Looking to break into banking, planning on getting my MBA from BU/Bentley/Babson in their evening program (I work in Boston and don't want to quit my job). My question is this: will employers in banking care if my MBA is evening vs. full time? (I realize the best case scenario would be to get my MBA from a target school, but Harvard does not have an evening MBA program). Also, do I really need an MBA at all or should I just apply and work my way up?
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You need to search this site because this has been covered in detail. Short answer- Stay away from the night program. If you want banking you need to do the best FT program you can get into to get into a normal recruiting cycle. Without the MBA and recruiting cycle you will not get interviews.
Largely agree with Gekko. The only exception I would note is that if the banks aren't coming to your school (and thus networking is the only way to break in regardless) you won't be a noticeable outlier. But if banks are coming on campus you need to go the full time route.
Thank you both for your responses, I swear I'd be lost without this site. I guess I'll apply to HBS and Dartmouth full-time MBA programs and see if I get in. Obviously if I got into HBS I would quit my job without thinking twice. Babson has a good reputation and they have a night program, and Cornell has an Executive MBA program as well, so if anyone has any insight to these programs and if there are actual recruiting opp's out of these, that would be great.
The big problem is that I've already got a Director level job that pays very well, but I don't see myself in this field for much longer as I want to break into banking/S&T/consulting. I know banking rewards people with MBA's and consulting does too, but I've heard from multiple sources that you don't need an MBA in S&T.
Out of curiosity, what industry are you in at the Director level that would make you want to move into banking?
Exactly what gekko said, I've heard this from MBA professors. They say the only time you want to do evening MBA is when you plan on staying with your current company even after you graduate.
I work in IT Staffing and Consulting, and I seem to have reached my peak here. I could transition to another firm for more money but fundamentally my job will not change much. Basically, I am bored with it at this point and want a new challenge.
Bentley University offers MBA programs with a flexibility that could work for you. As long as you complete the course, it really doesn’t matter whether you did it as an evening or as a full time course. Bentley University has a great reputation – the part-time (evening) MBA program ranked #36 in the nation and #3 in New England according to the U.S. News & World Report.
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