| Topic Name: |
MBA 2001: A Jobless Odyssey |
| Message Name: |
Skills Pay The Bills |
| Date Posted: |
04/06/2001 |
| In Reply To: |
The markets have received a reality injection, and the outlook is not good for many of you.
First, some background on me. I have a Bachelors in Economics from a "second-tier" school and I work in the technology service line (Business Intelligence practice) of a mid-sized management consulting firm. In the six years since I graduated college, I've risen from Analyst to Consultant to Senior Consultant to Manager. I now have several MBAs who report to me, and I make over $100k base plus a nice bonus. I've been very fortunate, and all I can say is thank God I learned computer programming as a youngster and took some comp sci courses as electives my senior year in college.
Now, back to you guys - many of you are screwed. The jobs in strategy consulting and investment banking have dried up. On the tech side, the web design/e-commerce jobs are gone. There are still vast opportunities on the enterprise technology side (ERP, BI, CRM, SCM). Your best bet is to get technical, and do it fast. If you can pull it off and combine technology with functional business skills you will succeed. Just forget about strategy consulting and IB. During tough economic times, businesses focus on efficient execution and cost reduction. Noone wants to hear strategic insights from a bunch of green MBAs.
If you could do it over again, you would have been better off getting an MS in Industrial Engineering or Operations Research or Computational Finance rather than a plain jane MBA. That way a tech job would have been easy to snatch up and you would always have the option to get a position as a quant. Even a CPA and an MS in Accounting would offer better career prospects than a Marketing/Finance MBA. Oh well, there's always law school. |
| Message: |
I concur with "A Little Dose of Reality". As a BS Mech Engineering grad from a 2nd tier school with a Masters in Operation Research from a first tier (state) school and a little self taught experience in Visual Basic and database architecture as well as a healthy dose of strategic sourcing (the least glamorous consulting discipline), I have trouble deciding between gigs that pay over 200k. And you know what? The thing that really gets clients on board the fastest is that I know how to turn a wrench thanks to working my way through undergraduate as heavy diesel mechanic. I have my parents to thank for not paying my way. Quit whining and get a little dirt under your nails!
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