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MBA with tech focus

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MBA with tech focus

by olso4052 » Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:39 am
Hey there,

I'm interested in pursuing an MBA with a technology focus. There are obvious schools for this - MIT, Stanford, Haas, Tepper, UCLA - but I'm curious what I'd miss by going to another top school.

For example, I'm also currently looking at these other schools:

Harvard
Wharton
Ross
Kellogg
NYU

Now, obviously you take a Harvard admit either way. But what about a school like Ross or Kellogg? They are both well rounded, but don't have the high-caliber technology rep like the others.

In what ways would going to these places differ from the more 'tech' schools. I've looked at the employment reports, and for the most part they are pretty similar. You still see a lot of Google and Apple hires from Kellogg and Ross, for example.

Any input on this from more seasoned vets?
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by essaysnark » Mon Apr 15, 2013 7:44 am
Ha - we probably do qualify as "seasoned vets" so we'll toss out some thoughts on this!!

All good schools for sure, even Ross (one of our personal faves, they don't always get the luv though). The way we'd approach your question is to push back a little: What do you mean by "tech"? That is a really broad category. Are you saying you want to be a consultant in the tech sector? Or you want to do a software startup? Or? Also, what's your current background - are you already an engineer of some sort? These factors matter at least as much (maybe more!) than the known rep or focus of a particular school.

As an example, if you want to go into tech consulting, then we cannot see why Kellogg wouldn't be top of the list. They have deep resources in tech/engineering across the campus, particularly if you consider their MMM specialized Master's with the McCormick School. Even if you were doing a "regular" Kellogg MBA, you'd still be able to leverage some of those resources. Sure, that's more purely "engineering" than "tech" but it's in the same ballpark.

Others could even argue that a much lower-ranked school could be "better" - specifically we're pointing to Foster in Seattle. They have a wealth of tech companies recruiting there (and it's really easy to get in with a strong profile).

So this question really needs to be answered first by you: What do you mean by "technology"? What exactly do you want to do with the MBA?

If you want to expand a bit, we may be able to offer more insights.

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by olso4052 » Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:51 am
First, thank you for the reply. To answer your questions - not sure! Ha, kind of kidding, kind of not.

Anyway, here is a little more info.

I think a short term goal for me is to get into consulting in the tech sector. Strategy consulting for tech firms would be an ideal first job post-MBA. However, after that a lot of things are appealing, and that's one reason why I think an MBA would help. I could see working in or launching a start-up, or doing product management for a tech giant like Google.

Currently I am an applications engineer for a fiber optic company. So I have an engineering education (ME degree), but work in a position that focuses a lot more on product development, customer interaction, and manufacturing.

So I guess flushing these things out, I don't really have a desire to stay on the engineering side of things, but I certainly want to use that background to do the more high-level business things while continuing to work in the technology sector, mainly for superficial reason (like, it's more interesting).

And now that you've got me thinking, I think the main reason I posted this question in the first place is because I'm not really sure what an MBA with tech focus means. Does it involve finance and production issues that are more specific to technology? If so, then I guess those are some of the things I'm interested in. As well as venture capital and connections in the industry.

Also, good advice on Foster. Ideally I'm trying to aim for a high all around school, but it might certainly be a good backup, especially if I can secure a scholarship. Any other recommendations as to how the high ranked non-'tech' schools fit in, or other lower more technology focused programs?
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by essaysnark » Tue Apr 16, 2013 6:31 am
OK, lots to work with now.

There's some argument to be made that if you already have a solid understanding of engineering or a specific area of technology, then you don't need the 'tech' part of an MBA program. Traditionally that's just not what bschools are good at anyway, so why not focus exclusively on the areas that they ARE good at, which is where you are weakest? In other words, go for the best MBA program you get, knowing that it will set you up for a future career on the non-tech side of the house -- which is what this whole transition is about for you, right?

This is particularly true if you want to go into strategy consulting. That's like THE most popular career goal we see these days - it seems like it's what everybody wants to do, and especially all the engineering candidates. It's what the schools are good at.

Our strong opinion is that the focus of bschool should be to prepare you exclusively for the short-term career -- without worry about any "might dos" in the future. None of us have any idea where we'll truly be in 5+ years, and anyway, if you were to study entrepreneurship stuff today (writing bplans, going for funding, etc) then sure, it would be interesting, but if you're not going to actually do a startup right away, how useful is it? That knowledge will fade away and the skills will grow stale. Anyway, there's not enough time in a standard full-time MBA program to study all the stuff you'll want for the immediate-term goal (strategy consulting, in your case) - and plus, the industry will change so much between the time you're in school and whenever you end up transitioning to the long term goal, that what you'll learn during the MBA may be obsolete.

So. Long story short: Focus on the school that's going to set you up for success for the next big step. You're making a significant transition from engineering to consulting - there's a LOT to learn - plus it's super competitive. You want to go to the best school you can get into, in order to have the most opportunities when you're spit out the other side.

For the purposes of your applications, you'll still need to have your goals mapped out through the future (and you'll need to 'pick a lane' - creating/working in a startup, and doing prodmgmt, are all very different paths). But in terms of figuring out which schools are right for you, we find tremendous value in focus.

The only other schools that haven't been discussed in this thread are UT-Austin McCombs and Duke. Both have some strengths in tech as well and could be worth exploring.

EssaySnark
EssaySnark has MBA application guides for HBS, Stanford, Booth, Wharton, NYU and pretty much any other school you can name - including a fully revised and expanded 2015 Columbia essay guide!
https://essaysnark.com/bookstore/
* * * * * * *
The Indians' Guide to Getting In maps out everything you need to evaluate your own profile and select your schools. https://essaysnark.com/ssguide/quicksnar ... ans-guide/
* * * * * * *
MILITARY CANDIDATES! We've got some pro bono offers just for you: https://essaysnark.com/military-mba/
* * * * * * *
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