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BlueOwl
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Joined: 03 May 2017
Last visit: 21 Apr 2021
Posts: 17
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Location: United States (CA)
Concentration: Technology, Entrepreneurship
Schools: MIT SDM "22 (I)
GMAT 1: 710 Q47 V41
GPA: 3.86
WE:Engineering (Aerospace and Defense)
Schools: MIT SDM "22 (I)
GMAT 1: 710 Q47 V41
Posts: 17
Kudos: 2
MIT SDM or apply to GSB/Haas MBA? 22 Mar 2021, 22:35
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Hi all,

I applied and got into MIT's SDM program: https://sdm.mit.edu/

Here's my profile:

27 w/ 7 years work experience at NASA
4 promotions, including team lead and recent senior engineer for ^
C tier undergrad in CS, 3.86 GPA
S tier Master's in CS, 3.93 GPA
710 GMAT (91%)

I thought the combination of Sloan plus engineering would serve my desire to be a PM/Lead/VP/CTO and start a company there. My friends are telling me to just go the full B-School route because of the networking / weight of the degree. SDM also appealed to me because I can get it to only be 1 semester's worth of lost wages vs 2 years.

So, should I go to SDM? Or should I apply for a proper MBA?

Edit: I should probably mention that my career aspirations are IC > Tech Lead > Engineering Supervisor > VP > CTO.
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MIT SDM or apply to GSB/Haas MBA? 24 Mar 2021, 10:31
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BlueOwl:

It sounds like the MIT SDM program would be a nice-to-have degree, but not a game changer. You will likely need to work very hard (and get somewhat lucky) to make a move into this type of role without a long-term degree. The MBA will much more important for qualifying for PM/LEAD/CTO/VP post-MBA programs that could serve as a viable entry point.

Do you have a sense for where SDM graduates are being placed post-degree? How many are going into tech roles that interests you? That will be a great starting point for you to understand how useful the SDM degree can be for your career. Then, I would compare it to the MBA at your schools of interest.

The MBA is valuable because it is a well-known and versatile degree. That being said, there is a slight stigma from the Silicon Valley community about MBAs doing tech-oriented work. Some places prefer you spend the time coding, working on product directly, etc. rather than getting a degree to teach you about the management of that process. Stil, if you personally go the MBA route, you might have a leg up on your classmates given your pre-MBA technical experience.
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BlueOwl
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Joined: 03 May 2017
Last visit: 21 Apr 2021
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
2
Given Kudos: 7
Location: United States (CA)
Concentration: Technology, Entrepreneurship
Schools: MIT SDM "22 (I)
GMAT 1: 710 Q47 V41
GPA: 3.86
WE:Engineering (Aerospace and Defense)
Schools: MIT SDM "22 (I)
GMAT 1: 710 Q47 V41
Posts: 17
Kudos: 2
MIT SDM or apply to GSB/Haas MBA? 24 Mar 2021, 22:46
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BlueOwl:

It sounds like the MIT SDM program would be a nice-to-have degree, but not a game changer. You will likely need to work very hard (and get somewhat lucky) to make a move into this type of role without a long-term degree. The MBA will much more important for qualifying for PM/LEAD/CTO/VP post-MBA programs that could serve as a viable entry point.

Do you have a sense for where SDM graduates are being placed post-degree? How many are going into tech roles that interests you? That will be a great starting point for you to understand how useful the SDM degree can be for your career. Then, I would compare it to the MBA at your schools of interest.

The MBA is valuable because it is a well-known and versatile degree. That being said, there is a slight stigma from the Silicon Valley community about MBAs doing tech-oriented work. Some places prefer you spend the time coding, working on product directly, etc. rather than getting a degree to teach you about the management of that process. Stil, if you personally go the MBA route, you might have a leg up on your classmates given your pre-MBA technical experience.
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Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I honestly don't think even an MBA would be a game changer for me unless I wanted to take an entry level PM. I'll be working during the first year, where I can position myself for an internal PM job.

It does seem that SDM Fellows take roles that would be more along my desired path; I want to be in technical leadership, not business leadership (yet). I think given that, the prestige of my current job, and my ability to get on as a Senior Software Engineer might make SDM the right choice given its lower cost and distance option for the first year.

SDM Career Outcomes: https://sdm.mit.edu/industry-employers/ ... -outcomes/
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jaygmat76
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MIT SDM or apply to GSB/Haas MBA? 29 Mar 2021, 15:16
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Good Explanation!
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jaygmat76
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MIT SDM or apply to GSB/Haas MBA? 29 Mar 2021, 15:17
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BlueOwl
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BlueOwl:

It sounds like the MIT SDM program would be a nice-to-have degree, but not a game changer. You will likely need to work very hard (and get somewhat lucky) to make a move into this type of role without a long-term degree. The MBA will much more important for qualifying for PM/LEAD/CTO/VP post-MBA programs that could serve as a viable entry point.

Do you have a sense for where SDM graduates are being placed post-degree? How many are going into tech roles that interests you? That will be a great starting point for you to understand how useful the SDM degree can be for your career. Then, I would compare it to the MBA at your schools of interest.

The MBA is valuable because it is a well-known and versatile degree. That being said, there is a slight stigma from the Silicon Valley community about MBAs doing tech-oriented work. Some places prefer you spend the time coding, working on product directly, etc. rather than getting a degree to teach you about the management of that process. Stil, if you personally go the MBA route, you might have a leg up on your classmates given your pre-MBA technical experience.

Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I honestly don't think even an MBA would be a game changer for me unless I wanted to take an entry level PM. I'll be working during the first year, where I can position myself for an internal PM job.

It does seem that SDM Fellows take roles that would be more along my desired path; I want to be in technical leadership, not business leadership (yet). I think given that, the prestige of my current job, and my ability to get on as a Senior Software Engineer might make SDM the right choice given its lower cost and distance option for the first year.

SDM Career Outcomes: https://sdm.mit.edu/industry-employers/ ... -outcomes/
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jaygmat76
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MIT SDM or apply to GSB/Haas MBA? 29 Mar 2021, 15:18
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jaygmat76
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BlueOwl:

It sounds like the MIT SDM program would be a nice-to-have degree, but not a game changer. You will likely need to work very hard (and get somewhat lucky) to make a move into this type of role without a long-term degree. The MBA will much more important for qualifying for PM/LEAD/CTO/VP post-MBA programs that could serve as a viable entry point.

Do you have a sense for where SDM graduates are being placed post-degree? How many are going into tech roles that interests you? That will be a great starting point for you to understand how useful the SDM degree can be for your career. Then, I would compare it to the MBA at your schools of interest.

The MBA is valuable because it is a well-known and versatile degree. That being said, there is a slight stigma from the Silicon Valley community about MBAs doing tech-oriented work. Some places prefer you spend the time coding, working on product directly, etc. rather than getting a degree to teach you about the management of that process. Stil, if you personally go the MBA route, you might have a leg up on your classmates given your pre-MBA technical experience.

Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I honestly don't think even an MBA would be a game changer for me unless I wanted to take an entry level PM. I'll be working during the first year, where I can position myself for an internal PM job.

It does seem that SDM Fellows take roles that would be more along my desired path; I want to be in technical leadership, not business leadership (yet). I think given that, the prestige of my current job, and my ability to get on as a Senior Software Engineer might make SDM the right choice given its lower cost and distance option for the first year.

SDM Career Outcomes: https://sdm.mit.edu/industry-employers/ ... -outcomes/
Show more

You are very right, I recently posted an article about MEM degree, I think for your case SDM seems a better option than MBA. Here is a link to article if you are interested or it may help.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mem-degr ... YAsQ%3D%3D