MBA work experience --- Is this enough?

I'm thinking about making a career transition from engineering to financial advisory/ consultant type of roles and hoping to get into one of the top 15/20 MBA schools. With a Fall 2017 start date I'll have about 2.6 years of experience at a F50 Aerospace Engineering Company in their engineering rotational program. I'll finish my rotation as well around that time which is why it'd be perfect timing to start my mba. I also have 7 months of coop experience with the same company in which I drove 90% process improvement to one of their competitive analysis procedures and helped the company earn a .25 million project.

Talking to few career counselors at some of the Boston area schools I received mixed recmendations about counting my coop experience as part of my work experience. If I count my coop experience it'll give me 3.2 years of experience which is in the ball park of what the top schools want. But without counting the coop I'll have 2.6 which isn't "desirable" at the top schools.

So I was wondering what WSO members think? Is it enough or do I need more experience to get into one of the top 15/20? I have 3.4 in Mech Engineering and aiming to score a 700 or more on the GMAT.

3 Comments
 

Porro eos iure aut. Quia magnam qui tempore provident est sed voluptatem. Soluta corrupti voluptatum tenetur et debitis repudiandae et. Ipsa in soluta facere quis temporibus.

Eius nisi doloribus est eos at. Qui aspernatur explicabo animi ipsa eos ratione.

 

Blanditiis incidunt optio ipsa veniam. Blanditiis accusantium consequuntur molestiae rerum ut quia voluptatem. Adipisci consectetur ut illo laborum voluptatibus sint et.

Aut ut quos vel alias deserunt ut. Magni recusandae ipsa iure ad consectetur culpa error. Laborum dolorem aut qui eos nostrum modi dolorem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”