Best ways to research post-MBA career paths?

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I'm currently researching MBA schools, and doing some soul searching to figure out what I really want to do post-MBA. I'm struggling a little with the different options, because I'm not really sure what those different post-MBA functions - Finance, strategy consulting, marketing - really come down to. I guess I'm looking for some kind of 'A day in the life of...' picture on the different functions, to assess myself. Of course, I understand them at a high level, but not to the extent I'd like to at this point.

I suspect talking to grads and alumni is probably the best way to figure all these out, but are there any books/links that you all are aware of, which clearly speak to these functions/options? Before approaching people, I want to make sure I've read enough to ask intelligent and specific questions. I did Google around a little bit, but some of the "gold standard" books such as 'The McKinsey way' appear to be, well, 'old' (that particular one's from 1999), and I'm pretty sure some things have changed quite a bit, if not a lot. Does anyone think this is still a good book to read to get a hang of management consulting?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
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by student22 » Sat May 15, 2010 10:24 am
For any kind of finance - specifically i-banking, private equity, or sales and trading, look at this guy's blog: https://www.mergersandinquisitions.com. It's one of the best I've seen for going over the "day in the life" of each of those career paths as well as transitions from different careers into finance. Worth checking out.


As for anything similar for management consulting or marketing, I can't suggest anything since I'm leaning more towards finance.

Actually, it might be a good idea in general to google for blogs on other career paths. Usually they give a much more personal perspective to them than other types of websites. https://blogsearch.google.com

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by metalhead » Sun May 16, 2010 1:02 pm
Thanks a lot! That blog sure looks like a window to the Finance world!

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by money9111 » Mon May 17, 2010 8:42 am
also... look at people who are where you want to be... and see what they have done
My goal is to make MBA applicants take onus over their process.

My story from Pre-MBA to Cornell MBA - New Post in Pre-MBA blog

Me featured on Poets & Quants

Free Book for MBA Applicants


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by aveekguha » Tue May 18, 2010 7:43 am
Agree with above, employees/acquantainces are best bet.
Most of them now actually have day-in-the-life profiles on their websites.
Have done some work in the field myself -- you can contact me with questions if you would like [email protected]

Aveek Guha, President, www.mbadaycamp.com

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by Ttronn » Fri Jan 07, 2011 7:34 am
I know this isn't the most timely advice considering this question originated over half a year ago, but I was recently in the same situation knowing that I wanted to go to B-School but not entirely confident that I knew enough about the various post-MBA career paths to acurately determine what I aspired to attain for myself. I was directed to www.vault.com and told to take a look at some of their publications for in-depth information regarding certain post-MBA industries or career functions. Since I only knew generally what my interests/strengths/weaknesses were but not how to paint those into a post-MBA career path I opted for the MBA Career Guide. It's a 280 page e-document that provides insight into a very wide variety of industries and post-MBA functions that I found extremely useful. I'd highly recommend it to anyone that hasn't narrowed down their prospective career focus to a single role or industry.

Just as a disclaimer, I wanted to mention that I am in no way affiliated with Vault and that this publication is not free. I had to pay $12 for it (if I remember correctly) but it was well worth it. I hope this post will be of help to someone

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by PurpleReign » Fri Jan 07, 2011 10:09 am
Wetfeet has a good cursory guide to different industries and job functions:

https://www.wetfeet.com/Careers---Industries.aspx

I'll have to check out vonage.

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by vaibhavj » Sun Nov 18, 2012 10:39 pm
Wetfeet has amazingly detailed information. Thanks for sharing that link.