Taking Stock of this MBA Thingy - End of Year 1 Review

I know, I know, there are numerous topics to write a post about today but I am conveniently avoiding all that. Instead I am writing a summary, if you will, after the completion of the first year of my MBA program.

To make it simple I decided to list Pros Vs Cons of the MBA program – mind you this is after Year 1 of the 2-year program. And I am leaving out personal stuff (obviously).

Mind you this is not a judgment of the program I am currently at or of my decision, just a reflection piece. Not endorsing or criticizing anything.

To borrow a phrase from the latest edition of The Economist, What is there is to say after weeks of scoffing food and swilling booze?

So without further ado, here we go:

CONS
- $76,569 in debt – for tuition and living expenses (thank you CitiAssist and Fed Loans)

- Opportunity $ cost of not being at work (I computed the $ amount before school but will leave that out here)

- One year of not being at work and learning new skills, making new connections, and career growth in the old path. (my old employer has survived rather well in this atmosphere – only 1 person has been laid off if the past 9 months. This is a big deal considering that they are a tier II supplier to the automotive industry)

- Some loss of financial stability (you know saving up to buy a place, more savings etc)

- Lost opportunity to keep abreast of latest technology in the chemicals and automotive industry (I strongly believe that the upcoming decades are going to be shaped by advances in transportation and material technology)

- Lost chances to be part of multiple US patents. Just as I was leaving my firm decided to reverse its policy and file for multiple patents on a host of work that has been done in the past decade. I would have been part of that if I stayed.

- A good balance between professional and social life. School is reasonably good but when you are working you mostly (in my case) left work at work. After 6 pm it was my own time.

- Terrible eating, exercising, and drinking habits. I’ve gained a disgusting amount of weight since starting school (yuck!).

- Loss of sleep. While this is not too serious it still takes a toll on the body if not taken care of.

- Spending habits worsen. With reasonably good income I was very mindful of what I spent my $ on when I was working (at least the last 3-4 years!). At school with exactly zero income I’ve had an irritating habit of splurging: cabs, booze, eating out, without thinking about it twice. (why this is I have no reasonable explanation. Maybe subconsciously I am thinking this degree will get me rich!! Yeah right)

- Wish we had more of the good classroom teachers. Learning could be much more exciting and quick.

- And finally I have done a terrible job of keeping in touch/socializing with family and close friends outside school. This is bothersome. I promise to work on this more this upcoming year.

PROS
- A risk free opp to try something that I really like. I am fascinated by Finance and technology is in my pedigree (educational). A chance to marry both and see if a career in that is exciting has been presented to me - and guess what it is risk free! Try it in the summer and see how I feel. What more can you ask?

- Ability to develop “the big picture”. So this is tough to explain. I feel like I’ve become much better at understanding business enterprises at a macro level in the past year. Some of it is from academics, some from discussions with classmates, and some from personal reading/watching habits.

- Valuable fundamental understanding of how things work in the investment banking, asset management, sales and trading, private equity, venture capital, corporate finance, and consulting professions. Some may get this without b school but for me this was critical in choosing what to pursue. Again, a combination of academics and conversations with faculty and classmates greatly helped.

- Invaluable opportunity to learn how to manage people in a relatively risk-free environment. I was part of organizational teams for numerous conferences and learnt tremendously on how to manage egos, coax and cajole, and generally get things done. This can also be achieved outside B school but probably at a higher cost.

- Ability to think quickly and act faster than ever before (I am still learning). You should see the way I work my email Inbox now. For someone like me who would postpone replying to emails unless it was absolutely crucial this is great. Now, I am constantly in real time. This, to my pleasant surprise (duh!) increases productivity. There is no choice in B school but be in real time – there is so much happening and you don’t have to lag or be left behind.

- Chance to listen to thought leaders in person and debate with them. I am not going to list people’s names here but suffice to say it has been a great opportunity to be face to face and learn. I wish I did more this past year; one of my goals is to do that more in the upcoming year.

- Brand association. Everyone tells you how being a good school really helps when you get admitted. Guess what, IT IS TRUE. People think that just because I am at Sloan I am automatically smart. This never gets old. I ran into a Private Equity type the other day at my internship and he goes “MIT huh? Can you teach me this? I am sure you can explain it in your sleep.” This is obviously not just for vanity but opens up doors and careers that otherwise may not have been possible.

- Learning every day (or every day other day, whatever, you get the idea). Be it in class, or at school-organized competitions, while swilling PBR with classmates, at networking events, at forums you name it. There is so much to learn.

- Getting access to people you would only dream about. CEOs of real great firms, Govt people, highly placed executives, and famous thought leaders. While this may not be a tangible personal benefit it still helps to talk and gain insights from some of them. The way I look at it, if I can pick up one thing from each person that is pretty good.

- Relationship building. You are probably noticing that most of the pros (or all of them) and intangible and non-numbers types. What can I say? I now firmly believe that intangibles, which include relationship building, is one of the most important pillars to career building. Be it alumni or classmates or teachers this is a nice time period to let them know who you are, how you think, and whether you are dependable in class groups, projects, and club positions. 5 to 10 years down the line, if you need help or advice they are there – no question.

That is all I could think of right now. It is interesting that I list $$ amounts in the CONS and then go on to NOT list any $$ amounts in the PROS. Why you ask? Well, it is too early to gauge how this will improve my $$ potential. Ask me in 25 years!