Hello,
I'm looking for some very broad opinion/advice on my career path and future endeavours. First, a few things about myself:
25-M
Location- NY
Undergrad- Business Administration with concentration in Finance (not Ivy league- SUNY). Graduated 2008, GPA nothing special.
Hobbies- I run Triathlons/Marathons, and I occasionally play rugby.
Volunteer work- havent had much of a chance to do anything significant yet. I'd love to get more involved in the near future.
Career so far- Trade support (specifically trade settlement/documentation) at a large broker dealer.
So, moving on to why I want to pursue an MBA in the future and how I got where I am. Starting with the latter, I wasn't anything exceptional in a traditional sense during college. I was quite active on campus through a few clubs, and I was one of the 'lucky' students who had to work almost full time to pay the bills. As a result, I walked away from school with everything (internships, networking, general 'life experience') with the exception of a great GPA. 3.0 isn't the worst, but coming from a state school it's not spectacular by any means. That said, I felt like I was much better off coming out because I had 'soft' skills and work ethic that was a result of a lot of great experiences I had.
Next step- needed a job. Again, I'd been self reliant and financially independent since I was 18 and I needed to work. I gave some thought to going right to grad school for a masters in economics, but the idea of another years tuition and the lousy market I felt it was time to get some real experience. After a somewhat abbreviated job search- I had originally wanted to be an analyst, but the horrible job market at the time made that an unrealistic venture given my situation. I fortunately stumbled upon my current position, and given a short window to accept the offer I went with it. It turned out to be a great move- I went in with a full head of steam and people took notice right away. I was promoted to Team/Project leader (supervising 6 FTE's) after 9 months and made AVP shortly thereafter. I've had stellar performance reviews, the most recent putting me at the highest level even among colleagues with 4-5 years of experience. I've developed relationships with senior/executive managers and I do have a good reputation. Projects- I did a 3 month international assignment and I've been involved in many other high level initiatives, and my team has grown to ten. I'm looking at another formal move up within the next 6 months, and I can say that I've done just about as much as I could have for how long i've been working.
Why I want to do an MBA- I threw the analyst idea out the window when I realized I liked the idea of the money/status more than the actual work. I love working with/managing people and thats where I've excelled- numbers is part of what I do but certainly not my favorite. I'd like to apply after I have about 48 months of experience, right now I'm far from 'stuck' and I stand to gain a ton of experience in the next 2 years. The main reason is simply that while I like what I'm doing, and I think I would have a lot to offer in an MBA class and I'd take so much from it myself. I'm learning as I go now, but only being exposed to one group of somewhat like minded managers. The idea of spending 2 years working/learning with a whole class of people at my level is tantalizing. It really doesn't have much to do with money- I make more than I could have expected at this point and have no complaints.
Back to extracurriculars, a full time career obviously doesn't leave as much time as we all would like. I'm still running and doing triathlons, but other than that (and a night or two on the town) I don't do much else. I haven't had much time to volunteer consistently, but now that my financial situation has gotten better I do have time and I have some opportunities to do so.
GMAT- have not taken yet, probably this summer just so I can stop thinking about it. I did take the GRE at the end of college and did quite well, 780 on the quantitative section and 740 on verbal. The GMAT is more difficult, but I don't think breaking 700 is going to be a major issue, I do well with standardized tests.
I realize this is quite a broad overview, but as I mentioned I'm not looking to apply anytime soon. I realize that the GPA is an issue (hopefully somewhat offset by a strong GMAT), but I'm hoping my work experience/outside activities are a strong selling point. Unfortunately, as good as my performance has been so far, I'm not going to deny the fact that working at a large B/D isn't exactly unique.
Any thoughts/analysis on my profile as much appreciated!
I'm looking for some very broad opinion/advice on my career path and future endeavours. First, a few things about myself:
25-M
Location- NY
Undergrad- Business Administration with concentration in Finance (not Ivy league- SUNY). Graduated 2008, GPA nothing special.
Hobbies- I run Triathlons/Marathons, and I occasionally play rugby.
Volunteer work- havent had much of a chance to do anything significant yet. I'd love to get more involved in the near future.
Career so far- Trade support (specifically trade settlement/documentation) at a large broker dealer.
So, moving on to why I want to pursue an MBA in the future and how I got where I am. Starting with the latter, I wasn't anything exceptional in a traditional sense during college. I was quite active on campus through a few clubs, and I was one of the 'lucky' students who had to work almost full time to pay the bills. As a result, I walked away from school with everything (internships, networking, general 'life experience') with the exception of a great GPA. 3.0 isn't the worst, but coming from a state school it's not spectacular by any means. That said, I felt like I was much better off coming out because I had 'soft' skills and work ethic that was a result of a lot of great experiences I had.
Next step- needed a job. Again, I'd been self reliant and financially independent since I was 18 and I needed to work. I gave some thought to going right to grad school for a masters in economics, but the idea of another years tuition and the lousy market I felt it was time to get some real experience. After a somewhat abbreviated job search- I had originally wanted to be an analyst, but the horrible job market at the time made that an unrealistic venture given my situation. I fortunately stumbled upon my current position, and given a short window to accept the offer I went with it. It turned out to be a great move- I went in with a full head of steam and people took notice right away. I was promoted to Team/Project leader (supervising 6 FTE's) after 9 months and made AVP shortly thereafter. I've had stellar performance reviews, the most recent putting me at the highest level even among colleagues with 4-5 years of experience. I've developed relationships with senior/executive managers and I do have a good reputation. Projects- I did a 3 month international assignment and I've been involved in many other high level initiatives, and my team has grown to ten. I'm looking at another formal move up within the next 6 months, and I can say that I've done just about as much as I could have for how long i've been working.
Why I want to do an MBA- I threw the analyst idea out the window when I realized I liked the idea of the money/status more than the actual work. I love working with/managing people and thats where I've excelled- numbers is part of what I do but certainly not my favorite. I'd like to apply after I have about 48 months of experience, right now I'm far from 'stuck' and I stand to gain a ton of experience in the next 2 years. The main reason is simply that while I like what I'm doing, and I think I would have a lot to offer in an MBA class and I'd take so much from it myself. I'm learning as I go now, but only being exposed to one group of somewhat like minded managers. The idea of spending 2 years working/learning with a whole class of people at my level is tantalizing. It really doesn't have much to do with money- I make more than I could have expected at this point and have no complaints.
Back to extracurriculars, a full time career obviously doesn't leave as much time as we all would like. I'm still running and doing triathlons, but other than that (and a night or two on the town) I don't do much else. I haven't had much time to volunteer consistently, but now that my financial situation has gotten better I do have time and I have some opportunities to do so.
GMAT- have not taken yet, probably this summer just so I can stop thinking about it. I did take the GRE at the end of college and did quite well, 780 on the quantitative section and 740 on verbal. The GMAT is more difficult, but I don't think breaking 700 is going to be a major issue, I do well with standardized tests.
I realize this is quite a broad overview, but as I mentioned I'm not looking to apply anytime soon. I realize that the GPA is an issue (hopefully somewhat offset by a strong GMAT), but I'm hoping my work experience/outside activities are a strong selling point. Unfortunately, as good as my performance has been so far, I'm not going to deny the fact that working at a large B/D isn't exactly unique.
Any thoughts/analysis on my profile as much appreciated!
