Dear calical,

It is not impossible to change careers from a part-time MBA program, but your expectations of when you make the change and the effort involved should be adjusted as it is not the same as for those in a full-time program. Because you are working and in school, you do not have much time left over for a personal life much less a job search. Thus you might not be able to really start a job search until after you complete your MBA.

Likewise, you need to clarify with any program you are targeting what career resources/services are available to part-time students. There are programs that restrict or offer different services for part-time students based on the fact that part-time programs are geared to working professionals looking to stay on the same path. This perception is changing at schools, so you might find that most/all the schools you are considering offer the same services to part-time as full-time, but better to know in advance then after you get there.

Finally, the advantage of a full-time program for those wanting to make a career change is that you get a break on your resume from what you've been doing and can do an internship in the industry/field you want to pursue. Additionally, you have the flexibility and time for networking as you are not juggling school and work at the same time.

I encourage you to really study the difference in cost/budget to do a full-time versus part-time program. You might find the difference to be insignificant and worth the little extra in loans to do a full-time program if that is truly what you want.

Good luck,
Lisa