Hi! I am currently in an engineering role (5 years in) at Microsoft and have been admitted to an MBA from Harvard/Stanford/Wharton. My long-term plan is to be > VP level at a top tech company. Why should/shouldn't I go for my MBA now?
Are you sponsoring yourself?
Yup I will be. But interested to see how it will pay off later in the career.
MBA is shit for being a VP at product based tech company. In fact very few who do make it are despised as “McKinsey” types. Easiest chance to become a VP at top tier product company is to start a startup and sale it for at least 100 million plus mark. Or you can transfer to being a manager now and then build up your career slowly over next 15 years.
Nice. Basically described your CEO :)
Lol, no. Sundar has an MBA from UPenn
H/S it probably makes sense to go. W meh, not that great for tech. Also, be prepared to spend an extra 20k a year on top of crazy fees on high end dinners/trips with all your rich classmates. The people that I know that went there spent all 4/5 years of savings they had on it and had to go back to corporate since they had no money to lose pursuing the startup life.
Most people who’re VPs at Microsoft/Google etc are not MBA grads. At some point they might have done an executive MBA. It’s more about being in the right places at the right time and taking up the managerial/PM track and blowing the metrics of your product out of water.
SDM -> Director -> VP -> CxO - I guess MBA would be helpful in this path right?
Harvard or Stanford, it doesn't make sense to turn it down if it's your goal to be VP/C-Level.
So you got accepted to all 3 schools and you’re asking us why you should/shouldn’t go? This is typically asked before applying. How did you get through the essay & interview rounds? They ask “why MBA?” and “Why now?” type questions so I imagine you should already know by now haha. In any case, reach out to your advisers and have them set you up with alumni who got where you want to go and talk to them. No one here is going to know your skill set and what your short term plans are. BTW, VP level is extremely broad. In my company outside of Dev we have VP type roles in Sales, Marketing, HR, Finance, Customer Success, etc. If you don’t know, start thinking quick as MBA internship recruiting starts in a few months. Wanna start researching that ASAP.
Thanks for the input! Yeah I certainly know why I want to do it and I mentioned the main motivation is to get to a >VP/C-suite level position and not be stuck writing code and reaching the ceiling at an Engineering Manager position (which I have seen many in their 50s get to). But the student debt and loss of income discussion is a different one which comes up after you are admitted and ready to go. That's the main reason why I'm asking these questions to check out the people who have/haven't done it and what their experience was.
Were you offered any $ or a fellowship? That can offset the amount of loans you have to take and whatever income you have to sacrifice. Also, keep in mind that internships/Leadership Development Programs pay pretty good money plus there’s often a signing bonus if you come on board after graduation so you need to factor all that into your decision making. That’s why I mentioned you need to research those right away. Look at what they pay and which companies you’re gunning for and that’ll help you figure out cost/risk. I was in a similar boat to you but went part time instead of Full time. I ended up more than doubling my salary within 5 years.
My Personal Ex is that, Technically, To the cost, Time and effort invested - Knowledge. I’d trade off my degree. Of course the degree helps you pay it off but Not much/Worthy skill gained frankly.
I thought my MBA was worth it and I come from a similar background to you. As many others have pointed out, I will go with either H or S. With an MBA and a strong engineering background, you will position yourself as someone who knows the technical as well as business side of things. And that is a very valuable and relatively rare skill set. But it will also help if you worked in a pure business role for a couple of years (maybe consulting) to have that practical learning experience. And the knowledge you gain from the MBA is not that much (although I learnt finance, accounting, marketing etc. all for the first time as I never took those courses in my earlier CS degrees). For me personally it was a lot of new skills and knowledge. But the main reason you go to a top B school is for the network - and it really does matter. You will not directly be hired as a director or VP at a top tech company because of your MBA but it will give you a skill set which will then help you grow into a VP level role. An MBA is not a sure shot way to become a VP nor is the only way. But I understand this is the path you have chosen to take. I used to work in a FAANG before my MBA and I have personally seen the MBA and McKinsey network helped open a lot of new opportunities for my colleagues which then helped them bag promotions and a couple of them are now directors. DM me if you want to discuss more.
+1 This guy. People who are blindly posting about H/S/M MBA have never been through one. Get a MBA and get into consulting for 3-5 yrs and return to FAANG.
Thanks so much for the insight. PM-ing you
BUMP
Do you need VP similar situations highlighted? I know someone from CMU who ended up at Google, stayed for 3-4 years, moved to NY with his wife and they both did MBA’s, she’s a VP of finance, he’s a sDirector of ML, and their life sucks with 15-20 min windows to pick up kids/see parents given the fAng culture. Visa issues are why he’s tied to his job otherwise they would have retired 2 years ago.
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