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12 Jun 2011, 18:11
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Hi Linda,
Could you please comment on the follow ? (questions below). Thanks a lot for this!
Planned starting date: in 2013 (applying early in R1 next year).
Age: 29 at the start of the programme
Nationality: Portuguese
WE: 5.5 years of work experience by then.
Languages: I speak 3 languages fluently (Portuguese, English, Spanish) and have basic knowledge of 3 others (French, Italian, Danish)
1) Brief description of your full-time work experience.
I am a lead engineer in the world’s leading engineering consultancy company within the offshore wind industry (the company itself is one of the largest engineering firms in the world, 9000 employees). I manage teams of engineers for the design of foundations and am responsible for calculations and documentation. I’m responsible for training new employees across different offices, attend meetings abroad with clients, etc.; I’ve got experience from a wide range of projects in about 10 countries so far. I am however the youngest engineer in my entire division (100 employees). Brief career description:
LONDON August 2012 - onwards – Project Manager position [likely]
DENMARK October 2010 – August 2011 – Lead Engineer
DENMARK October 2008 – October 2010 – Project Engineer
PORTUGAL before October 2010 - 6 months full-time as a Junior Engineer in one of Portugal’s biggest construction firms (two different locations).
2) Your GMAT.
Currently preparing myself for the big day and aiming at a 700+ score; please assume I can do it.
3) College info:
Executive Master in Energy Management (Madrid / Paris / London / New Dehli) – enrolled (finished in September 2012), awarded a scholarship from the school
MSc Civil Engineering (IST Lisbon) – GPA of 2.6 – it is low and I hate that but it’s actually the average GPA for the course. This is considered the most demanding engineering school in Portugal (internationally recognized too). I know I could have done better but I should have studied Industrial Engineer or Engineering Management instead back then; I was not motivated enough. I've got a prize for a paper though, so not everything's bad. But my career shows I am a good engineer. And I plan to counterbalance the low GPA with a high GMAT score and a high GPA in the Executive Master programme.
4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.
Captain of football (soccer) teams (while studying; I also practiced tennis, etc.; ran marathons and half-marathons)
Lecturer in a Wind Energy institute in Denmark (collaboration between top engineering universities)
Regionally elected for speaking in the Portuguese Parliament (youth issues), after being involved in political campaigns at school
Collaboration in the Portuguese Society of Engineers journal
School representative in national physics competitions
Planned voluntary work during next year
5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
Chartered by the Portuguese Association of Engineers (recognized by others in Europe).
6) Your target programs.
I’d like to target top-tier programmes in Europe and US with good career prospects in management consulting (schools with good engineering courses too if possible), R1 below and R2 in brackets:
Europe: LBS, INSEAD (Imperial College, IESE)
US: MIT, Kellogg, Wharton (Stanford, Berkeley)
7) Your post-MBA goal.
Management consulting (strategy, energy industry practices) or corporate strategy in an energy company
Q:
1) Would you say my objectives are realistic?
2) I am a bit worried about my low GPA for these programmes. It's really annoying but I can't change that now. Should I be worried even if I manage to achieve a high GMAT score and a high GPA in the Executive Master?
3) I will have worked in 3 European countries when I apply. Would you say that I could be more successful in applying to American schools than to European ones (would my profile would look more.. "different" and interesting to US admission offices)?
4) Any suggestions of other schools or of what else I can do for improving my chances?
Thank you very much in advance!
Jota
Could you please comment on the follow ? (questions below). Thanks a lot for this!
Planned starting date: in 2013 (applying early in R1 next year).
Age: 29 at the start of the programme
Nationality: Portuguese
WE: 5.5 years of work experience by then.
Languages: I speak 3 languages fluently (Portuguese, English, Spanish) and have basic knowledge of 3 others (French, Italian, Danish)
1) Brief description of your full-time work experience.
I am a lead engineer in the world’s leading engineering consultancy company within the offshore wind industry (the company itself is one of the largest engineering firms in the world, 9000 employees). I manage teams of engineers for the design of foundations and am responsible for calculations and documentation. I’m responsible for training new employees across different offices, attend meetings abroad with clients, etc.; I’ve got experience from a wide range of projects in about 10 countries so far. I am however the youngest engineer in my entire division (100 employees). Brief career description:
LONDON August 2012 - onwards – Project Manager position [likely]
DENMARK October 2010 – August 2011 – Lead Engineer
DENMARK October 2008 – October 2010 – Project Engineer
PORTUGAL before October 2010 - 6 months full-time as a Junior Engineer in one of Portugal’s biggest construction firms (two different locations).
2) Your GMAT.
Currently preparing myself for the big day and aiming at a 700+ score; please assume I can do it.
3) College info:
Executive Master in Energy Management (Madrid / Paris / London / New Dehli) – enrolled (finished in September 2012), awarded a scholarship from the school
MSc Civil Engineering (IST Lisbon) – GPA of 2.6 – it is low and I hate that but it’s actually the average GPA for the course. This is considered the most demanding engineering school in Portugal (internationally recognized too). I know I could have done better but I should have studied Industrial Engineer or Engineering Management instead back then; I was not motivated enough. I've got a prize for a paper though, so not everything's bad. But my career shows I am a good engineer. And I plan to counterbalance the low GPA with a high GMAT score and a high GPA in the Executive Master programme.
4) Significant college and post-college extra-curricular activities or community service, especially leadership experience.
Captain of football (soccer) teams (while studying; I also practiced tennis, etc.; ran marathons and half-marathons)
Lecturer in a Wind Energy institute in Denmark (collaboration between top engineering universities)
Regionally elected for speaking in the Portuguese Parliament (youth issues), after being involved in political campaigns at school
Collaboration in the Portuguese Society of Engineers journal
School representative in national physics competitions
Planned voluntary work during next year
5) Important certifications like CFA, CPA, FSA, or CA.
Chartered by the Portuguese Association of Engineers (recognized by others in Europe).
6) Your target programs.
I’d like to target top-tier programmes in Europe and US with good career prospects in management consulting (schools with good engineering courses too if possible), R1 below and R2 in brackets:
Europe: LBS, INSEAD (Imperial College, IESE)
US: MIT, Kellogg, Wharton (Stanford, Berkeley)
7) Your post-MBA goal.
Management consulting (strategy, energy industry practices) or corporate strategy in an energy company
Q:
1) Would you say my objectives are realistic?
2) I am a bit worried about my low GPA for these programmes. It's really annoying but I can't change that now. Should I be worried even if I manage to achieve a high GMAT score and a high GPA in the Executive Master?
3) I will have worked in 3 European countries when I apply. Would you say that I could be more successful in applying to American schools than to European ones (would my profile would look more.. "different" and interesting to US admission offices)?
4) Any suggestions of other schools or of what else I can do for improving my chances?
Thank you very much in advance!
Jota
Updated on: 19 Jun 2011, 03:59
Originally posted by jenniferbloom on 17 Jun 2011, 05:02.
Last edited by jenniferbloom on 19 Jun 2011, 03:59, edited 1 time in total.
Last edited by jenniferbloom on 19 Jun 2011, 03:59, edited 1 time in total.
part of quoted text mistakenly appears as part of my reply
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jotam
Hi, Jota. While the GPA isn't great, I would recommend including details about your class rank and the rigor of the program to testify to your academic ability in addition to the Master's GPA. The biggest weakness I see in the detailed profile you sent is actually this line: "responsible for calculations and documentation." Any mention of calculations and documentation is not going to convince these MBA programs that you'll make a good fit with them and with management consulting in the future. Instead, you'll need to highlight the interactive nature of your work and how you lead people and the company/client to produce results.
You've included a good mix of programs in Europe, but the US schools you're targeting are all highly competitive. If you will be happy in one of your second round European choices, then you should be fine, but if you are seriously interested in going to the US for the MBA, then I do think you should diversify your choice of programs more. Particularly strong in the energy sector are UT Austin, Carnegie Mellon, Texas A&M, Cox, and Rice.
