Former teacher looking for a new career
I've been in the education field for ten years and I am burnt out. I have a B.A. in Business Management and I am entertaining the idea of going back to school to get a MBA, specifically in Finance or CRE. I feel that I am at a disadvantage because I have no experience in the industry. Will a MBA open doors? What does a work week look like? How is the work/life balance in both industries? Thank you in advance. Any information is helpful.
Plenty of people go back for an MBA precisely to make a career change - military officers, engineers, NGO works, Teach For America, etc.
Post-MBA positions are typically still relatively junior / entry level in most industries, and so what most recruiters are looking for is some maturity - i.e. that you have some experience in the real world (not a fresh college grad), regardless of what that "real world" may be. Some industries such as some parts of finance (investment banking, rotational programs in corporate banking, and some real estate finance) along with mgmt consulting aren't as concerned with prior relevant experience - in fact, most incoming post-MBA associates are career changers, so you're in good company. It becomes trickier in finance on the buyside (private equity, hedge funds, venture capital) and maybe sales/trading (I don't know for sure, maybe others can chime in) where they don't need to hire armies of folks and you're up against folks with prior relevant experience, as well as other industries such as tech, consumer products, manufacturing, etc which tend to prefer folks with prior relevant experience even with an MBA.
Teaching is tough, as I have family members who are teachers, so I understand.
But finance, or any high powered corporate/business job (or entrepreneurship) is not the place at all to look for work-life balance, and in fact is arguably the worst. Folks tend to leave precisely because of that.
Put it this way. If work-life balance is even a concern for you in the short- to medium-term, I would highly caution you to maybe reconsider. It's highly competitive, and you're up against younger folks who may not care as much (if at all about work-life balance), and all else being equal, guess who will have the advantage?
Thank you for your poignant response. I was looking to be an analyst in either the financial or real estate sector. I live in the San Antonio area and UTSA offers a finance degree. It perked my interest. I did have a meeting with the dean, and he did comment that it's a full time job, which I get. He also mentioned the CRE sector companies are looking for more women since its a male dominated industry. I am trying to look for other women who are in the field that live in the area, so they can give me their opinions. Again, thank you for your response. I really wanted a realistic portrayal of the industry.
It might be painful to stop paychecks in this stage. MBA is a good idea to switch industry, but it will depend on where you go?, how you take the program? and how much legwork you do for career planning, recruiting? blah blah.
Your experience is not very helpful except in length, and if you're not teach for America, you're in more disadvantages
I would go back to school full time and knock it out. The work life balance is extremely important to me. I have a young family, and a husband who is away for work months at a time, so I need to be available. I know that a lot of people think teachers have great schedules, but that is not the cas.. I had to put in at least 60 hours a week making and modifying lessons, writing student data reports, and etc. I know that I lack the experience. When I was reflecting on business school classes I enjoyed were statistics, accounting, and economics and thought that finance could be a good option that fits my interests. I live in the San Antonio area and would be applying to UTSA. So, you think a general M.B.A could be a better route?
Not good. it looks like you are NOT listening to MBAapply. Gotta think what jobs will give you work life balance and if any MBA program has decent balance during school
In finance or management consulting you would dream about having to work only for 60h/week. It is usually more like 80-100 h/week there. I would recommend working as a part-time tutor or freelancer in the field in which you are competent, and definitely not the MBA -> finance way.
My instinct immediately upon reading this is that the MBA is only going to make your work/life balance worse. It is not the degree you pursue for work/life balance. I am doing CORPORATE LAW, which has some of the worst work/life balance out there, and I expect that if I get an MBA and place into consulting or finance or even a management role, my hours will be as bad or worse.
Pursue the MBA because you're incredibly passionate about business and want to increase your workload, not the other way around.
If you're burnt out from teaching then you have no business working in finance... unless the burn out is hatred of children related and not hours related. I'll take 70 hours per week of office work over 35 hours per week and summers off dealing with kids. But that's just me and I hate kids.
You have the hours that teachers work mistaken. As a teacher I put in around 60 hours a week to make my classroom run. I took a couple weeks off during summer, but then was right back to planning for my next group of students as well as professional development classes mandated by the state and district. I also worked through winter break, spring break, and Thanksgiving break. A lot of teachers do. There is so little given to you in the classroom, so basically you have to make and purchase it all. In addition you have to consider the students that you have for the year. The lessons you've had previously may/or may not work on the new set of students. On top of writing student reports, grades, behavior plans, assessments, talking to parents etc. There is also a lack of support from administrators, increased classroom sizes, increase in students who are emotionally disturbed, more mandated laws of teachers having to take more professional development classes (most which I have to pay for), and I am sick of it.On top of that lets discuss teacher pay, when I left a year ago I made a hair over 50k. If I stayed in teaching and the same district by the end of 20 years I would make 65k. It's the only job that I know of that pays you like shit, and then expects you to buy pencils and paper for your classroom because your school doesn't have the budget to provide for basic items in the classroom. So I am burnt out on teaching, but I also had to put in long hours too.
Sounds like you care way more than any of my teachers did. I'm more familiar with the get tenure and just kind of mail it in for the next 20 years type of teacher.
Also, that pay sucks. I know the public school teachers in my childhood school district topped out at like $130k per yr, and that was like 10 years ago. But that was an upper middle income NYC suburb where the cost of living was insane. I thought you'd be able to break at least $75k-$85k per year in most states.
You seem to be a good person and finance kida lacks those so I think you will find your place. Regarding M.B.A it mostly suited for people looking for a leadership role, which will require long hours etc. Do you want that? If not, consider MSc in Finance, it will give you the necessary skill set for a job in Finance and you will be able to chose from a wider variety.
I'm not really looking for a leadership role. IF I were in the field long enough, and one fell in my lap then maybe.I'm looking for something that I enjoy doing. That is semi-flexible with my hours, i.e. if my child is sick, I can do the work at home, and won't physically and emotionally burn me out.
Have you ever considered engineering? It is more cosntrucive than finance... I thought about suggesting accounting, but even accounting should require long hours from yours.
Anyway, people who I know which are analysts at engineering firms are quite more satisfied with their jobs. And some guys on Civil Engineering too. Even those who do research into engineering field do look very satisfied, to me.
I've never even considered engineering. How would you enter the field as a career changer with BA in management 10 years in education?
Well, I think project management should fit well. I mean, you get your degree in engineering and meanwhile you get a specialization into project management. It should be a great combination, specially for you. I think you won't have much of a dificult time while doing this. Because, I think you'll do well with the learning, and you have maturity and will sure be able to talk to people, make things go right, may be able to make good decisions because you do well with finance, economics and business in general. You may be also good at research, if it does interest you. There are lots of guys who have done it all and after decades of career just decide to take-on a doctoral degree while they continue to do their work at the companies they actually work for...
It's a pretty large field, and you'll have plenty of options. I think you would feel pretty confortable about the general options thing. Specially in times when you need to have a more balanced time.
If you think UTSA would be the best option, i would reach out to alumni of the program that work in the industries you are interested in. This will give you a better feel for what the work/life balance is going to be.
I'm somewhat familiar with UTSA and I would advice against getting an MBA there. Their class profile stats will be skewed because a lot of companies (Valero, HEB, USAA, NuStar, Tesoro) pay for some employees to get MBAs but will stay within their respective company post-grad and therefore won't be recruiting for jobs post graduation. These companies often have a pre-req to have an MBA to move up to a certain mgmt position so these employees are just trying to check a box. There is going to be big difference in opportunities between Rice, UT, and SMU vs UTSA. Breaking into Real Estate, using USAA Realco (the biggest shop in town) as an example will be an up hill battle, as they don't even recruit there (at least for asset mgmt) for the most part and stick with TAMU mostly and an assortment of other high tier schools. With no experience you'll need to leave SA most likely, or just take a gamble and hope for a lucky hit. PM if you have any questions. If you did a masters in acct there you could do pretty well around the city, if that's on your radar.
I live in SA as well and I agree that while UTSA is a good university, I don't see it as a competitive option for a MBA. I think it's the best option in town for undergrad. UT Austin seems like your best/closest option for an MBA, but that would mean moving closer, or commuting. Like the user above said, an accounting degree from UTSA would be pretty useful. Everyone needs accountants.
Some of the larger banking/finance employers in town are USAA, AllianceBernstein (meh), and Capital Group / American Funds. Depending on your position, work/life balance, insurance, time-off would be pretty great. I know the least about AllianceBernstein. I interviewed there and from what I gathered, there's not much room to grow and people don't seem as happy working there.
Have you ever considered being a realtor? If you want work/life balance that's hard to beat. It sounds like you have the ability to go a year or two without income which would give you time to get up and running. And you've probably got a good network of potential clients to start with (teachers). I have a personal friend in town who changed careers around 40 and started real estate and does very well.
Feel free to PM as well if you have any questions.
This forum has been extremely helpful. Thank you to everyone who has responded to my questions. I've concluded that finance may not be a good route because of the work/life balance. I've got a child and my husband is gone six months out of the year. According to some responses accounting could be a good route? It's another avenue I can research. I've also been looking at Human Resource Management. People have been mentioning schools. I figured that the state universities would be good options. Obviously not so with a MBA.
As far as I'm aware all of my accountant friends work outrageous hours. Less than banking, law, and consulting but still frequent 80-hour weeks.
HR seems incredibly good for teachers in general, as you probably have very strong interpersonal skills.
Have you thought about financial advising? You seem like a go-getter and probably have good interpersonal skills. As far as schedule, it is entrepreneurial so you set it. However it requires hard work until you build your book. I interned with an advisor, great lifestyle.
Being a woman is an advantage as well. HR is also a great option. Good luck.
Have you thought about doing corporate finance? FP&A and Senior Financial Analyst roles pay pretty well for the hours you put in. 80K-100k is possible and most folks work 40-55 hours per week....In 10 years you make your way up to manager and senior manager making 150k. Big 4 accounting will crush you with all the travel and the pay might not be that much better.
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