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Chronology of Events

1. Came to US in Aug 2008 to pursue Masters in Mechanical Engineering
2. Graduated in 2011 and started working from May 2011
3. Have a valid H1B visa (1st term of 3 years ends in September 2015)
4. Plan to pursue MBA from September 2015
5. Undecided about Full time or Part time


This is the question I am having a question in my mind since a long time and would really appreciate if you can help me decide. Of course I don't expect you to do my job for me but a suggestion would certainly be welcome.

Situation1: Full time MBA. What I need to do for that is, change my visa status from H1B to F1 (full time student visa), give up job security which I currently have and take the risk of going for a job hunt again post MBA. The pro in this is that I think I will be able to change my field. Currently I am in Engine component Design and who knows after MBA, I will probably be in a consulting management firm and hence get a significant salary raise assuming I am able to secure a job.

Situation2: Part time MBA. I keep my visa status. I take up Part time MBA and continue in the same field. Maybe get a slight salary raise. This is certainly a safer option. But the cons are that I have listed above.


I would like some advice from people who have gone through this situation or even if you know anyone who has gone through this situation. I highly appreciate your advice and looking forward to some.

Regards
Nikhil

Tough choice. The competitiveness of your application bears on your decision. You might know this already (but for readers of the post), you have 12 months following graduation to remain on F1 status while looking for employment.

Scenario 1 - Very competitive application for Top 10 full-time MBA program.

If you were to be graduating from a top MBA school your chances of post-MBA employment in the U.S. go up dramatically.

Scenario 2 - Very competitive application for Top 11-20 full-time MBA program, but Top 5 part-time MBA program.

You might be in a city with a top part-time program and not be competitive enough any way to go to their full-time program. If so, check to see how good their part-time MBA Career Services is at helping to place international students. For example, NYU Stern has a Part-time MBA Career Center - https://www.stern.nyu.edu/programs-admis ... fessionals. Also, check to see the policy on part-time MBA students interviewing for full-time positions.

Scenario 3 - Not a very competitive application.

The decision is more complex but starts tilting more towards the part-time program because your chances of post-MBA sponsored employment go down.

Hope this helps.

Good luck,

Michael

Thank you very much for your reply. I am in Detroit and the Ross school of business has a pretty good part time MBA program in two formats. So that's an advantage i have. My concern is I want to switch my career from Mechanical Engineering to something like Finance or Management Consulting.


From what I have read it is not very easy to switch careers in a part time program. Like you wisely mentioned about checking out the career centers for placing international students and I have to check that about Ross. For Ross part time, the acceptance rate is pretty high as well so, without being overly optimistic I can say that I have a fair chance of being there.


One more question I have is this: I used my 12 month OPT post my MS in Mechanical Engineering. Do I get an OPT period again after my MBA?

I appreciate all your help


Regards
Nikhil

From Ross' Student Career Services Contact Page (https://www.bus.umich.edu/StudentCareerS ... ntacts.htm) there is a Part-Time Career Consultant. I would recommend you email or call her with your questions.

Or just go to a Part-Time Info Session. Here is a schedule of their Part-time MBA Events (https://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/PTMBA/Events.htm).

The specific visa question I will defer, as I do not know the answer to it.

Have a great weekend,

Thanks a lot for your valuable suggestions Michael. I highly appreciate them.