sams1289 wrote:
Thanks in advance for reviewing this.
Target industries: Sustainability & blockchain technology
GMAT---740
IR- 7
Quant- 47
Verbal-44
AWA- 6
GPA:
4.0 Undergrad GPA ( UK equivalent)
Undergrad majors: Mechanical Engineering
Career:
4.5 years work experience in engineering consultancy, working specifically in energy generation. 3 Promotions, 1 Year spent abroad working in France
(JP Morgan internship)
Extracurriculars:
University Rugby & Squash 1st team.
Engineering Mentorship program
Construction of small scale wind farms in Peru (volunteering)
Reason for MBA (feedback on this point is what I would really value):
Primarily, I want to move into a management role in the renewable energy sector, having had experience of management in project based work at engineering firm, or move into a governmental role influencing clean energy policies. However, over the last year, I have ALSO become increasingly interested, and to some extent involved, in blockchain technology and smart contracts, which I see as having huge potential in the future and how business is done. I realise these are two very different areas (though I am already aware of how the two can combine) and so I am posting this in the hope of some specific feedback on this point. Should I stick to just one focus on my application (i.e. either sustainability or blockchain technology)? Is it seen as a weakness that I am open to the possibility of both (lack of clear direction?) I have an understanding of blockchain and a keen interest in it, though no real work experience, therefore should I leave mentioning it out of my application? My immediate career goals for blockchain would probably be to join a blockchain start up company, though I can see how admissions could find this claim dubious, given my experience. The reason I considered including it in the application would be in order to spice it up a little bit and make me seem less one-dimensional.
Any help on this point (and others) would be greatly appreciated
Thank you for sharing this, and congratulations on the great GMAT score. Let me start by saying I think you're right in considering Berkeley-Haas given its location and proximity to the front lines of what's going on in these and related fields. Along with visiting companies and interning and the like, many Haas students take advantage of Berkeley's own entrepreneurial ecosystem in and around these fields, teaming up with students from Berkeley's computer and engineering programs in various Haas startup classes or on their own entrepreneurial ventures. A number of others structure their schedules so that they can intern at startups during the semester (or continue to work during their second year at a startup with which they interned during the summer).
As with every application for every program, your understanding of specific schools and their offerings -- courses, clubs, extracurriculars, culture, community, career opportunities -- needs to be super specific, so I encourage you to speak with current students/alumni to get to know what these opportunities are. It will greatly benefit your applications (and understanding of Haas).
The primary feedback I have regarding your career goals is to make sure they "speak MBA" and don't speak "computer science or engineering or super duper technical" You're coming from engineering to begin with, and the current articulation of your goals arguably sounds even more technical. Interest in Fintech and MBA resources catering to that student interest are proliferating at MBA programs (as targeted as blockchain), so that's an okay directional goal to articulate. Just make sure you're targeting roles and companies that would combine your prior knowledge, skills, and experience (including your engineering background and technical foundation) with the knowledge, skills, and experience you'd gain via the
Haas MBA program.
Figure out what exactly those roles and companies are, research them, considering chatting with people in those roles, and convey that understanding in your application. Make sure you identify MBA-type roles or roles that would take advantage of your combined engineer-MBA experience. If you determine post-MBA viability, then begin to think about what experience you already have that might be relevant, what experience you're missing, and how you might fill in "what's missing" during your time at Haas. That "what's missing" piece might include some more technical elements (e.g., Haas offers an "Intro to Coding for MBAs" class so that students can gain baseline familiarity), but the "what's missing" piece should have an MBA backbone to it.
I think you'd be in good position to articulate a Ffintech goal with specific interest in blockchain-related companies (and the related commercialization of blockchain). (I would need you to elaborate a little more on what kind of sustainability you're talking about as the alternative above.) Know the jobs and companies you'd be targeting. And don't get lost too deep in the technical.
Happy to chat to go deeper into this if helpful!
Kind Regards,
Greg