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MBA After 8 years to switch career!

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MBA After 8 years to switch career!

by vinnakota5 » Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:38 pm
Dear Friends,

I am Murthy from Chennai. I am a Mechanical Engineer with 8 years of work experience in assessing the automobile materials hazardous compliance. My field is very narrow and esp. in India it has got very limited opportunities. I would like to switch over my career to Finance by doing MBA. I am preparing for GMAT. Some of my friends told that, switching career after 8 years is difficult even if one does MBA. Is it correct? Does MBA not open gates for shifting of my career? Please advice.

Many thanks in advance.

Best Regards
Murthy
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by Tani » Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:38 pm
Hi Murthy,

Changing careers is difficult. An MBA can certainly help, but you risk having to start at the bottom. Your best bet is to find a way for your MBA to build on your existing experience. Admissions committees are very skeptical of people who simply want to use the degree to escape from fields they don't like. You will have to be very convincing in explaining why you want to change, why the field you are targeting will work for you, why you will enjoy that field and why you can succeed. That is particularly difficult if you have very little exposure to the field you are seeking to enter. Finance in particular is such a broad term that you will have to show that you understand the different areas and know which one you want to pursue and why.

Even with a strong MBA, you will be starting in the same position as other MBAs who have no finance experience. In fact, you will be starting behind those who have worked in finance before receiving their MBAs unless you can find a job that builds on your prior experience. That doesn't mean you shouldn't get an MBA, simply that you need to be aware of the level that you will be qualified for once you finish your studies.

Good luck,
Tani Wolff
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by vinnakota5 » Tue Jan 25, 2011 9:14 pm
Hi Tani,

Thanks for your response. My basic objective is to expand my career opportunities, while I am not so keen at Finance. I do understand that I will be behind the other finance grads after completeing MBA in finance. What if I opt for MBA in general management which is applicable for any industry. Will that be a good way? Were there any proven examples who have utilized thier MBA degrees for expanding thier opportunities from a narrow field?
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by Tani » Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:13 pm
Many MBA students use their degrees to change or expand their fields. You might try tapping into the student blogs and ambassador programs from some of the schools you are interested in. They can give you recent examples of the types of career changes that are made.

I highly recommend you do some research on what fields are like before jumping into an MBA program. It would be awful to spend two years and a small fortune getting an MBA in finance and then finding out you didn't like the work. Try taking a night course at a university near you in one or more fields that you think would be interesting. Also, if you are not totally focused on a single field, look for a school that has a broad required core curriculum first year. That will ensure you are exposed to all key functional areas before having to commit yourself to a single discipline.

Good luck,
Tani Wolff
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by vinnakota5 » Thu Jan 27, 2011 1:02 am
Thanks Tani for your advice. I will do some research on the options and the colleges.
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