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kipros1
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Joined: 06 Oct 2010
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Profile Evaluation 06 Oct 2010, 22:37
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I recently took a GRE test and it came out really great. That's why MBA choice suddenly came to my mind a lot. Since I have thought about going to Econ MA and use that as a stepping stone to go for top Econ Ph.D. programs, I didn't put too much of an option on MBA. But, since many great schools started to accept GRE score, I seem to have a more option available at this point. Before that, I briefly want to reveal my profile so you folks can give me better evaluation and advice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Undergraduate : UCLA Econ (GPA: 3.63 (overall), 3.96 (Econ major))
Before I transfered to UCLA, I got 3.98 GPA from CC.

Working experience : Education (working as an English teacher in a private sector for more than 4 years in Korea. The size of this company is pretty big. They generate around 100 mil revenue a year and stock market-listed.) --> This part is my weak point! How can I explain why I want to go for MBA?
* I published some books relating to English education in the book market. (I don't know this counts well into MBA application process.)

GRE SCORE : Verbal 700 / Math 800 (AWA :5.0) , GMAT : 750 (Using ETS converter)

Status : Korean / In the process of getting permanent residency in Canada (My wife is Canadian.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My concern
Upon graduation from school, I was working in the security firm for just a couple of months and I was burned out and couldn't take it anymore. That's when I took some TESOL courses and got TESOL certificate and came back to Korea (from U.S.) to teach students. In other words, I didn't grab a chance to experience other fields other than education. I was able to accumulate pretty decent dough (I made around 80-100K a year) but I started to doubt if this job can be my long term career around 2 years ago. I started to search for my options and finally decided to go for further education. However, the problem that has bothered me for the past 2 years was not knowing what I really like to do and what I can really excel. I know I love to teach and I love to interact with people. (Interpersonal skills) But, I am not sure I am a great fit for working for finance or consulting, etc.) To be honest, I don't have slightest idea of what they do. That's my biggest concern. I have been pretty well recognized here in this company as a teacher who has brought pretty big chunk of profits and that reflects that I am capable of conveying knowledge pretty well. (That's why vaguely I am thinking of becoming a professor. But, I am not sure that I loved Economics in school. Most classes were fun but I was just busy taking classes and got good grades. (I finished my 3rd, 4th years into just a bit over than 1 year. I kept piling up so many units in order to speed up my graduation.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My OPTION
1) Pursuing Econ Ph.D. in anticipation of becoming a professor.
(+) I have been told so many times that I am really good at explaining things in a easy and more effective way compared to average Joe. This shows me that I am capable at least in teaching aspect. Professor career sounds pretty good for my long term plan as well. I can work for a long time and pay is not that bad and I can spare lots of time doing my research which I love about.

(-) Since I didn't take many math courses during my school years, I have to go through Econ MA and then Econ Ph.D. That means I have to spend at least 5 or even 7 years in school. That's a long duration of my time that needs to be spent in school. Even though I love teaching, I don't think I am big fan of researching things. As far as I know, researching is a big part of helping you land a job in academia. Another downside of this is that I am 32 years old now and I will be almost 40 years by the time I finish my Ph.D. Wow! Is it really worth it?


2) Pursuing MBA
(+) It is way shorter than getting Econ Ph.D. In addition, you can expose to a variety of things including people from different background. Just in case I want to find a job after school, it is much easier than Econ MA. Decent number of people use MBA as a stepping stone to switch their careers . I have a hope that this can provide me with eyes to see what I am really fond of. (kind of compass in my life)

(-) It is literally too expensive. Most of top schools in the U.S. cost more than 200K. (Including tuition fee and living cost) Since I have a baby and wife, which can go up to 250K for 2 years. Even though I have been able to save up 200K for the past 4 years in my bank, is this that worth spending more than what I have made by working my butt off? (a question mark there!)
What if I can't find a decent job? Since investment is huge, my worry after MBA is also huge. I am not a native but rather semi-native. (My English is good but not as good as native) I am not a US citizen. That also can be a stumbling block for me to land a good job there. No working experience in the field of finance or consulting can possibly make me not as competitive as others in the job mkt. That's my concerns.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To be quite honest, I feel I am a lost ship not knowing where I am headed. I need a compass. Would you please help me out with my decision? I know finally I am the one that decides. However, I can't help but ask some great tips from you folks. I feel like I am willing to pay for this kind of advice. You can just take a look at my thread and let it go, but plz assist me with my concerns and I really appreciate that you have read this long posting. Thanks a lot!

Luke

PS : I am leaning towards MBA now and I would love get a great piece of heart-felt advice not just because I can be a customer bringing some dough up to your firm. Please, my life is really dependent on this decision. On top of that, please be honest. Don't say only rosy picture, but rather criticize me. Thanks a lot in advance.
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kipros1
I recently took a GRE test and it came out really great. That's why MBA choice suddenly came to my mind a lot. Since I have thought about going to Econ MA and use that as a stepping stone to go for top Econ Ph.D. programs, I didn't put too much of an option on MBA. But, since many great schools started to accept GRE score, I seem to have a more option available at this point. Before that, I briefly want to reveal my profile so you folks can give me better evaluation and advice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Undergraduate : UCLA Econ (GPA: 3.63 (overall), 3.96 (Econ major))
Before I transfered to UCLA, I got 3.98 GPA from CC.

Working experience : Education (working as an English teacher in a private sector for more than 4 years in Korea. The size of this company is pretty big. They generate around 100 mil revenue a year and stock market-listed.) --> This part is my weak point! How can I explain why I want to go for MBA?
* I published some books relating to English education in the book market. (I don't know this counts well into MBA application process.)

GRE SCORE : Verbal 700 / Math 800 (AWA :5.0) , GMAT : 750 (Using ETS converter)

Status : Korean / In the process of getting permanent residency in Canada (My wife is Canadian.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My concern
Upon graduation from school, I was working in the security firm for just a couple of months and I was burned out and couldn't take it anymore. That's when I took some TESOL courses and got TESOL certificate and came back to Korea (from U.S.) to teach students. In other words, I didn't grab a chance to experience other fields other than education. I was able to accumulate pretty decent dough (I made around 80-100K a year) but I started to doubt if this job can be my long term career around 2 years ago. I started to search for my options and finally decided to go for further education. However, the problem that has bothered me for the past 2 years was not knowing what I really like to do and what I can really excel. I know I love to teach and I love to interact with people. (Interpersonal skills) But, I am not sure I am a great fit for working for finance or consulting, etc.) To be honest, I don't have slightest idea of what they do. That's my biggest concern. I have been pretty well recognized here in this company as a teacher who has brought pretty big chunk of profits and that reflects that I am capable of conveying knowledge pretty well. (That's why vaguely I am thinking of becoming a professor. But, I am not sure that I loved Economics in school. Most classes were fun but I was just busy taking classes and got good grades. (I finished my 3rd, 4th years into just a bit over than 1 year. I kept piling up so many units in order to speed up my graduation.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My OPTION
1) Pursuing Econ Ph.D. in anticipation of becoming a professor.
(+) I have been told so many times that I am really good at explaining things in a easy and more effective way compared to average Joe. This shows me that I am capable at least in teaching aspect. Professor career sounds pretty good for my long term plan as well. I can work for a long time and pay is not that bad and I can spare lots of time doing my research which I love about.

(-) Since I didn't take many math courses during my school years, I have to go through Econ MA and then Econ Ph.D. That means I have to spend at least 5 or even 7 years in school. That's a long duration of my time that needs to be spent in school. Even though I love teaching, I don't think I am big fan of researching things. As far as I know, researching is a big part of helping you land a job in academia. Another downside of this is that I am 32 years old now and I will be almost 40 years by the time I finish my Ph.D. Wow! Is it really worth it?


2) Pursuing MBA
(+) It is way shorter than getting Econ Ph.D. In addition, you can expose to a variety of things including people from different background. Just in case I want to find a job after school, it is much easier than Econ MA. Decent number of people use MBA as a stepping stone to switch their careers . I have a hope that this can provide me with eyes to see what I am really fond of. (kind of compass in my life)

(-) It is literally too expensive. Most of top schools in the U.S. cost more than 200K. (Including tuition fee and living cost) Since I have a baby and wife, which can go up to 250K for 2 years. Even though I have been able to save up 200K for the past 4 years in my bank, is this that worth spending more than what I have made by working my butt off? (a question mark there!)
What if I can't find a decent job? Since investment is huge, my worry after MBA is also huge. I am not a native but rather semi-native. (My English is good but not as good as native) I am not a US citizen. That also can be a stumbling block for me to land a good job there. No working experience in the field of finance or consulting can possibly make me not as competitive as others in the job mkt. That's my concerns.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To be quite honest, I feel I am a lost ship not knowing where I am headed. I need a compass. Would you please help me out with my decision? I know finally I am the one that decides. However, I can't help but ask some great tips from you folks. I feel like I am willing to pay for this kind of advice. You can just take a look at my thread and let it go, but plz assist me with my concerns and I really appreciate that you have read this long posting. Thanks a lot!

Luke

PS : I am leaning towards MBA now and I would love get a great piece of heart-felt advice not just because I can be a customer bringing some dough up to your firm. Please, my life is really dependent on this decision. On top of that, please be honest. Don't say only rosy picture, but rather criticize me. Thanks a lot in advance.
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Luke,

Thanks for the post.

A few thoughts on your post.

1) If a PhD will take you 7 years and an MBA will take you two, the opportunity cost of the Phd make it much more expensive than an MBA. If you don't like research, then you shouldn't become a university professor. You might want to consider teaching in a non-research oriented school like a state college.
2) An MBA is a means to an end. The end is usually your post-MBA goal; it is not a vague feeling of "I want to do something different." or even "I want to make a lot of money." As I see it there are two ways to go for you: 1) if your goal is to move up in your current company -- into management -- into management at another for-profit educational concern, then you can make a case for an MBA. 2) Get a job now at a consulting firm or in an area of business that might interest you. Try it out and see if you like it and would like to move up in that direction. Then you would have a good reason for pursuing an MBA.

Best,
Linda