Getting where I want to go + What to do next. Advice highly appreciated.
Here's a quick bio:
Age: 24, White Male
GMAT: 760 49Q, 44V, 8IR, 6AWA
Edu: CompSci at Mid-Range California UC, 3.32 Cum GPA (Focused on side projects + EBay sponsored senior design project, GPA isn't particularly important in Software Industry)
Work: 2 years Software Engineer at Microsoft, 2 high-quality internships prior
Other: Multiple apps written in iOS Store, Google Play, Windows Phone store
Founder and president of largest Fraternity on Campus, Highest GPA of any social org
GOALS: Career transition into IB. Obvious route is MBA, thats what I plan on. I want to get an MBA business schools">M7 MBA, but I feel like I need to supplement my profile with a bit more work exp. I would love input on the following:
OPTIONS:
1) Take a Product Management job at MSFT for 2 years, then apply
2) Try to get a fresh-grad consulting position at a top firm (McK, or software-centric Accenture).
3) Other? No bank would hire me as an analyst, so that seems out of the question.
Because of the how closely tied MBA programs are with consulting, this feels like the optimal choice? Or will taking a fresh-grad position be a step backwards? After all, some MBA students get their degrees to get INTO Program Management. Is that a better choice because it builds upon my dev experience? More consistent narrative? Some feedback would seriously be awesome.
Thanks.
Accept the product management job then apply as soon as the title change goes into effect. App to UCLA as safety.
Def take the Product Management job at microsoft and see where your options will be (which will no doubt be plentiful considering it's a fantastic gig). When did you take the GMAT? Since it lasts for 5 years you should take advantage of it and try to get some additional great work experience within those years as much as you can and try to apply closer to when the score expires.
I took the GMAT at the beginning of the year - so lots of time. I have no doubt that more work exp will strengthen my app, but if I'm looking to leave software, I really only want to minimum work exp needed for M7, right? Also, thanks for the feedback, really appreciated.
Yeah the PM jobs are in high-demand, so I figure that might be a great bet. Thanks for the feedback on that regard, its all about how much an MBA program will VALUE that exp. And as for why IB... I never really loved software, I'm good at it (as anyone who's good with math and abstract thinking can be), but I honestly figured that if I worked with the best and brightest (MSFT, Google, Amazon, Apple), the quality of coworkers and assignments would make up for my disinterest. Unfortunately not the case. I'm all about long-term scale. I love economics. I love macro. I listen to trading / PE / IB / HF podcasts every day, I track the market and personal account, I just love the whole thing. Absolute worse case scenario, I hate IB, and come back to Silicon Valley, and easily get rehired, this time with a prestigious MBA and Finance background.
I don't want to educate you here but it seem like you don't know what banking is:
economics => nothing to do with banking macro => nothing to do with banking trading => nothing to do with banking PE => difficult as banking associate HF => difficult as banking associate
If you like macro/economics/trading, don't do MBA. If you like HF/Fundamental investment, you can probably do that directly post-MBA (hedge fund/AM specialized in tech).
Also, there is a huge difference between hate coding and hate tech industry in general. Do you like tech industry and just hate coding? either PM or Corp dev or even marketing could be good fit then. You may even be able to land a VC offer given your background.
Not trying to discourage you but there are a lot of choices at post-MBA level. You don't need to have answers now but you will need it before applying to bschool.
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