Any MBA students here?

[mrscushion]

Just wondering if anyone else is in b-school... or has an SO in b-school?

 

[whitby_2773]

*bump* for mscushion

i''m sure there''s some here - i cant remember who they are, i''m sorry msc - but i KNOW i''ve talked to people here with an MBA or doing an MBA.

hopefully somebody will see this...

 

[mrscushion]

Aw, thanks, whitby!

I thought there''d be one or two... oh, well.

 

[Po10472]

B-school as in business school?

sorry, too early in the morning for acronyms.

 

[mrscushion]

Date: 3/21/2010 6:18:04 AM
Author: Po10472
B-school as in business school?
sorry, too early in the morning for acronyms.

yup, exactly. sorry!

 

[Regular Guy]

Sounds like you''re looking for someone maybe currently enrolled?

I did earn one, but part time, and in the 90s. At U of MD.

I take it you''re not just taking a head count? Anything in particular in mind?

Best,

 

[mrscushion]

Date: 3/21/2010 12:49:39 PM
Author: Regular Guy
Sounds like you''re looking for someone maybe currently enrolled?
I did earn one, but part time, and in the 90s. At U of MD
I take it you''re not just taking a head count? Anything in particular in mind?
Best,

Hi Ira! Well, there''s a long law school thread, so I thought I''d start one for any business school people out there. Would be fun to discuss whatever comes to mind, what year they are in, what classes they''re taking, how they see the job market post-graduation, etc.! But, I see I may not have much luck.

That''s cool that you got your MBA part-time, I admire people who do that, it must be really really tough, working and studying.

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 3/21/2010 3:26:43 PM
Author: mscushion

That''s cool that you got your MBA part-time, I admire people who do that, it must be really really tough, working and studying.

It''s even harder when you have a child come along...which did happen right as I was at the end of the program.

A probable disadvantage of doing the program, at least like me, part time, is not effectively gearing the program to "take you somewhere." It''s benefit in my case may lie ahead of me....but I didn''t put it to any particular use, staying in the same publishing field I had been in, and not changing positions. I did it because I could, adding on. It will be better put to use if you''ll direct it to and with your career targets.

I did value connections, not explored, with the SBA...essentially...socially responsible business association. One may not be everywhere, but if your school has one, the members may be nice, and it can help you get your head on straight.

Regards,

 

[CDNinNYC]

If I remember correctly, Bella_mezzo is doing her MBA. Hopefully she'll pop in.

DH went to b-school but he already graduated.

mscushion, are you doing yours in France?

 

[rockzilla]

I''m currently a first year MBA student - just accepted my summer internship offer! Going to be doing marketing

are you a first or 2nd year?

 

[mrscushion]

I''m doing an one year program, yup, in France and Singapore.

Congrats on getting your internship rockzilla! I used to work in marketing. It''s a really fun field and so varied, I hope you love it!

I''m about to start looking for jobs. Because mine is a one-year program, we don''t start on-campus recruiting till now and it''s getting really hectic. I hope I find something good!

Ira -- a lot of people in my program have kids, because we have so many international students, many of which come from cultures where people marry and have kids a lot earlier, so they bring their families. I don''t know how they do it!

 

[zipzapgirl]

I''m doing a part-time program at NYU. I will be halfway through in two weeks

I am still working full-time and doing classes on Saturdays and sometimes weeknights. I am planning to focus on finance and management topics.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

yep-I am doing my MBA part-time as well. I start a new job the first week of April and am a little concerned about on-boarding to a new position mid-semester, but it''s a great job and I''m just going to make it work somehow

 

[mrscushion]

Date: 3/22/2010 10:24:06 AM
Author: zipzapgirl
I''m doing a part-time program at NYU. I will be halfway through in two weeks

I am still working full-time and doing classes on Saturdays and sometimes weeknights. I am planning to focus on finance and management topics.

Congrats on getting to the half way point, zipzapgirl! What is it, 4 years in all? 3? Again, it''s really admirable that you are working full time while doing this. Do you find that you are using a lot of what you are learning in your daily job? I find that some of the finance methods we are taught here in class are theoretically sound and definitely useful knowledge, but that people actually working in finance use different (and in many cases much more simplistic) methods.

 

[mrscushion]

Date: 3/22/2010 11:35:11 AM
Author: Bella_mezzo
yep-I am doing my MBA part-time as well. I start a new job the first week of April and am a little concerned about on-boarding to a new position mid-semester, but it''s a great job and I''m just going to make it work somehow

Congrats on the new job. What field are you working in?

 

[Callisto]

Well I may be joining you ladies...

I totally didn''t see this thread the other week but I just searched MBA to see if I could find anything interesting and couldn''t believe how recent this thread was.

I''m still not 100% committed to the idea but it looks like I''m headed in that direction. I''d love some tips or advice or opinions...

Basically my situation is that I have a BS in Biology and don''t want to be a doctor or a professor and that doesn''t leave a whole lot of choices where I can work in a field that I can really excel in. So I''m thinking Biotechnology might be a good field for me. I really like seeing science applied in real life and think biotechnology would be a really interesting field. I''m currently working at a public university as a lab manager in a biology lab which I enjoy but I don''t think I can spend my life working in academia because unless you have a PhD you''re treated like a second class employee. So I''m thinking I''ll make the move into the industry sector but I feel like an MBA will make me much more prepared to do so. I could get the degree part time at the university I''m working at in about three years and it would only cost about $6500 since I''m at a public school and they offer a scholarship for staff and faculty. The downside is that the school is not terribly well known. It has some really amazing programs but mostly on the arts side of things. Not to boast, but I''m a really good student and could definitely get into a better MBA school but it would mean paying at least 10 times as much for the program and leaving my current job that is SUPER flexible and would be very easy to do while getting my MBA. I''m thinking the cost and flexibility are worth sacrificing a bit in the name of the program especially since my goal is far from running a Fortune 500 company, I simply don''t want my lack of a business degree to stop me from advancing within a biotech company. Thoughts?

 

[Regular Guy]

Callisto,

While not a lady, and maybe not the best person to respond...I''d be personally sympathetic to staying the course, and staying put.

 

[Callisto]

Date: 3/31/2010 11:48:34 PM
Author: Regular Guy
Callisto,


While not a lady, and maybe not the best person to respond...I''d be personally sympathetic to staying the course, and staying put.

Oops sorry Ira, I didn''t look closely enough and thought all the other responses were ladies. I''m very thankful for advice from both men AND women, haha. Thanks for your thoughts. My situation seems hard to pass up just for a better school name...

I''ll have to look into finding and SBA too, that sounds neat.

 

[Bluenotes]

I just earned MBA degree last year in Michigan.

 

[zipzapgirl]

Date: 3/23/2010 10:52:43 AM
Author: mscushion

Date: 3/22/2010 10:24:06 AM
Author: zipzapgirl
I''m doing a part-time program at NYU. I will be halfway through in two weeks

I am still working full-time and doing classes on Saturdays and sometimes weeknights. I am planning to focus on finance and management topics.

Congrats on getting to the half way point, zipzapgirl! What is it, 4 years in all? 3? Again, it''s really admirable that you are working full time while doing this. Do you find that you are using a lot of what you are learning in your daily job? I find that some of the finance methods we are taught here in class are theoretically sound and definitely useful knowledge, but that people actually working in finance use different (and in many cases much more simplistic) methods.

Thanks! It takes 2.5-3.5 years on average for part-time, depending on how much free time you are willing to forego to finish quicker

I work in accounting/finance and I am finding that it helps me understand the macroeconomic side of things--why is this happening now, what will that affect, how do bond yields work because of this, etc. Also, since my undergrad degree is in accounting, the finance side is really kicking in for me real-time. I started the program the weekend that Lehman went under, so it''s been an exciting time to talk through the economy; we spent half a class talking about American vs. Japanese car companies in my operations class--as GM was teetering on bankruptcy.

As far as learning something concrete which I take back to work, yes and no. In my finance class for example, we are calculating NPV''s with a financial calculator, while I analyze other people''s models of similar calcs at work only in excel. I am just wrapping up my core courses and moving on to electives, so I think it will become more and more applicable as I go (assuming I take the applicable courses!)

 

[zipzapgirl]

Date: 3/31/2010 11:21:15 PM
Author: Callisto
Well I may be joining you ladies...

I totally didn't see this thread the other week but I just searched MBA to see if I could find anything interesting and couldn't believe how recent this thread was.

I'm still not 100% committed to the idea but it looks like I'm headed in that direction. I'd love some tips or advice or opinions...

Basically my situation is that I have a BS in Biology and don't want to be a doctor or a professor and that doesn't leave a whole lot of choices where I can work in a field that I can really excel in. So I'm thinking Biotechnology might be a good field for me. I really like seeing science applied in real life and think biotechnology would be a really interesting field. I'm currently working at a public university as a lab manager in a biology lab which I enjoy but I don't think I can spend my life working in academia because unless you have a PhD you're treated like a second class employee. So I'm thinking I'll make the move into the industry sector but I feel like an MBA will make me much more prepared to do so. I could get the degree part time at the university I'm working at in about three years and it would only cost about $6500 since I'm at a public school and they offer a scholarship for staff and faculty. The downside is that the school is not terribly well known. It has some really amazing programs but mostly on the arts side of things. Not to boast, but I'm a really good student and could definitely get into a better MBA school but it would mean paying at least 10 times as much for the program and leaving my current job that is SUPER flexible and would be very easy to do while getting my MBA. I'm thinking the cost and flexibility are worth sacrificing a bit in the name of the program especially since my goal is far from running a Fortune 500 company, I simply don't want my lack of a business degree to stop me from advancing within a biotech company. Thoughts?

Callisto,
What are you interested in doing if you were to move to a private company? I have several friends who are chemists or engineers in my program and it seems that they either stay in the lab in product development or they get involved in sourcing materials, sales, or pharmaceutical/medical device sales. Is that what you are looking towards?

ETA: A lot of their companies pay for their MBA's in part or in full as well.

 

[mrscushion]

Holla! This thread is picking up!

Hi Callisto!

I agree you should spend a bit of time thinking about what you may want to do in the corporate sector after your MBA. I think for your background, the MBA actually makes a lot of sense, and I know that at my school, Big Pharma recruits pretty significantly for sales and marketing positions and they love people with science/laboratory backgrounds. I know you said you were interested in biotech, so that''s a little bit different, but still, I think an MBA degree might make sense.

I have no opinion on whether or not you should stick with your school. You need to look at recruiting at your school and whether alumni of the part-time MBA programs have gotten jobs you might be interested in. If they have, then I''d go for the current school.

All of this said, I do wonder whether you should go for your MBA straight away. I wonder if instead you shouldn''t try out the job market and see whether you could get a position you''re interested in with a biotech company in your area. You have the undergraduate academic qualification, so I would think it''s very possible. The reason I''m saying this is because I''m sure that once you start working in a company like that, you''ll quickly learn what you do and don''t want to do within a corporate setting. This in turn will help you shape your MBA much more in favor of what you actually want to do. That company may also sponsor your MBA. And, you''d likely be on a faster-track career path once you graduate from your MBA with pre-MBA biotech business experience under your belt.

Just something to consider.

 

[Callisto]

Thanks for chiming in zipzapgirl and mscushion. I think I would like doing something like project management. As a lab manager right now, I really do like being involved in science research, I just don''t love doing the research. I was thinking something like project management where I get to be involved in the progress of biotech projects and kind of help tie all the different ends of the biotech company together. I think I would enjoy sales as well but probably not as much as a more management based position.

To be honest, I''m not sure how good the recruiting is at my school. Chances are it''s a lot more local companies than nationwide and I''d like to move back to the midwest so the recruiting here might not be great. But I''m pretty used to working my butt off to get where I am so I''m not concerned if I have to do a little extra work to get in touch with the companies I might be interested in.

Yeah I''ve thought of just trying to go into the job market but I only graduated a year ago and have no business experience besides this year I''ve been working (which is really not even strongly business based) and I don''t know how easy it''d be to find another entry level position (especially in the current state of the workforce). I''ve thought too that another company may sponsor my MBA but that''s kind of a big IF to depend on, especially since it will cost me about $50K if I''m wrong. I''ve always been a better safe than sorry kind of person. Plus I don''t want to wait too long to start an MBA since it will take me about 3 years and I would like to start a family in probably the next 7 or 8 years. Idk how long you typically have to work for a company before they will sponsor your MBA but I doubt it''s right away...

Thanks for bringing up these things to think about, I''d love to hear more opinions and suggestions if anyone has any.

 

[Callisto]

Just thought I would bump this once to see if there are any other opinions on my education....