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是不是觉得自己太老了，没人（学校）要了？ 看看下面的故事 I earned an MBA from one of the top 3 (H/S/W) in my late 30s and it changed my life. I feel so lucky to have had the chance to do this. You are NEVER too old to benefit from a top MBA. Here’s my story: I spent most of my 20s earning an advanced degree in a technical field, then in my early 30s I spent about 5 years in positions of increasing authority within the federal government. As much as I loved what I was doing in my mid-30s, the truth was I had developed my career in the government primarily due to a series of external events/taking advantage of great opportunities when they presented themselves, and not because government service was my permanent, life-long calling. I decided to pursue my other career aspirations, starting with a transition out of the government and into industry. The problem that I faced, though, was that I was now pigeonholed based on my advanced technical degree and deep experience in the government - I was looking at a future where I would always be seen as someone who knows about the federal law and how it’s enforced in my industry, and not as someone who could lead a division, become a CEO, or apply an understanding of the broader industry to make high-impact decisions within a company. I knew that I had more to offer than that and it was time to break the mold. But I also knew that I needed to fill some significant gaps in my experience. Having moved straight from academia to the federal government I had never seriously read a financial statement or had to make decisions about marketing, operations, or finance in an industry context. My only investment experience was stashing money in my 401k. I clearly needed to develop skills in running a company if I was going to be taken seriously in that domain at any point in my career. And I was past the point where companies would hire me into a flexible role that would allow me to develop those skills organically. I needed another way to gain that experience and credibility - which led me to an MBA. I took the GMAT at 35, scored in the top 2%, submitted my full-time MBA applications shortly after turning 36, started the program as I was about to turn 37 and finished at 38. In the course of doing this, I transformed my career, landed an excellent job in the private sector with a completely different trajectory, and greatly expanded my knowledge base. The MBA credential changed the range of positions I was considered a strong candidate for, and the H/S/W prestige has had a major impact on my career. It is just not true that there’s an age limit on these benefits. Don’t let the Leah Derus admissions consultant types drive you to give up on your aspirations to change your career through a full time MBA. At all stages of the process, the only purely negative/discouraging words I heard were from admissions consultants. Here are some of the things they said and how that compares to the experience I’ve had: - You won’t be accepted at H/S/W. I was accepted at one of these schools and was offered a fellowship which greatly reduced my tuition expense. In my class there was a group of about 10–15 of us in the same age bracket, and we each have a unique story that led us to pursue an MBA at this stage of our careers.
- You won’t fit in. The average age is around 26–28 in these programs - your classmates will probably be younger than you in general, but they’re also highly intelligent people with a lot of experience to offer across different industries. They have a lot to add to class discussions and group projects, and you’ll really enjoy working with them. Plus their enthusiasm and unmitigated sense of potential will be infectious - you’ll start believing that anything is possible again. In addition, most people won’t react to your age (unless you really, clearly appear much older). Most people look about the same throughout their 30s and it’s hard to pinpoint someone else’s age, so you’ll just blend comfortably into the spectrum.
- There’s no way to justify the opportunity cost. When most people make this argument they don’t factor in taxes and the ability to earn some income while in an MBA program. Let’s say that you earned $100,000 per year prior to business school, which is a reasonable salary for a mid-30s professional. Most people would say that this is an opportunity cost of $200,000. But in reality, over 40% of your income went to federal, state and county income tax and social security. That leaves $60,000 per 12 months that you were actually taking home. An MBA program isn’t actually a full 24 months, either, it runs from Aug or Sept to May for a total of 20 or so months. That comes to $110,000 total of lost out-of-pocket income. And, on the positive side, you will earn about $30,000 in your internship, reducing the opportunity cost to about $80,000. You may be able to earn more through consulting on the side while in school. It’s still a significant cost but not as outrageous as is typically claimed. You only need to increase your income by about $27,000 per year for 3 years to make up for it, and that is entirely possible - after all, you still have 25+ years of your career in front of you.
- Companies won’t hire you when you graduate. In a way there is some degree of truth to this - you are not likely to go through on-campus recruiting to find your next position. Like 40% or so of your fellow classmates, you’ll find or create your next opportunity on your own. And it will work out amazingly well - because the MBA will change how others see you (they’ll assume that you CAN instead of assuming that you CAN’T), and because you’ll have time to figure out exactly what you want to do, expand your network, refine your pitch, and develop new skills while in the program. It’s why you’re there.
- The degree won’t make any difference within 2 years after you graduate. This is absolutely false - these schools have amazing alumni networks, and you will continue to benefit from them and from the credential for the rest of your life.
If it is a part of your dream to earn an MBA to transform your career, then you should do it regardless of your age. H/S/W offer a truly powerful way to re-define what you can do in your life, and that doesn’t expire when you turn 30 or 35 or 40.
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发表于 2019-2-5 09:24:57
