MBA worthwhile?
Hey, I have around 5 years of experience at a FAANG company in a software engineering adjacent role. Currently at senior level but have had challenges moving to management or up to next level primarily due to lack of scope in my org and frequent reorgs.
I’m not very happy with my current situation but it pays well (around $300k assuming current stock price). I’ve been considering an MBA for a while for the network and learning experience across different sectors.
I’ve been pretty interested in finance, trading and business, and can see myself eventually starting or running a business. End-goal would be a C suite type role.
Would an MBA be a good path or are there easier ways to go about this? Coming from tech, can I break into PE or IB with an MBA fairly easily?
It’s not an obvious choice in your case. You’re in a relatively senior role, in a job with better work / life balance than those you would be looking at (banking / consulting), making significantly more money than you would be when you start at those jobs (in 3+ years).
Given the lack of finance experience, you cannot count on a PE offer even from a T3 school. You can always bet on yourself, but have to go in with a realistic expectation that you will have to settle for a few years in IB. You can read around this forum for what that transition will be like, but expect pure misery relative to what you’ve experienced in FAANG engineering. The grass is not always greener.
From my perspective, your best option would be to look into a top EMBA program and see if you can get your company to cover the cost. This could A) allow you to move up the ranks where you are B) allow you to network your butt off to find an investing role, while not sacrificing 2 years of pay to take a rather large step back in terms of comp and title. Food for thought
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