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If you can’t get into a top-five MBA program, don’t even bother In 2009 I had spent 3 years out of school in a multifamily commercial real estate brokerage rol

If you can’t get into a top-five MBA program, don’t even bother In 2009 I had spent 3 years out of school in a multifamily commercial real estate brokerage role. (We closed transactions above $5M, average around $25M). It was hard to make great money due to transaction volumes, but I made enough money to rent an apartment and buy beers every now and again. In 2012 I made more than 5 times what I made in any year from 2006 to 2009. The difference was attending a program ranked 24th in some ranking systems and north of 30 in other ranking systems. About 50% of my current coworkers went to top 10 schools. The others went to elite undergrad programs and a few went to programs like mine. If you want a great job out of an MBA program, you will need to do the maximum, practice interview skills and network well. You also need to be willing to tell people that the job they are trying to place you in is below you. This happened all the time, Target actually tried to recruit floor managers at an MBA career fair. I looked the lady straight in the eye and asked if she had any real jobs. Next thing you know I have someone’s card at corporate. The company I work for now tried to put me in a fairly basic role, I said don't bother and I am in a much, much better role now. You have to be confident that a ranking next to your school name is bullshit. A top 5 program makes things easier, but even if you get in, you will still need to work hard. I heard the CEO of Carlyle Group speak on our campus, he said “Nothing great ever gets accomplished between 9 and 5”. You can bet that I worked hard, took extra classes, attended EVERY social event, attended clubs, participated in the on campus investment club, went to the VCIC International competition, worked for the on campus angel investment network etc. I didn't get a lot of sleep and I probably drank too much coffee, but I had a great time and I got what I wanted and needed out of the program. Not just in a job, but lifelong friends and an amazing learning experience. -I'd say 60-70% of my classmates ended up substantially better than when they started. The ones who didn't do as well were either international students who couldn't get visas or the ones who worked the least and were least dependable.

kevinskii 14y ago
Based on anecdotal observations of several colleagues who have graduated from a nearby top 20 MBA school since I have known them, there doesn't appear to be any correlation between an MBA degree and career success. The two who have since gone on to be very successful were already rising rapidly in their careers before they started the program. The other five were languishing in their careers before and have languished ever since. Most of them have fallen far behind the engineers who chose to spend that time honing their technical and engineering skills. I suspect that, had you never gotten an MBA but still demonstrated that same level of confidence that you claim, you would have achieved a similar level of success.
- PakG1 14y ago
  Unless we can have a proper test for that, it's difficult to tell. Compare the situation of a young high school athlete. May have all the right athletic skills and attitude. But perhaps that attendance into some special skills development camp is just what they needed to push themselves over the edge to the next level. It can't hurt that they're attending together with other young top athletes who will push each other forward. Aside from that, one of the only reason I'd ever attend an MBA school if I ever wanted to, was to easily develop a network of top-level A-players. It's easy to develop the network like that when top people are grouped together in the same place with the same goals. A top-tier MBA school is not the only place where you have that situation, but I imagine that it is one of the only places. That being said, there are a lot of reasons to not get an MBA, especially if it would not contribute at all to your goals.
suyash 14y ago
Curious which MBA school did you attend, I agree with the author that MBA outside of top 5 is worthless. 24th seems pretty low in the order and you would have to struggle a lot, seems like you did.
- PakG1 14y ago
  Curious if you'd expect those struggles to not exist in a top 5 school? It seems that he's just saying he worked hard. I imagine everyone who wants to attain a high level of success needs to work hard.
- wtvanhest 14y ago
  I didn't struggle, I did what hard working people do, I worked hard. I regularly met people at case competitions from the 5 schools mentioned who were not getting the job interviews or jobs I was because they expected to get it for free. Sure, they get better on campus recruiting than other schools, but the best jobs are not advertised.
jessedhillon 14y ago
Hey can you shoot me an email, you sound like someone I'd like to meet. Address is in my profile.

kevinskii 14y ago

Based on anecdotal observations of several colleagues who have graduated from a nearby top 20 MBA school since I have known them, there doesn't appear to be any correlation between an MBA degree and career success. The two who have since gone on to be very successful were already rising rapidly in their careers before they started the program. The other five were languishing in their careers before and have languished ever since. Most of them have fallen far behind the engineers who chose to spend that time honing their technical and engineering skills. I suspect that, had you never gotten an MBA but still demonstrated that same level of confidence that you claim, you would have achieved a similar level of success.

PakG1 14y ago
Unless we can have a proper test for that, it's difficult to tell. Compare the situation of a young high school athlete. May have all the right athletic skills and attitude. But perhaps that attendance into some special skills development camp is just what they needed to push themselves over the edge to the next level. It can't hurt that they're attending together with other young top athletes who will push each other forward. Aside from that, one of the only reason I'd ever attend an MBA school if I ever wanted to, was to easily develop a network of top-level A-players. It's easy to develop the network like that when top people are grouped together in the same place with the same goals. A top-tier MBA school is not the only place where you have that situation, but I imagine that it is one of the only places. That being said, there are a lot of reasons to not get an MBA, especially if it would not contribute at all to your goals.

suyash 14y ago

Curious which MBA school did you attend, I agree with the author that MBA outside of top 5 is worthless. 24th seems pretty low in the order and you would have to struggle a lot, seems like you did.

PakG1 14y ago
Curious if you'd expect those struggles to not exist in a top 5 school? It seems that he's just saying he worked hard. I imagine everyone who wants to attain a high level of success needs to work hard.
wtvanhest 14y ago
I didn't struggle, I did what hard working people do, I worked hard. I regularly met people at case competitions from the 5 schools mentioned who were not getting the job interviews or jobs I was because they expected to get it for free. Sure, they get better on campus recruiting than other schools, but the best jobs are not advertised.

jessedhillon 14y ago

Hey can you shoot me an email, you sound like someone I'd like to meet. Address is in my profile.