rhyme wrote:
zenith wrote:
Dear beloved Gmatclubbers – I have followed this forum for quite a while as I’ve been seriously considering applying to an MBA program this fall. I’m in my second year at a middle-tier management consulting firm. I worked in investment banking (healthcare focus) for 1 year prior to that. Although right now is probably the optimal time for me to apply for an MBA, I feel a bit unsettled when I think about it due to the following:
- I am already in the industry that I want to be in – consulting. An MBA will set me back at least 1 year in terms of progression, at least in the short term (long term MBA benefits?)
- Opportunity cost of $300k over two years
Further, I am generally a little freaked out about not working between 27 and 29.
I am sure many of you have gone through such a phase as you were deciding on whether or not to apply. I would really appreciate some insight as to how you dealt with the situation.
Best - zenith
- Consider a 1 year program or executive MBA... you dont need to be an executive to do an executive MBA. If you already doing what you want then you don't need the internship anyway
- Ask your firm to sponsor you, if they balk, find a firm that will
- Assuming your salary is 150k you wont get more than that coming out an MBA program in consulting so keep that in mind
- Many consulting firms have decent sign ons post MBA -- 40K or so -- consider that as well
- Remember that the benefit of an MBA is both short and long term -- alumni network is big, etc.
It's amazing how one line of text on a forum can have such an impact on one's outlook on life. That, and the lack of information.
Somehow, I always imagined the US MBA program to be a 2-year campaign. It turns out there are decent shorter options out there - Columbia, Kellogg, Cornell (Columbia might be a long shot at this time as they are already accepting applications since May). An accelerated program might just be the missing piece of my puzzle. It thoroughly mitigates the 2 main concerns I've listed above. Very exciting.
Let me ask the more experienced of you those 3 questions though:
- What % of MBA students are actively recruiting for full-time positions (after their internships)? Do all companies come to recruit for full-timers (or do some recruit summer associates only)? What % of job offers are secured via internships vs via full-time recruiting?
- Is there a credibility issue when it comes to "shorter" MBA programs? Some 1-year programs are accelerated, some are just shorter.
- Are any of the major European 1-year MBA programs placing graduates in the US? INSEAD, Oxford, Cambridge.
Thanks, good discussion.
Edit: Maybe I wasn't clear above - The $300k figure is my rough estimate of the total cost of an MBA, not just the forgone salary opportunity cost.