Which MBA field to pursue?

Question

Hi,

I was doing a bit of self exploration and had few questions.

Bit of a background, I am a software engineer (mid-level) with 4 years of experience in FAANG, of late I was looking to get an MBA done, so started prep for GMAT (reason is I am kind of sick of the frontline software dev work that I have to do, and constant nagging from upper management, I have changed teams multiple times but feel this is just not sustainable).

So questions from my side are as follows -

1. What are the typical lines that MBA students with a background in software go into ?

2. I am really good at analysis and investigation, can generate in depth reports of issues but I am poor at execution stuff. Is there any field in MBA that deals with analysis and investigatio while not being very frontline in nature?

3. How much of a salary change will I notice post MBA? Will I be rehired at the same levels or the salary range I left at ?

I would be very grateful for insights of this and it would help my over career trajectory. Thanks in Advance !

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bb · Answer

Hi. Welcome to GMAT Club and a happy Saturday to you!

In short I am going to venture out and mention upfront that an MBA job and further success would be directly correlated with the amount of stress you manage and carry on a daily basis. It is possible to find less stressful jobs but they tend to underperform in terms of promotion and compensation. I have a bit of a feeling that you may be some of disappointed with the sour levels as a software developer 😇

Also the nagging level will only grow.

The most natural and logical post mba recruiting path for you to take would likely be a product manager in tech. It’s a pretty involved and engaged role requiring rounding up numerous resources and presenting your case and managing your products. You’re probably familiar with these roles right now since you probably interface with the number of product managers.

As a software developer and someone with FANG on your résumé you would likely be in high demand and well positioned to get those jobs. While most companies do not require product managers to have software development background, Google does for example. They want to technically inclined people managing their products so you would have even the greater advantage at Google.

On the downside, as a software developer you may be making really good money and coming in as a product manager you’re probably going to start at about 150+ sign on bonus and usual stock options units and all of that stuff. It is possible within two years to double that number after a promotion But you have to be good and you have to be liking it and enjoying it.

Most of the successful post MBA roles are in a leadership position which means managing people, driving results, etc.

there are some subject matter expert positions within companies where are you don’t actually manage people and I think that’s probably some thing that fits more along the lines of what you’re looking for. Not having to manage people is a huge bonus just because managing people takes time and takes a toll on you to have to motivate them and so on and so forth.

Other common post MBA jobs are consulting and finance. I think you could potentially find less front facing positions there but consulting is heavy emphasis on clients readiness and being impressive in front of a client. But then finances are probably more opportunities to be in the back office position but Why hire someone with an MBA if someone internal from undergrad or a masters degree in finance can do the same job for half the pay.

My suggestion for you would be to take one of the product managers to lunch or subject matter experts to lunch and pick their brain. Likely some of the folks you work with are managing products and they would love to vent and complain especially since many of them have been under a lot of stress and layoff threats. MBA folks generally are pretty hopeful end will give you a pretty honest picture if you ask them in private. You can listen to their complaints and decide if that is something you want to deal with after a few years. They should also give you a pretty clear idea of your strengths and weaknesses and opportunities within the tech sector.

PS. Another field that you can go into after business school could be a start up and you can start your own business or join a start up in progress but that is very high pressure environment as well.

In regards to the level you would be starting at, it depends on the company. Not on what level you used to have. For example Google starts people at L5 which is pretty bad, Amazon starts out at L6, and Meta and MSFT do L5 and L6. This is purely my anecdotal observations.

MBA_Bums · Answer

Hi BB,

Thanks for the reply! There are some more things I am curious about. I have realised over time that although money is necessary but job satisfaction is very important to be consistent and sustainable in the long run. I enjoy coding but the stress associated with tight "frontline" deliverables over and over is something that I don't feel overly enthusiastic about. After MBA, would the associated fields focus too much on frontline deliverables (where you need to execute/do the physical stuff to deliver). I am sure every role will have associated deliverables, but I want to avoid ones like software developer.

I am pretty good and guiding and writing documents for leadership etc, and have a knack towards analysis and investigation. Is there any MBA field which aligns with these interests, thinking that strategy could be one?

I have discussed with couple of folks I know and their point is that somewhere a leap of faith is needed, and once I get into a B School, I would be better positioned to make a decision, but given the B School itself is 1-2 years, I am not very convinced on making a move towards GMAT prep without knowing if the jobs post it align with my strengths.

Are there any good resources which might help me get more insight into each MBA fields and jobs that ensue from these fields? I would be happy to even connect with people to get more understanding

. Also thanks for the suggestion on picking some of the product managers brains, will do that!

Posted from my mobile device

. Also thanks for the suggestion on picking some of the product managers brains, will do that! Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

I would say that picking your career path and a potential future job is super important and super helpful. It will make you a lot more successful doing your applications, assuming you proceed with them and assuming you take this path but if you do, having a goal and the clear path is going to make you a lot more successful in your applications in your interviews and then in your recruiting.

I was kind of one of those guys taking a leap of faith and not really thinking about the future very much during my application phase end I thought I would sort of do whatever comes up, frankly I didn’t do enough research and I paid for it.

What you’re describing is more of a PhD position or a Field expert position where you kind of do some research or a study. Unfortunately I don’t know a lot of resources but there are some career tests that you could take and see based on your preferences what kind of ass job you perform veteran. Some of them are paid but they’re fairly inexpensive. I don’t remember any of the top of my head but I have purchased one for 10 bucks to have my third grader take it for a project at school 😬

However, I agree with you that work satisfaction is important and also very helpful to your success in your work. If you don’t like the job, you won’t perform well and you won’t get promoted and you won’t be feeling fulfilled or accomplished. A human is often defined by their job and their accomplishments and their career so it’s important to Get somewhere.

I think you also may be experiencing a burn out that is also something to consider….

Frankly some investment banking a Venture capital positions could be along the lines of what you’re describing but those are very hard to come by… post NBA jobs for calculate the energy and they traded for money basically 😱 it’s helpful if you enjoy that type of thing and you get energized by it. Some people only come alive when they face a crisis. Others fall apart I’m not saying every NBA job is a crisis by the way, many employers would prefer that it doesn’t turn into a crisis 😂.

I think some consulting positions can be strategy focused and working on a lot of PowerPoint’s and things like that. Some data positions and data science send AI stuff. You may want to poke around a LinkedIn or some job websites that have job posting just to see if you can find some pointers and profiles of things you may want to pursue. Probably not the best time for job posting variety in tech industry but something to consider…

There are also some career coaches. I was thinking of using won a super long time ago just to kind of help me figure out industries or simple jobs where I would naturally perform better but I never found a really good one to do the task. Either they were super expensive or not very useful

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

And found this today. YouTube somehow was listening in on my post 😂

https://youtu.be/Fk5ywruPoKE

Posted from my mobile device

Which MBA field to pursue?

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