How much of a career leap can one receive after top15 MBA?

Question

So I am a Big 4 auditor who has 3 years of experience and finished my first year as a Senior auditor. I despise the work and the hours and I am looking to get away from public accounting and the 90 hour work weeks.

However, as many others in my position, I have recruiters contacting me daily beckoning me with Senior positions in industry, 40 hours work weeks, and a good pay increase.

How much would an MBA from an elite program help me and my career? Would I be able to leap into a Manager role even if I matriculate into the program with 4 years of experience?

mgg234 · Answer

Are you looking to be a career switcher? Almost no one goes into a top-15 MBA and stays in accounting. Biggest industries are finance and consulting, followed by tech. Entertainment, marketing, brand management, entrepreneurship, corp/business development, start-ups, and healthcare are some more popular career paths. Pay will depend on the industry/role you go into, and which company, but all should be a significant pay increase from accounting. for example, doing consulting at Mckinsey, or investment banking at JPM will get you $180k-200k after bonus and salary, with significant pay increases year over year.

albo23 · Answer

I am definitely looking to switch careers, I cannot stand public accounting much longer. Furthermore, settling down would be a goal of mine post-MBA so that knocks out the travel demands of consulting and the rigor of investment banking. Finance, operational roles, etc would all be targets of mine. My focus is not so much my pay bump, but my role/responsibility bump. I just finished my first year as a Senior, would it be reasonable to expect a manager role immediately following completion of my MBA?

asimov · Answer

Typically top 15 b-school grads exit into industry roles at “manager” level, but oftentimes, you will be managing processes vs. people. The people management will follow shortly, after demonstrated leadership. Given your goal, I would recommend that you aim for top ~20ish school, as I typically see exits from schools outside that range at Senior Analyst level. From my experience, the difference between top 5 and top 15 for industry exit is very minimal, usually it comes down to the company/industry choices.

Although you probably won’t be working 90 hours a week, the expectation on hours would be greater than 40, depending on the organization.

Although you probably won’t be working 90 hours a week, the expectation on hours would be greater than 40, depending on the organization.

amenon55 · Answer

Is career-switcher looked upon negatively by ADcoms?

Lets say your not from marketing but would liek to pursue a course in MBA Marketing. Arent you going to be judged against the Marketing guys of the big firms?

politricks · Answer

Not at all. Career-switching is relatively common. Make sure you have a good story and rational for the switch though.

How much of a career leap can one receive after top15 MBA?

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