Part Time Vs. Full Time MBA

How about EMBAs? How are they different from Part time MBAs besides higher experience requirements?

There are a large number of people who are unwilling or unable to pay out the fees in advance of a full-time MBA course. For those, remaining in the workplace is the only viable option. A part-time MBA is a good way to lessen the cost of a quality MBA degree—by going part-time while keeping your day job. And if your employer is willing to pay for some or all of the cost of your tuition, you may end up with the best possible outcome—no student debt at all.

To read more about Part Time Vs. Full Time MBA please visit: https://aringo.com/Part-Time-MBA-Programs/
If you are also debating between MBA Vs. EMBA please visit: https://aringo.com/mba-vs-emba/

I am seriously considering the option of taking up a part-time MBA option in one of the top 10 schools. As you would know, this is not a cheap or easy decision. I have a graduate degree in engineering from a Top 30 research school here in the US and an undergraduate degree from a top-10 school in India. Combined, have almost 7 years of experience and a graduate degree. For various personal/financial/other reasons, going full-time is ruled out, even though I would love to do it. I have been with my current company(Blue Chip MNC) as a software/automation/R&D engineer for the past 5+ years and also have almost 2 years of manufacturing/consulting services experience in India. I definitely love my current career/job, but getting into consulting (Management/Technology) for primarily engineering businesses has always been my long term career goal.

My biggest concern now is if a part time MBA is worth the investment in terms of time, money and effort, especially if I want to make a career change at this stage. I still want to work for tech/engineering firm, but on the business side. Some of the admission officers I talked to in my target schools such as Kellogg/Ross/Tepper (Tech/consulting heavy schools in Midwest) etc are promising that part time students enjoy almost the same benefits as full-time students in terms of career opportunities. I talked to a few current students and they also seem to give a positive opinion about these part-time programs.

Given that I would be around 34 with some 10 years experience by the time I graduate, do you still think it is still a good idea? How do recruiters/companies view such profiles?

Thank you very much.

Well don't worry you have found a conclusive answer, because I don't think there is one, so don't worry about that. Why are full time programs more difficult to get into? I think you nailed it with employer preference. I can tell you as a recruiter for my company, I typically don't interview part time MBA students. But, regardless of what recruiters are looking for, what are you looking for? Do you like your job and company and want to stay there? Then maybe it makes sense to go part time. Want to totally change your career? Probably full time is the best answer then. Good luck in trying to answer this hard question!