MBA: is the time right for me?

[PokerFox]

The program is the University of Texas @ Dallas Cohort MBA (full time, 16 months). About 40-50 students I believe. The average salary is 65k. With a liberal arts degree, I've been banking somewhere around 25. us news

If anyone has a US news account, that'd be cool, or any more advice.

[NajdorfDefense]

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The program is the University of Texas @ Dallas Cohort MBA (full time, 16 months). About 40-50 student I believe. The average salary is 65k. With a liberal arts degree, I've been banking somewhere around 25. us news

If anyone has a US news account, that'd be cool, or any more advice.

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PF, you asked for advice, so here it is:
You're not old enough and don't have the wealth of work experience to get significant value from your MBA, and won't get into a worthwhile school in all likelihood.

Why not spend the next couple of years working on a career you really, really like, and then go back to school? There's no prize for doing an MBA as fast as possible, in fact, the 'prize' is likely negative.

$65k is hideously low starting salary for recent MBA grads. You would get much more than that *10 years ago* if you went to any top 20 school. Like, 100% more including bonus.

UTD wasn't even in the top 70 of B-Weeks rankings:
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools...ex.html#next20

[PokerFox]

Thanks for responding.

Like most people, I have an opportunity to go now. I don't know if I'll have that opportunity in 3-5 years. (probable wife, kids, etc).

Can you expound on why work experience is so important to learn at b-school? What kind of topics can they introduce where they would say 'you won't understand this, you haven't been a corporate slave for x years'. I'm not being sarcastic, I really want to know.

In addition, I CANNOT get a job doing what I want to do with a B.S. in Sociology. I have tried extremely hard. If you know of a way I can become a financial analyst without further education, please tell me. Or how I can even get a meaningful job in the finance sector with a liberal arts degree.

[bills217]

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UTD wasn't even in the top 70 of B-Weeks rankings:
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools...ex.html#next20

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Those rankings are dated, but yeah...UTD would be something I would categorize as "off the map."

Your situation is different from mine though. I could get an engineering job out of undergrad making $70k. If you really want to work in finance now, and there's no other way to do it, and your current job prospects are no good...it might work for you. Certainly not the same value as a better school but if it gets you what you want I guess that's a plan then right? Looked cheap too from the link you gave.

You'll have to forgive Najdorf, he is kinda big-time, see his location. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[PokerFox]

btw bills, i'm from A&M and miss gillispie [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] also mad at him.

For the GMAT, I studied Kaplan's book for about 1 month beforehand, just 3-4 nights a week and took 3-4 practice exams. Did fine on the test no sweat.

I'm also hoping I can learn some skills in b-school (if i go) that will allow me to start my own business (a goal of mine) if I so choose.

[bills217]

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You would get much more than that *10 years ago* if you went to any top 20 school.

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Najdorf,

You do realize he will have to have actually accomplished something to get into a Top 20 school after 5 years right? Getting accepted even after working is far, far from a guarantee - the fact that they accept a small percentage of applicants is what makes them Top 20.

If all he has is a liberal arts degree and his career prospects suck now, how do you expect him to get into Kellogg in 5 years? You make it sound like it's automatic or something.

[NajdorfDefense]

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Thanks for responding.

Like most people, I have an opportunity to go now. I don't know if I'll have that opportunity in 3-5 years. (probable wife, kids, etc).

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Plenty of your MBA classmates will have a wife and or kids. It's no biggie.

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Can you expound on why work experience is so important to learn at b-school?

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For the same reason you can't do physics without knowing math. You need a foundation, a base to build on. You are supposedly learning how to run/Manage a Business.
Do you want a real, valuable MBA that comes with a built-in network of hundreds of contacts [if not thousands] of people that will be running companies and hiring friends and funding startups in the not-too-distant future? Or do you just want a TLA after your name? This is a very important query.

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In addition, I CANNOT get a job doing what I want to do with a B.S. in Sociology. I have tried extremely hard.


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I'm sure you have, keep trying. You have a 3-4 decade career of working ahead of you, don't get hung up on this year or last year.

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If you know of a way I can become a financial analyst without further education, please tell me. Or how I can even get a meaningful job in the finance sector with a liberal arts degree.

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Well, I got hired in I-banking as an analyst out of school in lower Manhattan at a Very Profitable I-bank. Many of my compatriots did not have finance degrees, I would say the majority did not - we had French majors, Math, English Lit, Dance + Art History. They're just looking for smart people who are willing to work hard and are flexible.

You can get a fin analyst or research analyst job just about anywhere, I don't know what Dallas is like these days, but if there are fewer jobs there look in a wider radius. I moved 1300 miles for my first job. This is not unusual. NYC, SF, Chicago, Miami, LA, Charlotte are the centers of finance in this country, more or less.

'Equities in Dallas,' not so much.

best of luck,

Naj

[donfairplay]

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'Equities in Dallas,' not so much.

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[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] the Liar's Poker reference.

I empathize with pokerfox's situation, it took me a while to find an entry level finance job out of college. But keep at it, and definitely consider relocation if it seems you can't find work in Dallas.

I was thinking about going back to school for an MBA (I'm 26), but I'm hoping to work towards a CFA instead. If I can hack it...

[Jeffmet3]

Just something to add.

I'm an undergrad business major at Cornell, and after asking my advisor, she said no one has gone straight from AEM undergrad to business school at Cornell in the past 7 years.

So considering Cornell has good matriculation for Med school and Law school, I'm assuming this means the B-school is very against right out of college.

[Scorpion Man]

Naj is right. Early MBAs are a waste of time. It's like taking a poker lesson with the top players before you even know what the hand rankings are. You have so little perspective you can't use the info or add anything to the discussion.