MBA OR?

Hi, I am an electrical engineer with 8 years of experience, worked in power distribution, sustainability and renewable energy. I am planning on doing my MBA next year, it seems like a big commitment and wanted to see what others out there think. I am an energy guy, want to spend my life working in the energy field and specifically renewables “Solar, Wind and energy storage”. Currently thinking of applying to Booth for an MBA since I live in Chicago and Booth is, well , booth. My main concerns are the following.

1- Is it worth it for someone like me with energy interest to do his MBA at schools that focus on finance or marketing?
2- I plan to do this part time over 3-4 years. everyone tells me to do full time MBA , however if I got full time I can only afford to go to Urbana. Which route should I take?
3- Is there one year degrees out there in energy management that basically are MBA’s for people interested only in energy business.

My problem is that my end goal is to open my own business in 10 years, but I feel spending 150K now will make it harder to do that in the future. I have been a technical engineer till this moment, and I believe I can make a much bigger impact if I move into business. Any input is appreciated

 
Best Response

You wrote

1- Is it worth it for someone like me with energy interest to do his MBA at schools that focus on finance or marketing?
The thing about MBA programs, full time or part time, is that you get a strong core education. That includes finance and marketing. You really need to learn something of both. Chicago is definitely known for finance, but that doesn't mean that finance courses at Kellogg are going to be any less interesting or helpful to your career. And same with marketing at Booth.

As far as full-time MBA vs Part time, you'll see people on Wall Street Oasis and other forums say that PT is worthless and that FT is the only way. I disagree. With 8 years of experience, maybe 9 by the time you enter the program, you will find a greater maturity and business sophistication in the part-time program. Since you are not really switching careers, but enhancing careers, I think the PT programs offer a lot of opportunity for you, and will give you specific tools to help you transition from a tech guy to a business guy.

as for the one-year energy program, sounds like an interesting idea. It's not an MBA, but Tulane has a Master in Energy: http://energy.tulane.edu/ There's this University of Colorado-Denver program, but Colorado business school is not that that rigorous.

Might be worth researching Rice in Houston? http://business.rice.edu/energy/ University of Texas McCombs, too.

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 

Well, the question is then what is your PATH to your Long-term goals?? I mean you could go the route of going into an MBA, passing out into a big energy firm, working a few years, gaining management experience and building your contacts and THEN start your firm. You could try instead take a route through energy consulting. Or you could decide 'screw it.. I might as well start my firm now'.

Now the good news is that an MBA especially a top-ranked one will help you with any of these scenarios. The rest is just a question of style, or risk, of financial security...

Meaning, if you get into a Top program with the idea of working in industry 5-10 years after, you can afford pretty much any MBA out there. Of course if you want to get going with your startup right away, then it's harder... cause you will lack the salary to pay off your loans...

But really, it's all up to you.

1- Is it worth it for someone like me with energy interest to do his MBA at schools that focus on finance or marketing? Energy Focus (Rice, McCombs, Haas) might help, but why would you need a Finance focus?

2- I plan to do this part time over 3-4 years. everyone tells me to do full time MBA , however if I got full time I can only afford to go to Urbana. Which route should I take?

Everyone happens to be right. Do a full time MBA. The payoff is greater.

3- Is there one year degrees out there in energy management that basically are MBA's for people interested only in energy business.

It seems to me you don't need an energy program as much as you need an MBA. Kellogg and Johnson are the top one-year programs in the US (there are many other good ones too)

Weelllllll, I hope all this helps, dude!

 

I'm an engineer too (mechanical) thinking about pursuing an MBA and after talking to ppl at my company (F50) who did PT to move from the technical side to the business/ management side pretty much every single one of them agreed that they'd have been better off doing FT than PT MBA. Not that they aren't happy with their jobs now, but they think their ROI would've been much better with a FT than a PT.

But it depends on everyone's personal situation and they had to do PT due to family responsibilities and other personal reasons.

 

MBA is meant to broaden your thinking. It probably won't have deep concentrated "energy" classes specifically.

However, most schools allow joint programs (especially full-times). For example, Kellogg's MMM may be something that could be interesting. Michigan Ross allows you to do other degrees altogether. Probably it's open in many places if you look deep enough.

part-time drags but keeps your salary. full-time could be fun but deletes 2-4 years of your salaries (depending on MBA scholarships!!).

It doesn't hurt much to apply to a good school, maybe you'll get a happy package that you can afford. In fact, the poorest schools have the least aids to give out. At the worst you can just say "No, Thank you"

 

Est maiores reiciendis repellendus officia ea velit veniam. Velit aut non omnis ipsum distinctio in facere ut. Eos aut ut magnam cumque. Optio doloremque aliquam sed.

Consequatur repellat recusandae doloremque quidem itaque molestiae impedit qui. Possimus iure provident vero beatae architecto maxime. Nam in quos corrupti maxime facere ducimus.

Qui sunt et temporibus temporibus similique. Laboriosam alias alias sed ut odit. Id quis voluptas sunt. Aut voluptates voluptatem maiores nam eveniet omnis in. Incidunt adipisci et atque vitae. Voluptas ad voluptas quis consequuntur aut autem facilis non. Eligendi aut vel possimus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”