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PhD to MBA: Switching a science career to Business?

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Is a 2 yr program at Harvard better than 1 yr program at INSEAD for a career switch in life sciences industry?

Poll ended at Tue Sep 09, 2008 6:36 pm

Yes
3
75%
No
0
No votes
50-50 (May be. May be not)
1
25%
No idea
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PhD to MBA: Switching a science career to Business?

by srinivasbp » Sun Jun 01, 2008 6:36 pm
Hi there!
I hear that an increasing number of people from the science (research) background - with a Ph.D - are either thinking of making or have already made a huge career switch to Business. How many of them did that with an MBA?? Should one go for the Big and the Best MBA programs (Harvard, Wharton, INSEAD...) or go for a niche MBA programme with specialization? What are the expectations - of employers and the potential rectuits? Success stories??? And many more questions lingering on your mind? Well, i am creating this thread so that interested people can get together and discuss these issues, provide valuable suggestions, air personal opinions, tips etc..... Hope to see a lot of activity sooon....Start hitting the reply button!
cheers,
sri
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by simplyjat » Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:29 pm
There are two types of MBA: progressive and transitional. Progressive are better served by smaller 1 year programs and transitional are better served by bigger 2 year programs.
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by srinivasbp » Sun Jun 01, 2008 9:13 pm
Hi SimplyJat,
What do you think the employers in the healthcare/pharma sector think about this issue?? Because they go to both kinds of schools (1yr & 2yr programs) for recruitment and hire people.
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by simplyjat » Mon Jun 02, 2008 12:50 am
I am not well verse with health-care or pharma industries. But seeing your choice it seems that you are progressive student.

Take some time to read Richard Montauk's book on MBA. He has explained a lot regarding which type of MBA you should be doing.
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by aim-wsc » Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:29 pm
It's more of a career switch, so you should go for 2 years MBA program- get some good internship after 1st year in your desired field & rest will be easy.

niche MBA, joint degree , or traditional MBA I see them equal if you have solid work experience pre MBA.
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by VP_Tatiana » Fri Jul 11, 2008 7:45 am
There are two people in my program (Babson's Fast Track) that have PhD's. One has a PhD in telecommunications but now works in marketing management, and the other is an associate dean of dentistry at a dentistry school. The latter feels that healthcare education needs to apply more modern business techniques, and thus went to school to bring that knowledge to his workplace.

I don't think the bschool decision for PhD's is that different than that for other working profesionals. You need to ask yourself some of the following questions:

-Am I going to work while in school (and thus do a part time or EMBA)?
-Is it important to me to go to school with other people that have a similar level or work experience?
-Do you want a general business education, or do you want to specialize?

I don't think an internship is necessarily the best option for a professional looking to switch careers. Internships are generally targetted to entry-level positions. Some people choose first to transfer to a different division within their current corporation, and others look for a job through their network, their school's career services center, and career websites. I think a PhD and MBA is a knockout combination, and that you should have no problem finding a job.

Best wishes,

Tatiana
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