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boomstruck
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Thoughts on Career progression - FAANG tech role vs MBA 16 Feb 2021, 08:55
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Hello All,

I am in a dilemma over what might be the correct choice in terms of career progression as well as monetary benefits.

I am 35 years old with an engineering degree and with 10+ years of work experience, I am currently earning well over $150k. My question is what would be a good career track at this moment -

1. 2 years MBA from one of the top B-Schools and start at the bottom of the business/management career track. Avg Salary - $150k.
2. 1 year MBA from one of the top B-Schools and start at the bottom of the business/management career track. Avg Salary - $150k.
3. Try any FAANG companies for an equivalent engineering role which will pay out an additional $75k-$100k over my current pay and then later opt for an EMBA from any of the top B-schools.

Regards
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Thoughts on Career progression - FAANG tech role vs MBA 17 Feb 2021, 12:12
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boomstruck
Hello All,

I am in a dilemma over what might be the correct choice in terms of career progression as well as monetary benefits.

I am 35 years old with an engineering degree and with 10+ years of work experience, I am currently earning well over $150k. My question is what would be a good career track at this moment -

1. 2 years MBA from one of the top B-Schools and start at the bottom of the business/management career track. Avg Salary - $150k.
2. 1 year MBA from one of the top B-Schools and start at the bottom of the business/management career track. Avg Salary - $150k.
3. Try any FAANG companies for an equivalent engineering role which will pay out an additional $75k-$100k over my current pay and then later opt for an EMBA from any of the top B-schools.

Regards
Show more


Welcome to GMAT Club!
Good questions and some are easy answers actually, which I think is good even if the answers are note positive per se as it makes your options clearer.

1. You can't really expect to get into a top Bschool at that age. There is no age discrimination the schools say and they are right - they don't admit 35+ for the reasons of recruiting since you are not interested in a starter MBA job and also, you would be bored and not motivated and likely not have a great experience. So FT MBA at a Top school is really out of options. European and Sub Top 20 are open however but not Top 10 unless you have something like military experience or other non-work experience that makes you have fewere than 8 years of career work experience.

2. 1-Year MBA is an option esp such as Sloan Fellows or Stanford MSx. They specifically target folks in your position. You would not be theoretically starting at the bottom but you will be doing self-recruiting and network off-campus but having MIT or Stanford brand on your resume helps a lot, esp if you are looking for a management role and to transition out of engineering.

3. Perhaps the safest/best/easiest bet. Not sure if you have family or willing to be working 30 hours on school and 30 hours on recruiting while in MBA.

I think the most important part and question to ask is - why do you need an MBA? I know that a number of engineers at Google and Amazon make 300-400K which is a salary that most of the MBA's will have to work for 5-10 years to reach, if they play their cards right and most won't get there for 20 years. If you are looking for normal schedule, lack of headache, and good pay, I feel engineering would give you that opportunity better than an MBA... but tell me if I am disillusioned. Being an MBA, I may see the grass greener on the engineering side :lol:
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Thoughts on Career progression - FAANG tech role vs MBA 20 Feb 2021, 18:21
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Hi,
Pardon jumping into the thread but which European and universities after top ten can admit someone with age bracket of 32 to 35 years.

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Thoughts on Career progression - FAANG tech role vs MBA 22 Feb 2021, 06:24
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How is the chance to get into a top 21 to 50 American B-school for a candidate aged 36 for a full-time MBA?
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Antbankzz
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Thoughts on Career progression - FAANG tech role vs MBA 20 Feb 2024, 22:45
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boomstruck
Hello All,

I am in a dilemma over what might be the correct choice in terms of career progression as well as monetary benefits.

I am 35 years old with an engineering degree and with 10+ years of work experience, I am currently earning well over $150k. My question is what would be a good career track at this moment -

1. 2 years MBA from one of the top B-Schools and start at the bottom of the business/management career track. Avg Salary - $150k.
2. 1 year MBA from one of the top B-Schools and start at the bottom of the business/management career track. Avg Salary - $150k.
3. Try any FAANG companies for an equivalent engineering role which will pay out an additional $75k-$100k over my current pay and then later opt for an EMBA from any of the top B-schools.

Regards


Welcome to GMAT Club!
Good questions and some are easy answers actually, which I think is good even if the answers are note positive per se as it makes your options clearer.

1. You can't really expect to get into a top Bschool at that age. There is no age discrimination the schools say and they are right - they don't admit 35+ for the reasons of recruiting since you are not interested in a starter MBA job and also, you would be bored and not motivated and likely not have a great experience. So FT MBA at a Top school is really out of options. European and Sub Top 20 are open however but not Top 10 unless you have something like military experience or other non-work experience that makes you have fewere than 8 years of career work experience.

2. 1-Year MBA is an option esp such as Sloan Fellows or Stanford MSx. They specifically target folks in your position. You would not be theoretically starting at the bottom but you will be doing self-recruiting and network off-campus but having MIT or Stanford brand on your resume helps a lot, esp if you are looking for a management role and to transition out of engineering.

3. Perhaps the safest/best/easiest bet. Not sure if you have family or willing to be working 30 hours on school and 30 hours on recruiting while in MBA.

I think the most important part and question to ask is - why do you need an MBA? I know that a number of engineers at Google and Amazon make 300-400K which is a salary that most of the MBA's will have to work for 5-10 years to reach, if they play their cards right and most won't get there for 20 years. If you are looking for normal schedule, lack of headache, and good pay, I feel engineering would give you that opportunity better than an MBA... but tell me if I am disillusioned. Being an MBA, I may see the grass greener on the engineering side :lol:
Show more

Came here to say that this is completely wrong and can tell you have not been to business school. Top business school rarely admit without a MINIMUM of 5-7 years of working experience after under grad. The median years of experience is 13. That means the youngest in my cohort in Stanford are 27-30. Being 35 doesn’t exclude you that was like half of my cohort.

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