With 10 YOE work experience in alternative investments (think HF / illiquid credit) in portfolio construction / client PM, what are the pro and cons of pursuing an Exec MBA from one of the top schools (Trium, Wharton, Oxford, Chicago Booth, LBS)?
Which one is better to stay in field of finance/entrepreneurship?
Few reasons:
- improve network / soft skills towards managerial roles (assuming no job change)
- start entrepreneurship path / look for seed capital for an investment vehicle
- career pivot? From investment to tech?
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Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are the pros and cons of pursuing an Executive MBA from top schools like Trium, Wharton, Oxford, Chicago Booth, and LBS, especially with your background in alternative investments:
Pros:
Networking Opportunities:
Skill Enhancement:
Career Flexibility:
Cons:
Cost:
Time Commitment:
Uncertain ROI:
Which School is Better for Staying in Finance/Entrepreneurship?
Reasons to Pursue an Executive MBA:
Improve Network/Soft Skills:
Entrepreneurship Path:
Career Pivot:
In summary, pursuing an Executive MBA from a top school can offer significant benefits in terms of networking, skill enhancement, and career flexibility. However, it is essential to weigh these benefits against the costs and time commitment involved. Wharton and Chicago Booth are particularly strong for finance, while Oxford and LBS are excellent for entrepreneurship.
Sources: MBA: Stanford or Harvard?, Entrepreneurship or IB... How do you choose?, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/school/dilemma-quantitative-finance-vs-finance?customgpt=1, Recent grad, super lost. Can anyone give advice/help me choose between an MBA, JD, or MA?, Top 10 Undergrad, Top 10 MBA... Unemployed 3 months, 2 not great offers to decide between
If your company is paying for it? Then definitely do it! If you're paying for it yourself? Almost certainly not worth it. *Maybe* it could pay off if you're desperate for a career pivot, but you mentioned "from investment to tech", and there are very very few tech companies that are looking for a (by the time you graduate) 37 year old MBA with no experience in tech.
Going to tech was the last of the three possible exits, the less likely probably. It’s partially funded by the company and by the university, but I would need to pay the majority anyhow.
If you’re going into entrepreneurship + finance then Chicago wins hands down. Wharton is solid in finance but weaker in entrepreneurship, but that would be my second choice for EMBA.
But let’s all be real, EMBAs are kind of a joke, the coursework is a breeze (especially relative to the regular MBA programs), and it’s really more about networking/partying than it is about learning hard skills. If you are looking for a great social experience and looking for academic credentials then an EMBA is perfect for you, but if you want actual hard skills then you’re probably better off saving $200k and just taking some cheap Coursera class.
Thanks for the feedback, that’s roughly in line with my expectations
Why not just go and get a normal MBA? You would have access to better recruitment.
MBA gets you where I am today without MBA so won’t make sense. I’d rather built a network with a more senior cohort vs 28-30 years old people, and It doesn’t make sense to give up 2 years of total comp + carry unvested worth more than the MBA itself ..
on the finance and entrepreneurship path I think I can get more things out of an EMBA: senior network to increase chances of funding in terms of equity or seed/LP capital.
I am not sure the reasons you are looking at an EMBA make sense for what it offers vs. what you are looking for. The vast majority of people in EMBA programs are going on a free ride paid by their company, usually because the company considers it important to moving up to senior positions. As others have said, the academic/learning experience is generally much less than a full-time MBA. I would also say the same for networking, at a full-time MBA you will make much stronger connections with your peers.
For reasons #2 and #3 on your list, I think the EMBA will be a waste of time and money. It won't enable you to start your own business or get seed capital for an investment. It will not help with a career pivot into a completely different industry, if that is what you are looking for a full-time MBA is your best best.
It would probably help for improving your network and soft skills for managing people at the higher levels of your organization, but not at a level that would justify the cost to you. If you can get your current company to pay for the program and you are confident it will help you climb the ranks even further, go for it. I just don't think it is worth the financial investment if you are paying for everything on your own.
I imagine the admissions at these programs will have much different things to say, which is understandable given they are selling the program to you. But if they indicate you can switch industries or get seed capital, I would ask for data on placement after graduation, salaries, industries people have switched to, companies/role, etc. Full time MBA programs at top 30 schools all have very detailed placement statistics and salary progression of their graduates post-MBA. I have never researched if EMBA programs have this but I would guess they do not.
Good points, I think academically neither of the two ( FT MBA or EMBA) offer particularly strong foundations (coursera is enough here), particularly if you come from a financial economics background as I do.
My view is that for EMBA of quite difficult to estimate the return on investments as it would be driven by some events that are quite rare that might turn the career. Don’t want to be too geeky, but I think median ROIs probably is not worth (as you suggest) it while the mean ROI, could be.. but depends on some rare events with strong outcome. FT MBA is a different story so won’t focus on this here.
Some programs have some accelerators, VC competitions and huge network of founders (within the financial sectors) and backers. The access to this network can play a huge difference in the long term.
I think if I would like to try something on my own, pursuing an EMBA might increase the chances vs the alternative of quitting my job to and going for it straight away… time will tell.
Bezos approach on these topics is around “regret minimization”, which I think is a strong concept that I tend to appreciate.
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