MBA right out of Undergrad vs MBA + Work Experience

Hey, I am a high school senior and prospective finance major with the goal of working for a major investment banking firm and then moving on into either venture capital or private equity. I wanted to hear what are the pros and cons of getting my MBA right out of my undergrad vs getting it a few years down the road. How would it affect future job prospects and which is the "better" route?

 

Do not get you MBA right out of undergrade.

Cons: 1) If you want to do IB, you'll recruit as an analyst if you have zero work experience 2) Virtually all top business schools require work experience as part of the application--the one exception may if you do a JD/MBA--your chances of getting into a top business school are low right out of undergrad given they want you to be able to bring your work experiences to the learning environment 3) For many people, business school is the last gate where you can truly change careers or affirm your actual career--if you haven't tried finance before then and find out you hate it, it's much more difficult to switch fields if you can't go the MBA route 4) In many ways an MBA is like college 2.0--except you have spending money and realize how terrible working is so you actually appreciate it. Go when you've burned out after a few years to recharge you batteries.

I honestly can't think of one pro of getting your MBA right out of undergrad--you may think "I get it done quicker" but again, you will only be eligible for analyst jobs (opposed to associate jobs) so you really just delay your undergrad recruiting two years.

My advice--focus on undergrad; if your school allows you to petition into MBA classes take advantage of that (I took MBA accounting as a college senior), nail recruiting and do well as a first year analyst. From there, you may get to go to PE/VC directly and never need an MBA, you may go the PE/VC route and work a few years before your firm sends you for an MBA (and pays for it), or you may decide, hey I don't really like this finance thing and go back to get your MBA to do tech, marketing or something else.

 

Yes but what would be advisable if I don't go to what is considered a "target school"? So far I have applied to 15 schools, the main ones with which I am considering are: Fordham (accepted), Bentley (waiting on decision and it is my number one), Villanova (deferred), Fairfield (accepted), and UCONN (if I really had no other option due to money). Also, how long would you say to work before going back to get your MBA? I don't want to wait 10-15 years before going back to B-school. But thank you so much for the points you mentioned though, it was very helpful!

 

There are plenty of threads that talk about recruiting from a semi-target or non-target that you should ready but essentially it means you'll have to do a lot more leg work on your own as far as getting to know firms and networking, since firms wont have dedicated resources to your school. I don't really know much about Bentley but do know that Villanova and Fordham get people into IB analyst roles. Non-core doesn't mean it's impossible to get a IB job and the fact you're in the NE and can easily travel to NYC to network helps.

As AllDay said below, if you strike out on IB from a non-target your best bet is to get the best job you can, knock it out of the park, get good recommendations, do well on the GMAT, and then go to a top 20 MBA program. It really is extremely difficult to get an IB job outside a top 20 school (and would attempt to do top 15 honstly). An MBA from any of the schools you listed above won't help you at all and b-schools tend to accept people from a broader spectrum of undergrad schools (given the rest of you application is sound)---and once you have a top mba, banks no longer care where you went to undergrad.

 
Best Response
IlliniProgrammer:

You will be eligible for the same roles as out of undergrad.

This is largely true. There might be select roles that allow you to negotiate a slightly higher salary but by and large having no work experience disqualifies you for most post-MBA roles. This is why top MBA's require work experience.

Don't be afraid to go outside of OCR and look at smaller firms if you can't stomach the smaller pay check. A smaller company that doesn't actively recruit on campuses may find more value in your master's degree. There's a lot to be said about getting a good F500 on your resume too though, it's a tradeoff.

Something else to keep in mind - after graduating, you will lose the opportunity to attend a top MBA program later. In your shoes I'd serious consider my future prospects of getting into a top 20 program (GPA, GMAT and how well you think you'll perform on the job/what kind of roles you think you can get) and consider dropping the program/going to work now.

A free MBA is very easy to pass up if it doesn't do anything to advance your long term interests - same network as undergrad, same starting pay, it will never get you a promotion, it sounds like you got sold a bad deal. I'm dropping $200k on a top MBA right now but my salary after school is going to be 2-2.5x what I made before. Pretty much everyone in my program could have gone to lower tier schools for free. Minnesota and IE (in Spain) offered me full rides and I never even applied or contacted them. They won't fulfill my career goals and the name on my resume would close more doors than open them (especially Minn).

Of course, I don't know what your situation is so I can't judge, but you should at least be thinking through these things. The decision to get your MBA requires a cost/benefit analysis. Not just a cost analysis. And a very small part of the benefit of an MBA is the actual coursework. You can learn how to do a DCF by taking CFA level one or buying a book.

Also, if you're going into finance, having a shitty MBA is a liability, not an asset. Top 20 is good, top 7 better, and there's usually 1-2 regional schools that are well regarded for finance in your city but that won't be worth jack shit if you ever move.

 

this is seriously a dumb question that doesn't take any energy to ask!

If you still have a brain, please contact a few MBA admissions consultant for it. I know night classes are hard with daytime work, but you'll screw yourself with this type of ask-away attitude for your own career development.

 

slim...you have to have had some sort of work experience to talk about, stellar grades, stellar standardized test scores, and a damn good reason as to why you're doing this (other than saying i want to make more money right away)

 

You could get in, but honestly it's really tough to get a good job without work experience. Plus I would say you're cheating yourself if you don't get some work and life experience first. B-school is very meaningful if you have some experience that puts the teachings into context, if you don't have the context its just more school.

 

I seriously considered it, but I've found that after two years experience I have a lot more to contribute to the experience. Besides it gives you a chance to try an industry and decide if that's really where you want to be over the long term.

 

That seems to be the consensus on these boards

If your dreams don't scare you, then they are not big enough. "There are two types of people in this world: People who say they pee in the shower, and dirty fucking liars."-Louis C.K.
 

If you don't have any experience, MBA business schools">M7 will not make much of a difference, unless you are some sort of superstar, which is not the case with most top MBAs. Employers look for people with experience because they look for maturity - you can't learn that. I think that an MBA is worthless unless you want to change careers and you can't do that without an MBA or are an international who needs a US degree to break into the US job market.

 

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If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

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