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BSchool Forum Moderator
Joined: 24 Apr 2020
Last visit: 16 Feb 2023
Posts: 499
Own Kudos:
304
Given Kudos: 75
Location: United States
Concentration: Strategy, Finance
Schools: Anderson (UCLA) Duke Fuqua UVA Darden Ross (Michigan)
Schools: Anderson (UCLA) Duke Fuqua UVA Darden Ross (Michigan)
Posts: 499
Kudos: 304
To apply, or not apply, to EMBA programs during job hunt; that's the ? 06 Apr 2021, 22:15
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Hello all -- I have (what feels to me like) an unusual question.

Background: I'm an experienced executive with over 25 years of experience (over 10 years in the c-suite of small / midsized businesses) and have been toying with the idea of going back to get an EMBA (or, maybe a MSQM / MSBA) for over a year. Currently, I'm in the middle of a job search.

Question: There are three potential scenarios in my mind:
(i) Should I apply to EMBA programs before I get too far down the road with any of my job interviews in hopes that having an admit to a prestigious school might make my candidacy look even better?
... or ...
(ii) Is having an admit in hand risking a chance that a good job might pass me by as a result (i.e., we shouldn't hire him; he'll be too distracted for school to do his work here ... or ... he'll only be here until he's done w/ school, then he's out, so let's not hire him in the first place)?
... or ...
(iii) Don't bring up the EMBA / MSQM / MSBA thoughts until after I have a job and am settled a bit?

Additional Details: The types of positions I think I'm best suited for are either:
(a) working in a family office (where most of the other senior people (and many / most of the junior people) will have advanced degrees I do not have (I have zero graduate degrees of any kind),
(b) working in at a PE / VC firm (again, where most will already have a masters of some sort or another), or
(c) working in an operating role at firm backed by family office / PE / VC money (again, where most executives will already have a graduate degree). If I'm in an operating role, probably President / CEO, CFO, or maybe COO. Company size at start date would probably be under $10 MM EBITDA.

Schools I'm Primarily Interested In: The main four schools I'm looking at are Ross, Darden, Fuqua and Anderson (because all four are the only four EMBA programs that require a once-a-month attendance; all others are 2x / month, and with three kids still at home, each with VERY busy schedules, for work-life balance, a 1x / month option makes the most sense personally).

Final Details: If I decided that having an admit or two to really top notch schools would help my candidacy for a c-suite level job outlined above, I'd also consider applying to Booth, Kellogg and/or Wharton (because I suspect odds are good that, given my background, I'd have a relatively decent chance to get into at least one or two of them) and if the goal is to look sexy, having admits to the very very top end EMBA programs would be even more sexy (than having admits from Tier II / III EMBA programs like Ross, Fuqua, Anderson and / or Darden).

******

Thoughts?

PS -- Cross-posting in the Ask Admissions Consultants forum.