I worked at a boutique for 2 years and currently work at a $3B subsidiary of a F50 company on their corp strat/dev team. Atm, all the associates have MBAs, and I was hired in with an MS. Although they say I don't NEED an MBA to advance, I have considered potentially doing an evening program. There are 2 top 25 PT programs in my area, which would allow me to continue working. My company doesn't provide much assistance with the MBA cost, so I'd be paying most OOP.
Currently, I intend on staying with this company longterm, which may devalue the purpose of me getting an MBA. Of course, the MBA may open up more opportunities outside of the company (always keep my options open). In general, I probably won't get any HUGE pay bump from the MBA if I stay at my current company. I am currently in a promotion track role and I'd likely be promoted within 2-3 years to a manager position on the team or another business unit, So, the MBA doesn't accelerate those opportunities internally.
In the back of my mind, if I left my company, I may go back to IB, and figured I could probably slot in as an A2 given the deep industry experience if their was a right fit. Maybe an MBA would keep this option open?
Thoughts? If I could do the MBA for almost free (scholarships), would this sway the decision heavily?
Sounds like you're doing well for yourself, congrats! If you can get the MBA now then why not get it. It will only help in case you quit or they cut you. But if you're staying long term and you get the opportunity to go into upper management (director+) an MBA could help. If you have the time and motivation to get it now, I would do it.
Later on you might have too many other responsibilities in life or lack energy to do it when you need it. Besides, all of the other associate nerds around you have MBAs, and if you already noticed that someone else might too.
Good Luck.
What sort of schools/type of programs did your colleagues attend? Do they all have 2-year MBAs from top 10-20 programs (for example). The question of whether the MBA is going to benefit you now and in the future at the company you currently work at - depends on whether the PT program you are considering is on par with the types of programs your colleagues graduated from. Will the PT MBA have more brand value/cache than the MS you already have?
Sounds like given your experience you could easily advance at your current company or switch to IB as a seasoned hire. I'm not sure where you were thinking of doing IB - but again, the brand value of the program you're considering needs to align with what that bank typically sees.....otherwise I'm not sure it will provide you much leverage beyond your work experience+MS.
My colleagues/bosses all attended top 25 and one is m7. Everyone says it isn't "needed", and the role preferred MBA, but I have an MS, so I think that helped. So, in the back of my mind, if the MS got me the gig w/o an MBA, I may not need an MBA, for internal purposes. But, if I goback to IB, my MS has no brand value, but one of my local MBA choices is a feeder into IB, so it may be worth me exploring that further. I feel like my corporate development role would trump the lack of an MBA, especially since we are active in M&A.
Sounds like you know what you're doing. If the MBA is a feeder into the IB opportunities as well as a top 25 - so as to be valuable should you stay at your current company - then I think it will benefit you one way or another. But you already know that :)
Best, Leah
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