Junior at MBB nearing the point where I'd have to decide on applying to an MBA vs. staying at my firm and continuing to progress. I'd expect to stay in consulting at least medium-term (i.e., through Manager) and then either stay in consulting long-term or hop to industry corp strategy / PE ops, etc.
On paper is strong (770, 3.9) but demographics + likely average story. I feel confident in M7 but HSW (especially HS) seems like I'd be in "crapshoot" territory.
The opportunity cost of 2 years of lost MBB income is mind-boggling to me. Moreover, on a personal level, I'd be married a bit before hypothetically starting, so the long-distance aspect is also daunting.
Assume that I do not care at all about the 2-year break / travel / friends aspect of an MBA. Can someone make the case for why an MBA makes sense? Would I regret it 15 years down the line in industry when it comes to progressing within a company? Is it only worth it for certain schools?
Thanks!
Most people in consulting who have MBAs that I’ve met emphasize the ‘2 year break’ part of getting an MBA. They were all on the verge of burning out, and an MBA gave them an excuse to stop working for 2 years and have a ton of fun. This seems to be the element they considered most valuable.
Sure, you can add to your network a bit. But I can’t imagine it would be a drastic improvement from what you already have at MBB. Maybe the benefit is felt more when you are selling work as a partner, or if you have a less prestigious undergrad education?
But if you aren’t excited to get an MBA, if you aren’t on the verge of burning out, and if it will make your personal life difficult instead of less difficult, I don’t see the ROI.
Just my personal thoughts as someone in a similar boat.
One reason would be if you went to a very weak undergrad and you wanted to shore up that aspect of your profile. If you already went to an Ivy League or otherwise top undergrad, adding an additional one to your resume isn’t as meaningful as a boost. Considering you’ve already rejected the majority of the reasons that people typically get an MBA from MBB, my initial reaction would be for you to skip it.
Everything ConsultingQs said + Potential promotion and Get a prestigious name on your CV (this one is more like a want than a need).
I like all of the comments so far, I think you're getting good advice. To that I would add some more to the financial aspects. You're right to think about the opportunity costs of that income. In addition to that, think about the debt you are likely to incur over those 2 years.
Personally, that's what always kept me from MBA and I kept my grad studies (non MBA) cheap with all online courses that I paid for outright. It just never made sense for me to take on debt to do a Masters when the post-MBA salary would really not be much difference than what I was already earning (consulting, tech, etc.). Why would I take on (likely) 6-figure debt when my post income was only going to change, maybe, 10k?
So, the financial side is really a double-whammy. You are losing the potential income and taking on debt. That nearly destroys all the ROI you could possibly get from an MBA.
That's such short term thinking though and it only really applies if you seriously think your income potential isn't going to change much with the MBA vs without. As someone who took out a lot of debt and forwent income to get his MBA, I'm not looking at the 5-7 year time horizon, but the 30-40 year one. I was able to shift into an industry that more than doubled my immediate income and set me up for at least 4-5x lifetime earnings. The fact that I'm making more now, after debt service, than I was pre-MBA is enough to justify it.
If you're at an MBB and have the potential to make partner, then yeah, the odds of your comp going up after B-School is slim and your advice makes sense, but it doesn't apply broadly. I just want to point this out for anyone else who is looking at this forum and isn't at an MBB or have huge earning potential early in their career, an MBA can make financial sense in certain circumstances.
You're missing that its all relative to income. Some of us are already making a high salary without the MBA. So it still doesnt make sense because your career (not just short term) earnings are basically near a peak. To both step away from that and incur debt is a massive step backwards. If you're making 50K - get as many MBAs as you want. But for some people it just doesn't make sense.
The general unwritten rule is that is your TC is near 200k and you have no intention of switching industry it does not make sense to go the MBA route. I would wait a few years and if you are looking to pivot to something less standardized (e.g., not another consulting / corp strat role), then use your MBA to make that pivot. Maybe two years from now you realize you really wanna get into VC, particularly within the industry you specialized in within consulting. It would potentially be easier to make the jump coming straight out of your MBA, and also getting a bit of a break before grinding it out at a new firm in a new role.
As others have stated, if you are insecure re: your undergrad and wish to rebrand via a top MBA, that would be one potential (albeit weak) rationale. This is dumb in your case though, as you are already at MBB, which is far more rigorous and prestigious than coming from a target / semi undergrad. As someone who went to a relatively unknown UG, I always find this argument to be flawed. I have met and worked for a C suite exec with a semi target UG and a top 3 MBA and he was fired in under six months. Lesson being you can have a strong resume from an academics perspective but if you cannot execute on the job that is all that matters.
Thanks for this perspective, super helpful.
On the prestige front, if I'm being honest, that was always one of the more attractive reasons for getting an MBA - relatively speaking, it's an easy way to get a top educational brand on your resume. But it's faulty reasoning PLUS I feel like my current firm provides sufficient branding (after all, only a subset of students at [Prestigious School X] will be able to break in).
Regarding career changes, one self-imposed challenge there is that I'd only want to do an MBA under sponsorship, so I'd have to return to consulting for at least two years regardless. Do you think at that point (2 years post-MBA), any of those sorts of career changing benefits become nullified? Essentially, I wouldn't be leveraging on-campus recruiting during my time at an MBA program.
I see your thought process, and think you would need to provide more info on what your ideal career track looks like. If you're a grinder and looking to be a CEO / CFO one day, then Id probably say yeah, get the MBA WITH sponsorship. Have a friend who went HSW --> McK --> HSW MBA --> CEO of top global company. If this is your desired path, definitely speak to someone smarter than me / on a more comparable path to get their $0.02 over mine.
I totally understand the sponsorship element and think that is a huge consideration. If my current employer sponsored and supported me during my MBA, then it would be another story. If you receive 50%+ company funding (not sure what your firm's policy is), then I think it really changes the game.
Overall, I think trying to map out your optimal career path a little more in depth would be helpful. Your GPA and GMAT make you a top competitor at all top M7's, so maybe network with a few guys who went the sponsored MBA route AND also went down a career path you found enticing and see if theyre glad they did it? Bet you right now 90+% of them said that w/ sponsorship it was worthwhile, regardless of if they stayed in consulting or exited.
Edit: Friend's career path actually went HSW --> McK --> HSW MBA --> McK --> CEO of top global company, which is why I thought it was relevant
Helps with breaking into the c-suite and getting board seats down the road, if that's something you're interested in. I'm in a similar position (4 years our of undergrad, working at a MF, happy with comp and don't want to switch industries)... fwiw, I won't be getting an MBA
Do you mind sharing your reasoning for not getting an MBA?
This is one thought that's kept it as an option. Hard to judge especially with the MBA as a degree seeming to become less and less of a "requirement", but I would be frustrated if it'd be the one thing preventing executive level promotion decisions down the road. I notice most execs seem to have a graduate degree of some kind, but that could be selection bias.
Nobody that I've met who's done a MBA (especially at HSW) has regretted it. It brings 3 key benefits - 1) long term option value (people, network, relationships, brand name), 2) two year sabbatical and reflection (don't underestimate the mental health aspects of this), and 3) career pivots (if you wanted to pivot out of consulting post MBA). At H and I can't count how many MBB consultants I met that thought they were going back to consulting but ended up graduating and taking offers in VC, Corp Dev (Google, Amazon, etc.), starting their own search fund, growth equity, and are so glad they did the MBA to open up their perspective.
Thanks a ton for this perspective. Would your thoughts change if I have a self-imposed constraint that I must take sponsorship (i.e., I'd be 100% returning to consulting for two years after and then potentially thinking of exits). Would the MBA experience still help me at this point two years out? (i.e., I won't be able to take advantage of on-campus recruiting)
I think the value proposition of 1/2 is still there. A lot of the sponsored consultants here either go back and do 2 or 3 more years and move onto corporate roles and the MBA helps there. Again, a lot of sponsored consultants think they are going back initially and don't afterwards. I think another way to think about the MBA is that yes it does cost a lot of money but the experiences are incredible (travelling, academics, speakers, stretch experiences, people you meet). I don't think of it as a pure ROI type of calculation. I came from banking as an Associate so short-term it would've made no sense. However, there's so much intangibles as part of the MBA (long-term option value of having a MBA) and overall the experience way exceeded my expecations at H. I think at the end of my life at ~85 years old on a death-bed, would I wish for A) $x more money to pass onto my kids or B) experience that I've had and bar none I would rather have had the experiences.
On the one hand the opportunity cost won't really matter in the long term. It might delay buying a home or something like that but big picture its not really a thing. School is going to be paid for so you won't be going out of pocket that much. You will be able to experiment with your summer internship in a role/industry you like or even risk something entrepreneurial over the summer since you'll have a blue chip job lined up. There is value in that. Another nice thing about school is the amount of free time you have, especially if not grinding and recruiting, to dream up ideas and try to collaborate with others and even get professors help. Its a pretty unique free roll at entrepreneurship.
All that said, its still 2 years without income away from your wife. Part of the experience is hanging out partying going on trips etc which could be more difficult. I think the world is shifting away from the whole MBA pedigree thing, especially if you keep rising up at MBB - that is already pedigree enough. Since you'd be going back to consulting in all likelihood it really is a 2 year hiatus from working that adds some soft value not much. All the classes will probably be pretty basic given your background.
Tough call but either option is fine. You're career likely won't really move the needle much in either direction whether you do or don't do an MBA given your current profile.
Definitely worth it if you can get into GSB or HBS. Below that, some of these comments on lower ROI begin to apply.
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