London -> US/Texas MBA - Am I Crazy?
Hey Everyone,
I'll keep it sort of vague. I'm a former expat brat, having been raised in Australia, Germany and Italy (Australia through primary school, then Germany and Italy). Went to the UK for uni and have been here ever since (now late 20s) working in audit/accounting. I'm not Australian, but have EU, US and now UK citizenship.
Bottom line is that I'm not satisfied (whatsoever) with my savings (lol), salary or my career, and particularly the long-term trajectory of all of them. Tried to recruit for consulting/finance opportunities out of uni, wasn't successful, and now I feel as though London has significantly fewer opportunities even compared to when I started working 5 years ago. My niche of accounting can eventually pay ok'ish (£120-£150k max career earnings potential outside of audit), though obviously nothing like client-facing roles and nothing that would lead to 'international school' level outcomes at all. More important than the money though is the fact that I really don't like this career, and I'm sort of horrified that I'm somewhat stuck here and that it will be very hard to get out of this hole that I've dug for myself. It keeps me up at night and I can honestly say that I've begun less confident in life/with girls because of this stress and haven't been able to enjoy time off/holidays/hobbies because of it.
An obvious way out is to take advantage of my US passport (which has only been a burden thus far) and do an MBA there to change careers. I've been told I'd be competitive for T15 and somewhat competitive for some of the lower M7 (the 2 Chicago ones). I've recently discovered an arbitrage opportunity whereby I could apply to McCombs and Rice, get a full scholarship and get into oil and gas investment banking in Houston. I wouldn't have any debt in this scenario (as opposed to $160-170k at any other decent MBA, which is another source of immense stress/fear for me) and would make >$200k all-in post-MBA with the potential to move back to London in a more senior role after 2-3 years if I wanted to. I would genuinely be interested in that job and sector as well, by the way, more so than almost any other post-MBA role.
But guys, this isn't really a post about MBAs, this is more of a lifestyle post/cry for help. My only goal in life - really - is to go on more cool trips and set myself up financially for a well-off, upper-middle-class'ish life (however that's defined) further down the road for when I have kids while doing something somewhat engaging/interesting (which accounting is not). But this is really extreme (both the MBA in general and especially this arbitrage opportunity in Texas). I've never lived in the US before, and honestly guys, I'm really sorry and I hope no recruiter reads this, but Houston looks really, really ugly! Life in the US sounds stressful with the healthcare, live-to-work culture, car-centric culture (we had a car everywhere we lived, but driving along the beach in Perth is very different ...), how expensive/precarious it is, etc. I'd need to leave really frugally to even save up for day-to-day living expenses (my parents have agreed to pay rent wherever I do the MBA, thank God), and I'd have to live frugally'ish during the MBA as well. I think I take a lot of things that Europeans/Australians have for granted (natural/urban beauty, healthcare, broad social cohesion, etc.) and even though I'm sort of bored here in London, I don't really have much to complain about in terms of my actual "life", which I feel would be worse in the long-run over there (especially in Texas). It's not strictly true, but it sort of feels like I'm selling everything that makes life worth it just for the money (and even that would be for a non-guaranteed future outcome), and I don't know if it'll be worth it, though the opportunity to change careers semi-reliably is very, very appealing.
Have any other Europeans/Australians debated this before? Could anyone share any insights?
This person seems to be facing a classic career vs. lifestyle dilemma. The MBA with a scholarship offers a low-risk path to a high-paying, engaging career, but it involves short-term sacrifices (living in Houston, U.S. cultural differences). They should weigh the potential long-term benefits (career satisfaction, financial security) against their quality-of-life priorities. Exploring alternatives within the UK/EU or speaking with people who've taken similar paths could provide clarity. Ultimately, they need to decide if the trade-offs align with their vision of an ideal future.
ChatGPT? bro come on
You posted this on reddit as well.
OP, you have to make the decision for yourself.
Look at the career outcomes of the MBA program and then apply accordingly.
Wouldn't it be easier though to get a MSc in Finance?
Bruh he has 5y work experience and US Msf programs don’t have a pipeline to a guaranteed job like MBAs do… this is bad advice
He's based in London which is why I said MSc in Finance.
The UK sucks you should leave
You have infinite wisdom and should be lauded and applauded.
How are you sure you can get a full ride at McCombs or Rice?
If it’s funded do it. No risk, all reward. Worst case scenario you’ll have some cool life experience. If you truly get a full ride to say Rice or UT you can easily recruit for a FT job in say consulting where post MBA salaries at even Big 4 is guaranteed $225k+ which is like £175k already. Also in TX you’ll get taxed like 15% less than the UK and COL is less in a place like Houston/Austin/Dallas vs. London by probably 25%
i'm curious, why texas?
Houston is ugly, no doubt about it, and I live there. The reason to attend Rice ( itself decently pretty) is to launch into a very different career path, one that is fast-track and competitive. If you are not 100% sure that is what you want and you are already pushing 30, do not do it, as it will require a significant sacrifice of your time and effort. You sound like you have enough doubts about the details that it isn't going to work for you.
You should explore MBA programs outside of Texas. It sounds like you are pigeonholed right now and looking to get yourself out of it with an MBA. Go to the best school possible and don’t worry about the debt. If you follow a structured recruitment process in banking at a T15 school, your student loans will be paid off easily. Going to a school not in Texas will also not pigeonhole you into the location and the oil & gas sector. Go to a school in the northeast and recruit for generalist banking programs is my advice.
Thank you for the advice, I am definitely worried that Texas would pigeonhole me, and having done more research, I can see that this leap would only really be worth it if I got into something like Booth/Ross/NYU. Would you say the same thing RE: the debt if I wanted to go into consulting instead?
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