I'm about to embark on this new chapter of my life starting my MBA at Emory University's Goizueta One-Year Full-Time MBA program. It's going to definitely be a change of pace for me. And I wanted to relay my thoughts on why I'm doing this and respond to the numerous people who ask why or they should do it.
Ever since the Boy Scouts, I'm a firm believer in the motto "Be Prepared". My interest in the MBA is largely attributed to this one motto. I look at how the Great Recession decimated jobs and being a casualty of it myself (laid off from IBM GBS back in April 2009), I realized the need to further diversify my skill set and really, continue to set myself out from the crowd. It's true that many people went back to get their MBAs as well so in some cases, I realized that I at least needed an MBA to be relevant in some cases. To get in the door or for an HR Recruiter to even glance at my resume, I would rather have my resume be as relevant as possible. It doesn't hurt to have more. Conversely, you won't be relevant if you have less.
As I wonder about my future, I realize that I also didn't want to sit around and wait to find out whether or not I needed an MBA. In the future, with a family (hopefully), I definitely would want my evenings to be free to be with the family. I would rather work for my MBA now rather than have to give up the potential to coach my kid's sports team in the future if I were to do an MBA part-time. Or, I'd rather just be free in the future to host barbecues and the like without having to worry about Finals the next week.
I hear a lot of people saying, "only do an MBA if you go to a Top 10 program," and the like. My thoughts coming right up (of course, this is a blog)... Though I agree a Top 10 program is an advantageous route, Top 10 programs are not the only good route. What Top 10 programs offer is portability. With an MBA from Harvard, Wharton, other, I can get in the door for an interview just about anywhere, I'm sure. However, MBA programs outside of the Top 10 can still carry plenty of weight, especially regionally. What you should focus on, as I did, is how much clout the MBA program you wish to attend has within the region of where you want to live. For me, Goizueta does have some recognition nationally, but regionally, it's one of the best programs around. It's prestigious, also, in the fields I want to enter -- consulting. So to those thinking about programs outside the Top 10, don't worry about it so much. Instead, focus on where you want to be and how does the program enable you to get there.
In regards to Top 10 MBA programs and how they'll affect your resume, consider this: according to the US Department of Labor via Anne Brown (Senior Web Producer and Project Manager for Sender LLC, see article here), 70% of all jobs are found through personal contacts. So do you really need a Top 10 program on your resume? Or do you really just need an MBA because your network is how you're going to get your next job? As mentioned before, Top 10 programs give you portability... especially helpful if you're going to cold-apply. Cold-applying, to me, is applying to a job just simply through web or otherwise by sending in not much more than your resume. This is in contrast of warm-applying where applicants apply to jobs with already some sort of introduction or someone helping on the inside. Think of it like cold-calling vs. warm-calling. For me, I know that if I were to look for a new position, I'd largely pursue my network to reach my next destination.
Further, Emory's One-Year Full-Time MBA program will be a great program for me. I loved what I did with Chainalytics as a Supply Chain Management Consultant. I learned a great deal on every project enabling me to not only build more experience and knowledge but to also apply learnt material. And with the nature of my work, my resume is long and credible. So taking a year off to obtain something as valuable as an MBA will not harm my experience and years of work.
This summer is going to be tough, but I'm looking forward to the experience and meeting and working with my new colleagues.
Cheers!
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