Need some Clarity of Thought for doing MBA

Question

Being struggling to do MBA for last 2-3 years(sometimes lack of motivation, job change, getting married) , I am still unable to take my GMAT.

At this point of my career where I have a stable flexible high paying job(Thank God for same , even in this recession) , stable personal life(very understanding wife),motivational level (very fluctuating,got high in these 2 last months of year when workload is less).

Here is my brief profile.

a. Bachelors in Engineering --> Top 10 University (back in home country).
 b. G.P.A. -->3.25
 c. Extracurricular activities --> Few of them.
 d. Leadership Roles --> 1/2 times only.
 e. Current profile --> Highly Technical.

Being a progressive person,I want to explore opportunities for myself in future.
Well in know MBA is not in my blood stream but then there is nothing else to do too to cross that next level.

I already have 8 years of experience so going to do MS in engineering is also of not that benificial.

I want to request people who have gone through same phase should throw some light on this.
May be this is common phase which everyone needs to go through or may be I am wasting time 
in doing things which I am not made to do.

Basically I want to clear up my mind so that I can gain strength in my decision(which I dont have as I am not a MBA yet)

Thanks,
 Delhi_Walla.

klusener · Answer

Hey Mate, 
 You just need to ask yourself , what you want to do post MBA? , why do you need an MBA ? , is there something missing in your professional life that MBA is going to satisfy ?

As far as MS in engineering goes, i did my MS from a top 50 US univ. and some of my classmates were very experienced , so you will definitely gain something by doing an MS . Its all up to what you want to do.

-- Klusener

uglyant · Answer

Kulener ,
 I also dont have any concrete answers to those question,that why I need help from this community.

Here are my answers to them(out of whatever my limited thought process can stretch to).

a. Why do I want to do MBA ?
 
Ans. 
 i. Tired of working in small technical teams of 2-3 people.
 ii. Want to hedge my future by an extra degree , at right time when I can afford that extra money and time. It would be more dificult to go to school at 35 with 2 kids and wife to support.
 iii. Want to explore that leadership side of my personality.I know its in there but not nutured till now effectively.
 iv. I need 2 years of break from normal cooperate world to get fresh ideas.
 
b. What do you want to do post-MBA ?
Ans. I want to be be in either in Technical management post MBA/High Tech Venture Capital and then 
 eventually move to Technical Enterpreneurship.
 
I want to request people with similar profiles like me(BS engineering+ 8 years exp.+ Individual Technical contributor) to throw some light on same.
 
I know its a real difficult descion to make when both choices are so close and people definately have gone through this dilemma a lot.
I am trying to find individual reasons that should make MBA as "must have" degree rather than "good to have" degree.

Thanks,
 Delhi_Walla.

fluidian · Answer

My background bears a mild resemblance to yours, and there are significant areas of overlap between where I have been and what you want to do. That said, perhaps the most relevant question, or statement, that you posed was essentially claiming that an MBA isn't in your blood, but you don't know how to get to the next level.

A question
What is this next level that you want to get to - it's really the most important question behind your decisions

Comments - I'm going to be blunt.
1. VC isn't a realistic outlet from an MBA program, in particular without start-up experience or absolutely stellar credentials
2. You don't look into VC as a precursor to entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship is the precursor to VC
3. Technical management isn't a realistic, or at least common, outlet from a FT MBA program - the engineering managers that have an MBA generally got a part time degree, and were working FT.
4. I have an MS in engineering from a top 3 global engineering school, the degree is good in the sense that it says you went to a top school, but the degree itself doesn't really add much to the profile - there isn't the networking of an MBA program and there are only a few jobs that are available to MS that aren't available to BS candidates, etc.

It's these comments that caused me to ask my question - you honestly need to know where you want to be. Only at that time can you figure out the most appropriate path. It's tough, but you need to think through things a bit more before you make any real decisions.

uglyant · Answer

Thanks for giving real insight into post MBA careers.
So ruling out the remote possibility of high profile career in VC firm and not so fancy Technical Management career, what else is out there in MBA for people like us.

Till now what I can think of is .

a. Solid professional network all throughout life.
 b. Open up new cooperate opportunities/roles that would otherwise been just not possible or would have taken a lot more time without MBA.
 c. Personal Satisfaction in terms of confidence gain by learning skills that will help in converting ideas into reality. (BS taught us to think ideas but not the skill to convert them to real money, which MBA would fulfill)
 d. A bit more secure future in terms of job/starting small business.
 
These reason are good but not so strong enough to make MBA look like the best available option(may be I am missing the real value of these reasons or may be i don't know all of them).

Are there any other reasons(except changing careers)that make people do FT MBA at this point of career?

Thanks for discussion.
 -Delhi_walla.

fluidian · Answer

I'm not saying to rule out VC entirely, but it's exceedingly tough to crack, and unless you have very specific experience, it's essentially a no go.

For technical minded individuals, career paths that an MBA opens are:

1. Product management at technology firms - if you've ever wanted to be the guy managing a product line at Intel, well, an MBA is a good degree to have - note, perhaps this is what you meant by technical management. Generally, I consider technical management to be managing engineering teams, with a title like, "director of engineering".

2. If you head to a top MBA program, you can make a lot of interesting connections to help launch a tech based start-up...the top programs also offer significant support in this area, with many sponsoring entrepreneurial internships, with the realiziation that start-ups frequently can't afford interns.

3. General management of technology firms

4. BD/Strategy at technology firms

5. Etc.

Basically, the MBA makes it pretty easy to work in a technology based firm, just not necessarily as a hands-on research technologist. If you are doing BD for Microsoft, a strong background in software is clearly useful, but you have to know the business side as well - which is why they frequently hire MBAs with an engineering/software background.

aim-high · Answer

Great question. I guess lot of people including me think about why we all want to do an MBA. With your background, I would recommend you to go for an MBA than a MS in Engineering unless you know exactly how to use your MS. Let me give you 2 examples. Lot of folks that I know who did MS in Computer Science are currently doing a job that really does not need a MS degree. They are into Java, C++ and other languages for which you don't need a MS degree. What MS degree teaches is about algorithms, databases etc. My intention here is not discredit folks who have done MS in Computer Science but purely telling based on my experience. Second example, I know few folks who have done MS in Computer Science or Electronics but are in completely different field now. why ? Because they think they want to do MS because the world around them does and end up doing Software testing job which again does not need Electronics background. Also, I have seen cases in which folks do MS in Electronics and their job really demands that knowledge. 
All the above scenario can happen to even MBA graduates if they don't choose their field. My aim is to become a Product Manager one day. I love products and may be someday I can invest in a startup company and create a world class product. I want to do an MBA because I am just tired of my current job and also want to get lots of money.

Good luck in pursuing your MBA and future career goals.

Need some Clarity of Thought for doing MBA

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