yah ditto, took awhile before I noticed the 2007 date. I find the post interesting as I went through similar soul searching in 2008/09; the depth of the recession definitely pushed me towards the p/t option vs full time.I ended up doing the NYU part time option, which I am still working on. The employer is paying 75% of the expenses, no contract required (considered a benefit). With regards to what you should do, the Executive MBA program at NYU and also the Executive MBA program at Columbia are awesome, especially for networking. NYU tends to focus on a significantly older crowd (38 average age) - although they will consider you if you are over 30 (under 30 they will strongly push you towards the part time program). Columbia’s executive program focuses on a younger target (33 avg age) since they do not offer a part time program. At this point you are 31-32 and with your pay history, I think either program would be happy to take you. I see little gain for you for the full time program; the main advantage of f/t is access to the recruiting programs. The best those programs will get you is something similar to what you already have. What would help you go to the next level is networking with the right people and you will not find that rubbing shoulders with 25yr olds that have 3 years work experience (the top programs have been taking in ALOT of kids straight out of undergrad and with little work experience these last 2-3 years). My $0.02, offered for whatever its worth.
thanks for the feedback. i’ve really been struggling with this decision as i have a lot of friends who have completed their mba’s from top tier institutions and constantly rave about their experience in such and such class and how much it changed how they think. although now they are selling their souls to Ibanks and Consulting firms to pay for it and are kind of miserable. it seems like the full time is really an experience accelerator whereas the exec focuses more on direct application. that being said they both have the ability to catapult your career. i’m curious whether anyone who has more experience on the quant side could chime in about an exec mba they may have done?
This isn’t a personal attack, but maybe a little constructive criticism: you’re being massively indecisive and it’s set you back now several years. The decision isn’t going to be world altering or even life shattering–make the decision, whatever it is, and run with it. Man, if you had just made the decisive decision 3 years ago and went with it you wouldn’t be here 3 years later wishing this and wishing that. Don’t let that be the case in 2013. Best of luck to you.
can’t believe some dude dug up a thread from 3 years ago. congrats on the marriage and kid btw. i’m nobody so take my advice with a grain of salt. to me a FT mba is basically a career reset button i.e. you want to work/transition at or in a ibank/consulting/PE firm or maybe explore energy trading or corporate finance. It seems like you want a new job and I would argue that with your 10yrs of experience i’m pretty sure you can find something new in your field or a relatived field. Why pay roughly 1/2mil in salary and opportunity cost for something that you can do already?
Interesting to see an update after 3 years. First thing I wondered after reading your post was how has your pay changed compared to then. Bonuses still at 50%? If you do the Exec MBA, will you have to repay the costs if you leave your firm before a certain timeframe? Most have this stipulation for about 2 years. Congrats on the family thing. Are you sure you want work & MBA & family. You probably want to focus more on your family. You don’t need this MBA given your experience.
i started a new thread, but i’ll respond to some of these questions. yes, i am very indecisive right now, having a small attack of analysis paralysis, but i’m at a point where i think i need to make something happen for my career and having the mba could be a good boost in trajectory. 3 years ago when i was trying to decide i had just been waitlisted the prior year by a top school and had just come on to a new gig that i thought was going to be great. turns out its was so-so for a while, but now its pretty good and getting better. the real fundamental question is how to make a big leap in the next few years. i’m not a super quant and i recognize that. mba might be a good way to break out of the quant mold. my comp has barely moved an inch since i started because of the markets, salary freezes, hiring freezes, you name it. i’m happy to have a job. totally hear the $500k argument. but even if i left my firm after and had to repay $100k thats alot better than $500k in total cost (tuition/opportunity) family is important, but exec is only one weekend a month, 2 full weeks a year.
by the way, i really appreciate everyone’s feedback and its been really helpful. i’ve gotten a lot of these things figured out on my own but i always appreciate a new perspective.
Wow you are lurker aren’t you? 10 posts since 2007…
marcus phoenix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Wow you are lurker aren’t you? 10 posts since > 2007… BOOM goes the dynamite
marcus phoenix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Wow you are lurker aren’t you? 10 posts since > 2007… Lurker 1, Stalker 1
more like a Multiple Personality Disorder, I’ve got a few handles on AF so I can play around without it interfering with real honest discussion and not getting back to me personally. I’ve got one handle that goes back to 2003 and has several thousand posts.
Wow, I was reading this post and realized I responded to it in 2007. Do the executive MBA. The important lesson here is to just do something.
CFASouldier Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > more like a Multiple Personality Disorder, I’ve > got a few handles on AF so I can play around > without it interfering with real honest discussion > and not getting back to me personally. I’ve got > one handle that goes back to 2003 and has several > thousand posts. JDV?
You guys keep saying top 5 b schools, but I think the consensus is quite different if you ask your friends, your employer, or another joe on the street. So, what are they?? I say harvard, cbs, and wharton, but from there, it’s hard to say who makes top 5. I think the OP has it pretty good. Apparently, you (the OP) hadn’t gotten accepted into the top 5 for FT, so that option is out the window. Either EMBA or PT is a good option. You should do it before other commitments take over (i.e. more kids, bigger house, etc…).