MBA after PhD?

Question

Hello:

I was wondering if folks here can help me decide if MBA would be ideal for my profile.

I recently finished my PhD in life sciences from an Ivy league university, and started working as a Research Scientist in large pharma. I am a bench scientist right now, but I want to expand my knowledge and work base into business side of Pharma, however I do not currently have any work experience in the field.

Nationality: Asian American  
B.Sc - Top 50 university (US)
PhD in Life Sciences: Ivy League University (Top 20) 
Work experience: 2 yrs NGO; not sure if academic research counts as work experience but that was 6yrs; and now 1yr big pharma

Motivation for MBA: Accelerating career progression; potentially also changing career track to consulting and/or business side of Pharma

I am starting to prepare for GMAT now and hoping to start in 2019 at the earliest.

My weaknesses: Not enough corporate work experience. Should I get more work experience in my current company? I am already in my early 30s and from what I have read, typically most people get their MBAs before that, and older applicants have a harder time getting into top schools? Would love your opinions on this.

My questions are: 
1) How difficult is to get into consulting/leadership position if not enough corporate work experience and after an MBA? 
2) What GMAT score should I target if I want to apply to top 15 schools? 
3) Also, I was wondering if anyone has a take on scholarships, how should I go about applying for these and are there specific ones targeted for individuals with advanced degrees like myself?

Thanks a lot for your comments/feedback and suggestions.

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

Thanks for sharing your profile. Very interesting background that I think schools will be receptive to. You will have to make sure you are being clear on why an MBA makes sense to you at this stage in your life/career. I think the rationale you presented makes sense. I would suggest maybe another year of work experience so you can have some talking points for your essay and application. I know age is factor so I would lean towards one additional year then re-evaluate, so really using that year to focus on making an impact on your org, thinking through your career plans, and identifying recommenders. This will also give you some time to knock out the GMAT as well.

AugustAcademy · Answer

Hi Doc,

Will take your questions one at a time:

1) While it is not clear what a bench scientist is, I'm going to assume that it still counts as 1 year of valid experience. Please disagree if that is not the case. You will have 3 years of corporate experience in 2019. This along with your academic experience should be sufficient. Make sure to elaborate on your knowledge of the industry, challenges faced by the industry as a whole, and what the next frontiers are.

2) The higher the better. Can you get a 740? That will help your case.

3) Please go through my post on  how to get an MBA scholarship . Hope this answers your question.

Best wishes,
karthik

jeffreyadcom · Answer

Research Scientist in Large Pharma! I think it is still early days in terms of work ex, which is sine-qua-non for quality full-time top 10 programs (atleast 4-5 years).

If it is career and not Brand Name MBA that matters to you, IMHO you could explore part time MBAs while continuing to work at the same place. Chances of you getting exposed to wider opportunities at work, as you plough through your MBA is far larger and once MBA is done, you could shift laterally to another function within the same Large Pharma. I am sure there will be leadership rotation programs too at your large pharma.

Part time or exec MBA saves costs, time and also negates the risk of having to find another entry point at a large pharma. 
Usually Large pharma gives preference to loyalty. You could approach your HR team to ask for part time MBA options. They'll guide you. My 2 Cents.

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

Thank you for your post. The good news is that the PhD will count (not always 1:1 but it will count) towards the work experience the schools are looking for. Because of that, you could certainly apply with your profile. As mentioned above, telling the right story will be important since it is not terribly common to get an MBA after a PhD. If you do that well and score well on the GMAT you should have a good shot. Email your resume if you want more specifics as the score needed will depend on the rest of the profile. Scott@personalmbacoach.com www.personalmbacoach.com Best, Scott

quirkydoc · Answer

Thank you all for your feedback and responses. I really appreciate it.

In response to your reply, jeffreyadcom, thank you for bringing up a good point regarding doing part time MBA instead. I thought about that and I am still considering the option, but my main concern is that it won't give me a fully immersed curriculum, and part of the reason I want to go back to school especially for MBA is to get a deeper overview of the business concepts and also to hope to develop a good network of peers and professors for mentor-ships and collaborations. I had also been reading up on this and people have suggested that doing E-MBA/Part time MBA is good if you don't necessarily want to change careers and want to keep growing in the current field. And in my case, although I do like science and research, and hope to someday be able to lead a division and/or become an executive, I am not completely ruling out the option to go into another field   as well. I am accessing that MBA will help me achieve both of those options.

jeffreyadcom · Answer

Full time MBA  
Pros:
1) Distraction free pursuit of business education
2) M7 Brand value
3) More leverage in the short term, for getting into  leadership rotation programs  at any of the top 10 pharma/life-sciences/biotech firms, if you graduate out of any full time M7 programs. This is what you should aim for, to get into fast track growth.
Cons:
1) Opportunity cost and time.

Part time MBA 
Pros:
1) Convenience
2) You learn along with gaining Valued work experience
3) As you'd return to similar domain post MBA (consulting could be an option though), the 3 year work ex would be valued far higher than a tier-2 full time MBA. 
4) Saved costs and time.
Cons:
1) Underwhelming impact in the short term.
2) Unattractive on CV

Think about these and take a call. Talk to senior HR managers at your firm and get their long term perspectives. I know MDs in R&D with no Biz experience, being made country heads for big pharma operations, after a decade or so. So MBA isn't critical in the long term. My 2 cents.

MBA after PhD?

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