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200k Net Worth - Go back and get my MBA?
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:08 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle Details:
-Engineer saving about 60K per year in a low COL state. Gross pay is high five figures.
-Have enough in liquid savings/investments to pay full price for an MBA at a top school. If I went back to get my full time MBA, I'd graduate in my early 30s.
-Company won't pay for an MBA part-time.
Thoughts:
Honestly I don't think the MBA will pay off financially. Management consulting sounds like it would be worse than BIGLAW. 70+ hours a week. Non-stop travel. The top firms don't pay that much more than I currently make. On an hourly basis, it's definitely less.
Investment Banking would make significantly more...but again, on an hourly basis it's probably about the same (at least, initially). I just don't know if I could handle the grind of 100 hours a week for very long. I need to workout and get at least 6 hours of sleep every day. I also enjoy having the weekends completely free.
I'm somewhat interested in the other career paths coming out of b-school, such as general management, operations, corporate strategy, etc. Typical business jobs at a F500. Engineering is a good path right now, but I feel too comfortable. I've become experienced to the point of no longer learning anything new at my job, and I'm just grinding out in a low-stress environment. I also feel that an MBA would diversify my background. While my field (EE) in engineering is broad, my role at my current job is rather specialized. An MBA would allow me to pursue a wide variety of career opportunities in a number of industries.
Would B-School be a worthy route even at an opportunity cost of ~250k? Assuming no ibanking or consulting career post-MBA, would the financial gain never materialize? Instead of getting an MBA full-time, should I simply switch jobs to a company that will pay for one part-time?
Any bros on here gone the route from engineering to business?
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:10 PM Author: henna property M7 MBA is ALWAYS worth it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547524) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:12 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle Is it really that much different from law school, where a T14 JD is almost never worth it unless you had absolutely terrible job prospects prior to LS? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547536) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:14 PM Author: indigo becky state yes and no. depends on how desperate you are to switch industries or move up the prestige ladder (deloitte-->mckinsey).
fwiw, almost everyone at m7 has a solid career going. most are trying to switch industries, jump up in prestige or fulfill a perceived requirement (MBA is very good to have for many f500s and consulting firms). |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:13 PM Author: Exhilarant tattoo senate LOL (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547547) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:16 PM Author: Tan insanely creepy spot so you live off of $12,000 a year? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547572) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:18 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle A little higher than that, but close enough. I'm incredibly frugal. Partially because I always figured I would get an MBA and didn't want to have debt, but I'm having second thoughts. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547582) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:48 PM Author: Heady mexican If you get in a top 10 school, go for it. Otherwise switch to an employer who will support you part-time. Most engineering companies will do this. 80-90k seems on the low side for an EE shy of 30. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547788) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 9:12 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle 80-90k is about average here for more senior engineers. Remember, I'm in TX. Salaries aren't as large as they are in CA. At least, judging by glassdoor.com I'm being compensated at about the market rate for EEs, but who knows...maybe I should shop around and try and get a bump in pay + MBA paid for.
And really? Most engineering companies will pay for an MBA part-time? I've tried searching for a list of companies that will pay for one, but didn't find anything too concrete. Just figured most companies, ITE, wouldn't foot the bill.
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Date: April 25th, 2012 9:23 PM Author: Heady mexican try one of the defense companies with a large acquisition contract. The project time frames are typically on a 5-10 year scale, so investing in a MBA isn't unheard of. |
Date: April 25th, 2012 8:12 PM Author: indigo becky state you can't be an engineer forever. you should look into product management/marketing positions at tech firms. those usually have a good career progression and are in demand at good companies. you don't exactly need to go to HBS to get a position either. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547539) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:14 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle I don't want to be an engineer forever...but I could slowly crawl up the corporate ladder into some lower middle management engineer gig at my current pace. I may be mid-30s before that happens though.
I'm a TX bro -- what's the lowest ranked school to attend in TX full-time, if any?
UTTT? Rice? |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:15 PM Author: indigo becky state dude you could probably get decent scholarship money from mccombs or rice. both have good placement in texas. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547560) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:17 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle Yeah, what worries me though is that the starting salaries from McCombs are around 100k average, and we all know that those are inflated. I'm just shy of that right now in engineering.
Salary isn't everything, but it's damn important especially when I make roughly as much in a 40 hour per week gig. Jump to business would likely mean a lot more hours. |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:22 PM Author: indigo becky state dude don't pay attention to the starting salaries that schools list. pay attention to how well the school places into the jobs you want, then find out how much those jobs pay. average starting salary from the school means SHIT and doesn't capture total compensation - especially in stuff like ibanking where starting salary can be $95k but all in compensation is over $250k at BBs.
product management at a good company will start at low 100s base.
you mention salary concerns. remember, the point of the mba isn't always for immediate salary payback - it's for the opportunity to quickly and easily switch career tracks. for many people, there's a ton of value in the long run that comes from switching from engineering to a good tech management position. or switching from an OK firm to an industry leader. or whatever. |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:27 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle Yeah, I realize it's hugely misleading for areas like investment banking where bonus plays such a large role in total compensation.
But for more normal jobs coming out of bschool, bonus won't be anything substantial (or so I hear).
Yeah, I guess the immediate payback isn't necessarily what I'm looking for either...but still, the opportunity cost just seems so massive if I don't have any real intention of striving for a super prestigious ibank or consulting firm. |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:15 PM Author: Exhilarant tattoo senate you can't? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547556) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:16 PM Author: indigo becky state engineers seem to get forced out at some point unless they switch to management or some sort of higher end engineering (product management, r&d, design, etc) (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547565) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:20 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle Maybe this is true in some fields, but actually there's a TON of older engineers where I work. Plenty of engineers retire in very senior technical positions, and it's not uncommon. I'm not very worried about this, especially since there's a huge age gap at my office. It seems everyone is either in their 20s or close to retirement. Once the boomers retire, that will leave a pretty big hole in our workforce. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547600) |
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Date: April 26th, 2012 6:29 AM Author: Metal soul-stirring tanning salon Not very many places fire old engineers just to replace their job with less trained engineer. They usually do a good job doing what they've always done and they don't really command higher salaries.
But when when they get laid off because their jobs are no longer necessary, or because the company does poorly, they are totally fucked.
Retraining engineers over 40 is notoriously hard. Their skills are outdated, they are resistant to change, and the 22 year is cheaper.
The trick is to get a gig that either lasts forever,i.e. at nuke plant that will operate 50 years, a job in a field that doesn't change(which don't pay well) or get a job that requires you to stay current with technology. |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:17 PM Author: Amethyst sanctuary son of senegal the product mgmt folks at my tech firm top out at about 250k our director or mktg makes maybe 200k base, plus another 100-200k in bonus; regular mktg mgrs make 90-150k base, plus bonus.
ain't stellar money, but the hours are slightly less insane -- these people tend to average maybe 50-60 hrs/wk.
all are mba's -- kellogg, emory, columbia, haas, etc -even the associate mktg mgrs. |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:19 PM Author: indigo becky state yea, those seem like good jobs for the long haul. which tech firm are you at? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547593) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:20 PM Author: Amethyst sanctuary son of senegal not gonna say. it's a software company in SV. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547597) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:23 PM Author: indigo becky state ty (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547620) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:24 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle Yeah that's good money for sure, and those seem like pretty credited positions for a career.
Silicon Valley is expensive as fuark though. |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:26 PM Author: indigo becky state just do product management in austin, bro (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547639) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:28 PM Author: Amethyst sanctuary son of senegal yeah, plus we all work from home on Fridays, and have 125% 401K match, plus all the expected SV perks -- that alone makes it better than the biglaw lifestyle, I'd think. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547646) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:30 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle Do you have an MBA? What's your current job? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547659) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:35 PM Author: Amethyst sanctuary son of senegal yes, i have a non-elite mba. i'm technically a senior marketing mgr, but my role is specifically in media/journalism |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 9:05 PM Author: Vivacious mad-dog skullcap her BIGTRADINGDESK experience couldn't cop dat m7 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547922) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 9:12 PM Author: Amethyst sanctuary son of senegal tbf, i did get into kellogg. you don't follow my posts much, do you? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547985) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:20 PM Author: Tan insanely creepy spot job got you down? bumping up against that glass ceiling? flip your career the BIRD. THUNDERBIRD graduate school of global management and 3.5 star resort, that is. THUNDERBIRD the most global MBA ever, in the greater phoenix area. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547599) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:20 PM Author: Amethyst sanctuary son of senegal :) (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547604) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:24 PM Author: indigo becky state (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547622) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:24 PM Author: passionate garrison water buffalo (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547628) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 9:08 PM Author: Disturbing mad cow disease chad foound out my ex "scored" an mba from t-bird
how TTT is this, in law school terms? |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:40 PM Author: hot galvanic circlehead deer antler only on XO is 200K+ "not stellar money." (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547727) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:46 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle Many people on here are flame, though. And biglaw starts at 160K, so naturally many people think 200K isn't impressive in relation to that.
But 200K without the law school debt and lost earnings is definitely maddd stellar, imho. And even better if it's pretty cush without anywhere near the stress of biglaw.
Honestly I'd love a jerb that paid 200k for working 50-60 hours a week, but that seems almost unimaginable where I'm at now.
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:47 PM Author: Amethyst sanctuary son of senegal 200k is not stellar only relative to the average xo'ers inflated expectations. personally/subjectively, i think it's great money, but i know many xo'ers would scoff at it, so i described it in such terms.
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Date: April 25th, 2012 9:10 PM Author: Disturbing mad cow disease chad how would you scoff at 200k
these faggots obviously never had to live in poortown and make a tv antenna out of a coat hanger
spoiled faggots |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 9:11 PM Author: Amethyst sanctuary son of senegal i think anything over 100k is great money for a single person, and even 50k is "good" money. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547971) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 9:13 PM Author: Disturbing mad cow disease chad i make 100k at a corporate jerb and im happy as fuck
granted, i live in low COL area, so my net pay is probably higher than most biglaw nyc faggots
LOL |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 9:30 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle It's pretty insane how I'm able to save more than most BigLawyers and make less than half than what they do in total comp.
MFH is rough |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:30 PM Author: Flesh rough-skinned rehab queen of the night Why not do sales tech support in your area of expertise. It does often involve travel, but they often have nice bonuses if you assist in closing a sale.
I don't know exactly what you do but all tech companies have these people. |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:37 PM Author: histrionic shivering wrinkle I suppose I'm not one of those 'just do sales, bro' kind of guys.
Never liked schmoozing and trying to push products on people. I like organizing and developing products from concept through to completion and let the other people handle selling it.
It's definitely lucrative if you manage to make it big though. Some sick pay in sales if you're good. |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:41 PM Author: Flesh rough-skinned rehab queen of the night Let's be clear on one thing: you don't actually do the hard sales pitch. You go out to potential clients and deal with their techies after the sales people get them interested.
PaulieP was talking about doing this at his company and they can really pay a lot.
But you do have to be outgoing (which should be no problem if you are considering consulting). And yes, a little schmoozing would be necessary. |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:39 PM Author: hot galvanic circlehead deer antler NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO MAYBE NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547717) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:40 PM Author: Amethyst sanctuary son of senegal this (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547722) |
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Date: April 25th, 2012 8:58 PM Author: exciting trailer park why don't you move into a product role? or if you want excitement, take a job at a startup? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#20547865) |
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Date: March 21st, 2026 6:27 PM Author: ;;;.;,;...;..;;.,,,,.,.;.;.,.;..;. update? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#49760040) |
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Date: March 21st, 2026 6:28 PM Author: Jewish in substance but not in form This is basically the situation I was in and I decided to go for it. Changed my life. AMA (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1933108&forum_id=2...#49760041) |