I got an offer to attend London Business School last year, but deferred to go help my family sell our senior housing business. That was successful and one of the best experiences I’ve ever had; working with family and gaining some real operational and transactional experience. I’m 32 and my background was mostly on sell-side ER covering REITs so that was where I was most helpful (network and knowledge of real estate).
Fast forward to now, I’m in London and have started orientation this week at LBS. The reason I came was not so much for LBS, but that I got a part-time offer at a real estate PE fund ($7B AUM). The idea was to work here during the year and finish LBS in 1.5 years (they give an option of 15-21mo exit) and hopefully get a solid PE internship next summer in the US. Why back to the US is mainly because of family and where I have the most support and network to help grow my family office. Why London then? 1) LBS was the best school I got in; 2) first one where I got a solid pre-MBA internship that would later help me with my own business; and 3) I think it would be quite beneficial to have a network and knowledge of how to invest outside the US even though real estate is very local (a lot of PE funds like to invest across multiple markets in various asset classes).
Anyway, many things are falling apart; 1) doesn’t look like I’ll be able to work part-time during the year, which was the only reason I came here (school will simply be too demanding and that was not the case at the onset- explained next); 2) a lot of freed-up time I was supposed to get through course waivers has become stricter (they’ve made it so basically everyone must take all the core courses despite being extremely redundant for someone like me- other top MBA schools are much more lenient on course waivers); 3) turns out, it’s actually quite unrealistic to finish in 15mo unless you slave yourself. This part is also key because frankly my Dad’s health is not doing so well so it’s a must that I get back as soon as possible to help with the family office (even part-time in a more active manner); and 4) slaving myself means I would have significantly less time to do things that really matter to me like networking, looking for work new ventures and growing my family office.
All said, I feel like this isn’t going to be the best use of my time anymore. I’m looking at the next two-years and see myself being very unhappy. I think it would be better if I cut my losses, go home and reboot for a week or two, start job hunting again, and work on what I think would be more meaningful side projects (eg. private deals for a few family offices, working with a small PE fund in Florida, etc…) to gain experience and/or lead to new ventures or a job.
It’s a shit situation for sure. I feel awful and extremely stressed for wasting my and other people’s time and resources. Would really appreciate your thoughts.
Interesting question, not that I have ever been in a position like yours but I think you have 2 distinct possibilities here with a few outcomes. You could stick it out at LBS, great school and while you have these negative feelings now (which people frequently do) you may be able to get passed them and have a very worthwhile experience. You could also decide that its not worth it, you have solid experience to fall back on, pick time with your family and start looking for work. I honestly dont think anyone would fault you either way its more about what you want, and it sounds like you are leaning towards family. I have found the best decision is to go out and drink heavily, the answers will come to you.
Anyway, from my perspective, it’s not clear why going to LBS is going to be net beneficial after the tuition, lost wages and lost time. The network in Europe might be ok, but it sounds like you already have a stronger position in the US than you are likely to have in the UK upon graduation (sounds like you already rich. Best choice is to develop this “family office”, rather than cut loose). You probably will not learn more about real estate than you already have from working for years in the business. The family situation is another consideration that is not easy to postpone. Furthermore, you’re not really that young any more (sorry). At some point, you just need to seize your career now, as opposed to building education credentials.
So to me, unless you really want to live in Europe afterwards, it doesn’t really make sense to go to business school abroad. Others may disagree of course.
@Ohai. All true stuff and I agree that I’m not that young anymore and do need to just seize my career. This whole thing sounded really great at first, but then soured. @mk17. No girl or kids. Worst case I’m out $30k for tuition, but I’ve paid nothing yet.
Sorry buddy I’m going to have to go with Ohai. Going to a business school with no intention of staying in the region usually isn’t a good plan (ex. Harvard etc) LBS is good in its own right but more regional AFAIK. You also already sound somewhat established/ have businesses running already so unless you were trying to change careers, I don’t see the pay off. Hinging the decision on a part time gig is also, suspect.
Is the 30k material to you? Whats the cost of finishing the degree? If it’s not material or you have a realistic chance of shaking it off (which I don’t expect you will be able to), I think going home would be the best choice. If you’re on the hook for 30k either way and the full cost is reasonable I would consider finishing the degree but the family situation makes it very difficult to choose that option. I think if your main goal is to stay in the same field, working your way up will be more conducive to advancing in the field than the MBA in a different region. It may suck but eating the tuition cost may be the way to go given your family circumstances.
From a human standpoint, if your father is in a bad way you may regret not spending time with him for a sum of money. I would not fault you either way you choose, and no one should.
You’ve completed a deal, come from a family with money (assuming that’s the case since you have a family office), don’t want to be in Europe, want to do an internship in the U.S…I’d say you cut your losses and job hunt here and just grow in your job. I don’t think LBS will be net beneficial to you. Also, if you’re worried about your dad’s health and want to spend time here then you should.
@StallionDis: Lol. Plenty of Asians in NYC or on the West Coast to go after
Thanks all for the advice. Definitely very insightful. I do want to say though that the internship wasn’t exactly “suspect”; the idea was to gain some international real estate knowledge for potential deals on a global scale. It was a PE role that could’ve lead to a VP spot post-MBA, though I wouldn’t really want that b/c I’d still be in the UK. There was some talk of expanding into the US, but I see that as fairly low probability.
Still have a lot of thinking to do, but you’re all correct that I’m leaning to go back home.
Hey, dont’ take it as a slight, what I meant from suspect was that as a neutral looking in, that seemed like that key sell for going to LBS when there other larger factors to pivot your decision. Anyway, best of luck to you and the family, and keep us posted on how you make out.
LBS has a really good alumni base in the US actually, with that being said, doesn’t really make sense to go to school abroad when you ultimately want to be in the US.
well at the end of the day. you are at enviable position. LBS is one of the top schools in the world. for you to choose not to go is pretty baller. but imo u can prolly network in that school. i got an old co worker. shes asian and 25 in her 2nd year there. maybe she can change ur mind
Sorry to hear of the complex circumstances. Seems to me your reasons to be in the UK are no longer as strong so you should reassess your original thesis. If you haven’t paid anything then why not scrap it and go back to the States to focus on your personal and professional obligations? Seem those are far more urgent and unless you just totally punt your b school coursework, you won’t have much free time to take care of other stuff you mentioned. Seems like if you explained to the administration that you need to duck out because of family reasons, they should understand that.
Basically, I agree with Ohai. For me, the third paragraph of your original post would all point to reasons to go back to the States. For me, the second paragraph would not have been strong enough to move me to London in the first place. As you said the knowledge of investing outside the US is not as transferable or relevant as if you were somehow able to get a similar experience in the US and given your background, I’m cautiously optimistic you can achieve your aspirations without going to LBS anyhow. That experience would cause you to have to invest your time learning about a bunch of stuff that isn’t germane to your career choices and likely would not be a good use of time, especially if you could find a decent gig in the States in a year or less.
Hey all. Thanks for the input and been meaning to provide an update. I formally withdrew my candidacy from the school and left on good terms. They found someone else to take the seat so no bills to pay either.
My strategy now is to network over the next few months and spend some money I originally budgeted for the MBA on industry conferences and such. I did this for a few weeks before I left Europe and actually had some really good results; met with most of the major real estate PE funds in the UK (a lot were actually US funds) and some in Europe (France, Netherlands and Spain). Through that minimal effort alone I developed a fairly solid network.
I suspect ramping back up in the US will initially be harder, particularly for PE, since it’s bigger and more institutionalized so I’ll have more hurdles to overcome. Still, all it takes is a few contacts I now have to help me connect and vouch for me. The other angle I’m taking is looking for credible investments for my family office. We’re not huge (otherwise I’d be doing this full-time), but large enough to get a seat at a good chunk of LP investor tables so I get to meet people that way. It’s how I got see a few deals in the UK and Spain; don’t think we’ll bite on those specific ones, but they were excellent networking and educational opportunities.
