Would you stay on after 2 years if you could?

Why not stay on? If you end up needing a b-school degree later on you can always go back and get it. Who knows, you may never need it.

If you get an MBA, make sure it is a full time MBA. If you are going to a top 10 MBA program, I would take it to expand your network, otherwise stay with your current firm.

I'd stay. Definitely does not set you back at all for B-school, and an extra year or two probably would help improve your chances to get in to a top school. I think mas said it well with "Why not stay on?" If you have some reason to not, please share, I'm interested to hear.

Thanks for the responses. There are a few factors I'm considering:

• If I'm aiming for Harvard/Stanford (which I think I have a decent shot for although these things are never certain), these schools are going younger and after 2 years PE I'll have 4 years of work experience total. From what I hear once you're a senior associate or first year VP it's very hard to get into these 2 places. However, given that a lot of H/S grads may actually be looking to go to my shop, it's almost doesn't make sense to give the position up

• H/S aside, wouldn't an MBA degree add to my credibility when sourcing deals, talking to industry contacts, etc? Like I said my undergrad wasn't ivy or major target so that could have an effect. When I say stay on I don't mean stay or another year or 2, I mean stay as long as possible and try to make partner. If not, then seek other options. So long term wise without an MBA, I wonder if it would affect my career path...

Gekko21 - why did you say make sure it's full time MBA? The reason I asked about part time MBA is if I intend on staying with my firm, but want a MBA degree to networking/brand name, etc, would a weekend MBA in the same city be a good idea? Regardless, I'll be aiming for a top 5 MBA, otherwise I will probably not go in the near term.

Thanks again all.

The point of an MBA is to make important contacts, and land a good job, or if you are stuck and need another degree to move up/change careers. Or maybe even to learn something

If you are already in the career you want, have a great job, and have the ability to move up and continue to meet great contacts in your industry, I dont see why you would leave. If you dont feel like you can move up from where you are without it, then get it. a MBA is not required to gain respect, which can be earned at work.

Consider taking and studying hard for the GMAT, and when/if the MBA time comes you will have that part knocked out. Your GMAT score could be a significant factor in your current decision if you score really high/low.

I would avoid the part time MBA as well. It seems to me that if you are going to do it, do it all out. You want all the time you can to network and look for potential opportunities but it seems that a part time program and a full time job would make it somewhat difficult to do everything 100%.

I will be starting a PE gig in a couple weeks and it has been said that it will be a 2 or 3 year position and then I would move on. Originally I felt I would just go to bschool, but I've since decided that I should only go get my MBA if I am unable to find a better position at a better firm. Best of luck with your decision.

Regards

I did take the GMAT already and scored very well. Perhaps that's one reason I'm reluctant to pass up the top schools who look for younger candidates. But I agree that bschool should be saved for career change, when the career path hits a wall, etc.

I wouldn't have to make this decision until next year, so I'll give it some more thought. Thanks guys.

jsut go to Wharton, they're pushing for more students from PE and average age is higher.

or go to a European MBA like INSEAD or LBS, where people on average have 6-8 years of work experience. INSEAD in particular has plenty of alumni in PE and industry. And if you ask me, on a global perspective I think INSEAD/LBS is on par with Wharton/Stanford, with HBS #1.

If most folks would try to go to your shop after h/s then I say stay because you obviously have the brand recognition. If it's a no- name shop and you think you can get in to h/s/w then go to bschool.

Does INSEAD really have that much of a PE presence? From the reviews and posts here it seemed its more into management types and not necessarily huge in Finance. I could obviously be wrong since I don't really know first hand about this.

I've studied the team profiles of the top 30 global PE firms and by far the most represented is HBS, followed by Wharton and then a mixture of schools like Stanford, Columbia, Chicago Booth, etc. In Europe however (both european based PEs and american PEs with branches in London), HBS is still dominant BUT there are a fair amount of people from INSEAD, very very few have I seen from LBS. I think it also depends on where you want to be based after the MBA. If Europe is your choice, INSEAD has great recognition there. If you want to be based in US, then H/W/S is your best bet, since the majority of your network will also be based in the US. If you go to INSEAD and come back to US, your network will be limited since people that go there are very international and tend to spread all over the world after graduation.

if its a top megafund and I absolutely loved my job... then yes.

stay dude....i can tell you that most HBS/Stanford guys coming out in the last couple years, with pre-MBA experience at top PE/VC funds, end up either with no job (that they want), doing something completely different like going corporate or entrepreneurship, or going to a lesser fund.

Yes the economy will get better and hiring will pick up in general, but remember there is a lot of uncertainly in regards to the PE industry's future....I would definitely stay.

MBA is not required to be successful in PE, its a myth.

whether to stay or go to H/S is really determined by the shop that you work for now, and where you want to work long term. for example, if you're at a respected large-cap fund right now, i disagree that you need to go to H/S to make up for your non-target UG, as you are already have "pedigree" on your resume. further, if you like the place you work at, and could see yourself working there for the long run, it makes no sense to not stay. for you to give up 2 years and perhaps a seven-figure in opportunity cost, the MBA has to be able to get you to a place that you otherwise wouldn't be able to get to.

This might have been answered in other forums but I'm asking specifically to add to this discussion. I'm at a mid sized HF and 26 and think I want to get my MBA at some point but don't want to go immediately. Is there an age at which you're a little older than you should be to do a full time MBA at a top school (which I think skew younger?) What should my mental deadline be?