New to this

[jymalchi]

To Whom it May Concern:
I am just starting to think about an MBA and trying to figure out the best path for me. I had an inspiring discussion with an EMBA student from Kellogg on the plane the other day that really got me interested in a program like that. I am a bit confused where I fit in and what I would need to make sure I put myself in the best position when I finally apply. I went to undergrad at Union College in Schenectady, NY and graduated in 2003 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (GPA 3.6). I went on to graduate school and received my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2007 from Penn State University (GPA 3.9). After my Ph.D. I decided to go into industry and got a job at an aerospace consulting firm working with rocket engines on the technical staff. I have been doing that for 2 years now. I like the technical side, but I am also very interested in the business and management side. I have always been told that I have a more outgoing personality than the "typical" person with a Ph.D. in Engineering and that I am really good at working with people. I think an MBA will be an excellent compliment to my technical background.

I am confused about whether or not I need management experience before I apply for an MBA. Also, do MBA admissions programs count my years doing my Ph.D. work as work experience? Will having a Ph.D. give me any advantage in the application process? Would you recommend holding off until I have more work/managerial experience? I really liked the idea of an executive MBA and the guy I talked to on the plane couldn't find one bad thing to say about it. From reading on the internet, it seems EMBA students usually have extensive managerial experience. Does this make me not fit for an EMBA? I am assuming my first step is to take the GMATS, is this a good starting point? Thanks for your help.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear jymalchi,

I encourage you to continue to do your research to learn more about what business school is, what you learn, what graduates do, etc. It will greatly help you to determine your rationale for why you want to go to business school which will be key to your applications. I agree that an MBA would be an excellent compliment to your technical degrees and that it would be advantageous in a transition to a managerial career path. It would also be helpful if you wanted to transition to more of a consulting, venture capital or marketing career path--all of which I have seen engineers do with great success.

To answer your questions, your time in a PhD program will not count as work experience. Business schools will be interested in why you chose to get your PhD, what you have done with it and how it will be leveraged going forward though. Most executive MBA programs require applicants to have at least 10 years of work experience, but you do not have to have direct supervisory (managing people) experience to be eligible for any MBA program. Based on your post, you have 2 years right now, so if you want to enter business school in the next 5 years, you would be looking at either part-time or full-time MBA programs.

Your PhD will not necessarily be an advantage in the business school admissions process, but it will provide evidence of your academic ability to handle the rigor of the program. A GMAT score is good for 5 years, so you can certainly work towards taking the test as a next step. Once again, I also encourage you to continue doing research on business school and MBA programs.

Good luck,
Lisa

[jymalchi]

Lisa,
Thank you for your help, your responses were extremely helpful. I am going to continue to research different business schools and think more about why I want to pursue this. Do you have any recommendations for resources that describe the differences between business schools and what are the positives and negatives of each? Also, based on my background, do you have any recommendations on which schools I should be looking into? I know I don't have a GMAT score right now, but would you need anything else from me to make a preliminary assessment?

Right now I live in Los Angeles so I would probably be looking into schools out here if I am going to do a part time MBA. If there are others that you think I would fit well in that are not out here let me know those schools as well. Thank you again for your help.

[Lisa Anderson]

There is no one, comprehensive resource out there. You will have to visit many websites, including school websites, and then sort of make your own assessments on the schools. Some of the various rankings have charts of statistics that are nice for comparison data where you can measure aspects of your profile to determine your chances at a program--but this will not be helpful in necessarily identifying what programs might be a good match for you. One of the best sites for research purposes is mba.com (also where you can sign up for the GMAT and research other parts of doing an MBA). This website has information on the greatest number of schools worldwide and you can search on different criteria. You might also check out our sticky on this forum on school selection for tips on how to narrow down schools to figure out what schools are a good match for you.

Regards,
Lisa