, the MPA is an option, but it's not a "back door MBA". It's for people who are in public sector or nonprofit careers, or for those who are transitioning into public sector careers (i.e. Washington DC - lobbyists, foundations, etc.).
To be blunt, it just sounds like you're lost right now - like you don't know what it is you want to do professionally. You have to figure out what kind of career you want first, and then work backwards from there -- you're not going to find the "answer" by going back to school (or the "I'll get into a school, and worry about it later" approach). I just get a sense that you see "school" (whether it's an MBA, PhD, Exec MBA, MPA, MA, etc.) as a one-size-fits-all solution that will help you figure that out, or that somehow at your age a prestigious school name on your resume will somehow give you the currency that you don't have. The thing is, none of this is relevant at all if you aren't clear about what you're after in terms of your career, especially now at your age. Employers can be more forgiving of folks in their 20s for being open-ended, but far less forgiving of someone at your age - if you're unsure of yourself or your options, no degree program is going to make up for that.
And no, I'm not saying it's easy to figure out your career, but it's something you absolutely have to do before anything else, because if you're lost inside, no amount of external things you have (prestigious schools, high salary, etc.) is going to allow you to progress.