A&M Electrical Engineer here. I've been working at my current company for a while now making a decent living.

While I don't necessarily hate my job, I'm not particularly passionate about it either. I look at the work my boss does and don't envision myself wanting to be in his position in a few years.

I realize with the situation the economy is in right now, it may not be the best time to go back to school for a career change (especially when I already have a decent job), but I'm curious if anyone has experience going this route and whether or not it has been worth it over time?

If I were to go back and get my MBA, it would be in finance and it would be full time at a place like UT or better (provided I could get accepted). The opportunity cost would be rather high; around 160k or so. I have enough money saved up so that I wouldn't have to go into debt by taking on student loans, but a substantial chunk of my savings would be exhausted.

I realize the salary statistics that are posted on college websites are distorted, but UT's MBA program claims to churn out an average salary of 90-95k/year (and that's assuming you get a job, as I'm sure many people graduating with MBAs right now are having difficulty finding work). This would be a decent salary boost, but I could potentially be making close to that in a few years time with my current career path, which from a financial perspective would not be a great enough boost to offset the opportunity cost (at least initially).

I suppose one large problem is that engineers do tend to top out quickly; with the MBA, the limit is higher, although finding employment may be more difficult and you may find yourself having less job security.

I've also noticed that where I work the managing engineers do not have MBAs. If I were to get my MBA, I wouldn't necessarily get it to go back into engineering as a project manager. I'd keep my options open.

So, who has had experience with this? Did it benefit you greatly financially over the long haul? Do you enjoy the work you're currently involved in now, post-MBA, more than the work you had as an engineer?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Seems like you answered your own question.

"Rebuilding in 2009, Big 12 Champions in 2011!"

How did he answer his own question? I read his entire post and it seems he is at a point in his career where this would be a pretty tough decision.

There almost ought to be an FAQ on this topic on this board

I notice you say that you want to go to UT or better. So, I'm assuming you've got great grades, great GMAT score, etc.

You seem to be a little confused about what you really want to do afterwards. You mention Finance, but then talk about Project Management. I assume that's essentially your planned fallback position if the career switch to Finance doesn't work.

You also mention the opportunity cost of $160K. I assume you're talking about forgoing 2 years of $80K/yr salaray there. Let's not forget that school costs. Sometimes a lot. Especially if you're looking to go "UT or better".

It depends what you really want to get out of the degree. If you just want the education, keep your job and do an online program. The real value of the MBA in my opinion is the experience of your classmates and the network.

I did the Executive MBA Program at Colorado. In terms of pay, the average salary of people entering our program was $97K (back in 2001). I don't really know how much of a bump in pay people got by earning the degree. In my case, I wound up moving up by about $35K/yr in the first year after graduation. However, a large part of that was due to the fact that I moved from Colorado to California within the first year after graduation.

If I ever wanted to move back to Colorado, I'm pretty well connected. This doesn't do much for me where I'm at in Sydney right now

One of the major benefits is becoming fully versed in American "Corporation-ness". I now understand why many decisions are made that don't really make any sense.

It probably depends on what city you live in and what programs are available to you, but if I were you, I'd keep your job and do a part time program. If you want to get into something like Investment Banking, then you'll want to go to one of the top-tier schools full-time.

I've got a friend who went to Cal and he just recently chucked it all to move to New Zealand. So, who knows. One thing I've learned from my little brother is that you don't want to rack up a bunch of private school debt. Good Luck.

I'm sure it should be a FAQ. I imagine this question is quite common.

To address your post:

Getting an MBA would allow for a number of different opportunities. Part of the reason why I wish to go back to school is to broaden my background. I don't have any particular career in mind as an exit strategy, but investment banking, consulting, and project management are areas I'm looking into that I'd hopefully be able to gain enough exposure to in order to pick a particular field.

The reason I mention that I would get my MBA in finance is because I believe it is more marketable and valuable when compared to other MBA programs since it's quantitative, and my background in engineering lends itself more to quantitative material so I'd likely enjoy studying it more.

The 160k figure includes after tax salary for two years plus expected cost of education (cost of living being roughly equal regardless of school or work). This is what I stand to lose for those two years if I go to school full time.

Undergraduate grades are excellent, I'd just need to compliment them with an excellent GMAT. I figure if I don't do as well on the GMAT as I would need to in order to get accepted into the schools I'd be looking at then I won't even bother applying.

Overall, what I'd like to get out of an MBA is hopefully a career path that interests me more than the one I'm currently in, and where I have more opportunities to branch out with better long-term career growth potential.

I appreciate the advice.

I will say this, investment banking, consulting, and project management are all very different. I would suggest learning more about each before making this type of decision. I spent 2 years in Ibanking and am now in consulting. Feel free to email me (see profile) if you would like to know more about either.

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If I were to go back and get my MBA, it would be in finance and it would be full time at a place like UT or better (provided I could get accepted).

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My older brother has an engineering degree from A&M and went back for an MBA. He now does exceptionally well in private equity (he is already on the board of directors of more than one public company). He did his MBA work at a top 5 MBA program, however and had a 3.9 GPR in computer engineering.

blindey, how did he make the transition? It is usually hard for career switchers. My history seems similar to your brothers.

Goose06
What kind of consulting are you in? Management consulting, the kind the Big 3 do?

Nope, restructuring/bankruptcy consulting. Which is also very different from mgmt consulting.

[This message has been edited by Vero143 (edited 1/29/2010 11:23a).]

Getting my MBA at Georgetown right now. Transitioning from Teach for America to international development (SME development). My advice is to figure out what you want to do before you apply. An MBA is a waste of time if you don't know what to do. Once you figure out what it is, apply to the Top 15 that fit that profile (since you said >= UT). If you're looking for top 15, your options are basically UT, California, or East Coast.

[This message has been edited by MalibuAggie06 (edited 1/26/2010 9:05p).]

If you want to work in Texas you should also look at Rice. It is very well respected in Texas. In Houston a lot of the Ibanking jobs (oil + gas) go to Rice students. Finance is ranked very high.

For other things Texas might be better or even A&M.

also in your cost calculations, don't forget that you will probably be getting an internship. And those internships (use to, still may) be about the same salary that you would be making coming out and a bonus for 3-4 months.

Yeah, that's partly the issue; not having a definitive 'path' in mind. Since this would be a career switch, and I'm coming from an engineering background (not a business/finance background), it's hard to know what area I'd like to go into since I haven't been exposed to any business areas in my career.

Are all of the highly paying post-MBA jobs (consulting, ibanking) time intensive? I know ibanking requires 80-90 hour weeks, and most leave the field after a few years. Is consulting just as bad? Are all the lucrative post-MBA jobs as hellish in terms of hour requirements? Right now I work about 50-60, with some weeks being less and some being worse, but consistent 80+ hour weeks is not something I'd be particularly interested in, long term.

There's a lot of encouraging comments from people here, though I suspect many of those anecdotes may be outliers? Not sure, just trying to get a feel of how the market outlook is for MBA grads coming from a school around UT or better.

Hmm, not sure I would agree that people leave IBanking after a couple of years if they are coming from B-School. At the analyst level, this is very true. At the associate level, not so much.

As for mgmt consulting hours --- I would say its significantly better than IBanking. Say 50-60 hours as opposed to 75-100. However, travel is much worse in consulting. Lots of weeks where you fly out on Sunday evening or Monday morning and return on Thursday night or Friday afternoon.

[This message has been edited by Vero143 (edited 1/29/2010 11:23a).]

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It can be done if you want it bad enough.

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THIS.


The ones that get the high paying jobs have a certain mindset. It's not a "right or wrong" issue, but rather the type of person you are.

I work for a large bank as a strategist and work from 8 am to at least 6 pm....several nights as late as 10:30, depending on what's on my plate...and a few hours on the weekends too.

The comp is incomparable to most other careers, but so are the hours.

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As for mgmt consulting hours --- Say 50-60 hours as opposed to 75-100. However, travel is much worse in consulting. Lots of weeks where you fly out on Sunday evening or Monday morning and return on Thursday night or Friday afternoon.

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Consulting hours will range from 50-80+ depending on the client. Additionally, most consultants will spend at least Mon-Thurs on the road nearly every week of the year. In 2009, I think I was home during the week once except for the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Having been a 50-60 hour a week engineer for 5 years, the time commitment and lifestyle are night and day. You will have to work longer hours for the higher salary. Of course, being in away from home on a work night does lower temptations a bit...

[This message has been edited by AeroAg2003 (edited 1/28/2010 11:18a).]

Agree Aero. Hours depend on the job. Travel depends on the job. It could be 100% travel for 2 years.

Vero143 - is your brother in law M.Z.?

I hate to admit this but I face the same conundrum as the poster who posed this question. I'm pretty certain that I want to shift to managerial roles in the near future (I'm an engineer too). And I've been looking into strategic management, project management and operations. So as to see which area I connect with the most.

[This message has been edited by ResonantHawk (edited 1/29/2010 5:13a).]

htown, no.

[This message has been edited by Vero143 (edited 1/29/2010 7:19p).]

AeroAg2003 / Goose06:

What is typical compensation for consulting?

Based upon the school survey information for UT (which could be fudged):

http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/career/employers/FT2009FinalStats.pdf

Consulting: ~110-115k starting base salary (making significantly more than other areas, although Investment Banking likely makes more total compensation with a bigger annual bonus), and what you're telling me is that this is for 50-80 hour weeks largely away from home. I wish I could get a clear indication of the number of hours worked on average for consultants, including travel. Assuming ~60 hour weeks averaged across an entire year, this amounts to an hourly rate that isn't much higher than what I currently make on an hourly basis. Although, total compensation for consulting could be much higher than the 115k indicates; I have no idea how much they would stand to make for a bonus.

Also, what can those in consulting look to be making 5-10 years down the road? Does the pay stay roughly the same as when they hire (somewhat similar to engineering), or does it expand greatly?

Also, AeroAg2003:

Why did you decide to make the switch from engineer to consulting by getting your MBA?

Do you have any regrets?

I am not in mgmt consulting so my statements here are to an extent a guess. I suspect the annual bonus is going to be ~50% of base at the top tier shops (which is where you get the ~$110-120 starting salaries). This would be BCG, McKinsey, Bain, etc. As for down the road pay, the ceiling is much higher in the consulting and banking industries than it is in engineering. If you get promoted after 2.5 to 3.5 years (assuming Jan promotion), I would assume that $110 base salary is now $160-200k (I am guessing here, but I don't think I would be WAY off).

I think that as an engineer, you would actually be a very attractive candidate for these types of firms. Having said that, you would have to be a very strong interviewer. Many engineers would lack the soft skills required for this type of interview/work place. I hate to say it, but if you don't look the part, that will also be a ding against you. In consulting, even the lowest level of employees are at the client site interacting with the client. For that reason, you have to come off very polished and professional in the interview process. Just being smart (even brilliant) is not going to be good enough. The above is a little less true in IBanking, but to an extent still holds true.

As for IBanking pay, that is an evolving arena with all this crap going on with the bailout/Washington politics/pay czar/etc. I will say this though, an analyst in IBanking can make well over $100k. A first year associate gets kind of screwed on pay. You start in July and get a stub bonus in January. The stub bonus is about 25-35% of a full year bonus (again, I am guessing to an extent as I was an analyst, not an associate). So your first big bonus is 18 months in. It is likely to be in the $150-200k range. Having said that, as I left the industry, banks were moving more to a higher base salary, lower bonus structure. So this, as I said, is an evolving area due to Washington politics.

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What is typical compensation for consulting?

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The average starting salary quoted by UT is in the ballpark. The final number really depends on the firm, the market and your background.

Consultants can typically expect 10-15% bonuses in this market and when it was good a few years ago it got as high as 20%.

IBankers probably make a little less in base but they can expect almost a 100% bonus. Their salary typically goes up a bit faster than it does on the consulting side too.

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I wish I could get a clear indication of the number of hours worked on average for consultants, including travel.

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On a typical project at my firm, you catch a flight at ~7AM monday morning and then head straight to the client from the airport. You can expect to leave the client anywhere from 6:30PM to 10 or later depending on what's going on that week. The schedule repeats Tuesday and Wednesday with a late afternoon to early evening flight back home on Thursday night. Work on Friday is highly variable but its typically not more than an 8-9 hour day. I probably put in 2-3 hours a weekend on average. That swings from putting in 10 hours every once in while to not working at all on others.

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Also, what can those in consulting look to be making 5-10 years down the road? Does the pay stay roughly the same as when they hire (somewhat similar to engineering), or does it expand greatly?

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If a firm has a "up or out" policy, you should be a partner after 8-10 years. Compensation at that level isn't public knowledge (as most firms are privately held by the parters). You can be confident though that most of them make 7 figures.

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Why did you decide to make the switch from engineer to consulting by getting your MBA?

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I always knew that I wanted to move out of engineering and into management. I got my MBA part time (and paid for by my previous employer) and for a while I thought I would stay there after getting my degree. I didn't go into it with the idea that I wanted to go into consulting. It just happened to present it self as the best option at the time.

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Do you have any regrets?

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I would make the same decision if I had to do it over again. I don't think I'm going to be able to live this lifestyle for the next 30 years of my life, but I still think it will open more doors than if I stayed the course at my old company. I won't really know the true value of the decision though until I make my next jump.

[This message has been edited by AeroAg2003 (edited 1/29/2010 7:56p).]

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I suspect the annual bonus is going to be ~50% of base at the top tier shops (which is where you get the ~$110-120 starting salaries). This would be BCG, McKinsey, Bain, etc.

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From what I've heard of big 3 salaries (I don't work for one but my firm does compete with them quite regularly), most MBAs (Senior Consultants) are making around $130K with the typical 20% bonus. This may change depending upon your home office.

Managers (next level up) probably make $150K-$180K with maybe a 20-30% bonus.

[This message has been edited by AeroAg2003 (edited 1/29/2010 8:00p).]

Aero, where did you get your MBA?

USC (Southern California, not South Carolina)

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I would make the same decision if I had to do it over again. I don't think I'm going to be able to live this lifestyle for the next 30 years of my life, but I still think it will open more doors than if I stayed the course at my old company. I won't really know the true value of the decision though until I make my next jump.

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+1

I'm still trying to figure out what the next jump is.

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From what I've heard of big 3 salaries (I don't work for one but my firm does compete with them quite regularly), most MBAs (Senior Consultants) are making around $130K with the typical 20% bonus. This may change depending upon your home office.

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I would defer to Aero here as I don't work in mgmt consulting and I am going off what I have heard or assumed. My firm pays slightly less in salary than the big 3 (MBAs get ~$90k) and it pays 10-20% year end bonus. Additionally, my firm pays a utilization bonus based on your billable hours. Any billable hours over ~35 hours/week are paid at ~$44/hour. Its calculated monthly so if you have a 70 hour week followed by a week with nothing to do client related, then you won't necessarily get a utilization bonus.

If you get a decent GMAT, go for it. It sounds like you're single and have good grades. The top-rated MBA opens up numerous possibilities and you only live once. I went to Columbia (after UH undergrad and four years work experience) and worked in i-banking for five years post-MBA.

Take the GMAT, see where you land (high 600s at least) and then decide. If you get in the low 600s, go back for a reputable part-time MBA like SMU. I now work at a CPG company and the MBA degree matters and the contacts will help you throughout your career.

To the OP: The problem is that you aren't happy in your current job. Getting another degree and a higher salary won't necessarily make you happy in the future.

You need to figure out what will make you happy as a long-term career option. If that's a different job at a lower salary, then I'd recommend you consider that option. Money rarely equates to happiness long-term.

Just my take, you don't have to know what field you want to go into prior to starting your MBA. You will have to go through your 'core' classes at most places. If you have it narrowed down to (example) finance and/or operations...you can talk with prof, former students, etc to see what will fit your lifestyle the best.

Good luck. I'm graduating with an INTL MBA this May. Can't wait.