I appreciate all the responses I've received so far, they've been immensely helpful.

I think what I'll do is take the GMAT, and if I do well enough I'll apply to some schools and see what happens.

@ Picard, you make a great point. But I suppose the reason for wanting to get an MBA is that it may lead to a career that will get me out of the cube and doing something that I would enjoy more. I don't think this can be accomplished by switching jobs within engineering, but going back and getting an MBA could potentially accomplish that. It's hard to know that unless you experience it first hand, however. The higher salary issue is just a bonus on top of having a career I would enjoy more.

did FT MBA at UT graduating in the last few years. currently in consulting in houston and have past experience in Ibanking and corporate finance in industry. debated heavily FT vs PT, UT vs out of state, and various career paths. anything you are thinking now went through my head a few years ago. happy do discuss if you would like. gmcarlson@gmail.com

I went full time to Rice. I'd say my opportunity cost for going was about $225k (factoring in tuition and foregone salary.)

Did I get bang for my buck? I sure did, but I'm not sure graduates graduating within the last two years feel they have. I graduated in '06. I got on with a major oil and gas company in Houston (which was my objective to work for a major) and in the first year more than doubled my salary (roughly $60k before b-school). I started out at $90k, but also received a sign-on of $20k. Since I've been working, I've received an average of 8.5 percent raises every year since I started in June of '06. Now, base plus bonus puts me at about $150k/yr. The MBA has also given me opportunities that I wouldn't have had otherwise (working in Singapore).

Some people disregard the biggest risk b-school graduates face when going to school: risk of you graduating in a terrible market. This variable is beyond your control, but it is a risk that cannot be ignored. Graduates graduating from Rice just two years before I did had to take no-pay internships. Some went 6-8 mos before they were able to find work. One girl who recommended Rice to me finally got on with Conoco, but they paid her about $20k less than what they were offering me just a short two years later (I interned with COP). I ultimately took a job from another major that offered an overall better package.

Yahoo did a story on this just a few weeks ago. It talked about how graduates who graduate in a bad economy lag their peers who graduated in a better economy in salary, but not just in the short term, but throughout their careers.

The point is, timing can be very important. Was the money worth it? Yes. Did I more than make up for my opportunity cost? Yes. Will everyone who goes back to b-school fair the same? No.

Just my experience. Others may have had a different experience, but this was mine. I was lucky.

TAF

Nice thread.
As I have said in this forum over the last few weeks, I took up a management job in a smaller company that does financial research. I am in the tech side of things, not finance.

During campus recruiting, and later, I had tried to get into consulting, but that did not work out. Maybe after a year, I will try again and see. My base is actually lesser than what I made in an engineering job, so I need to make some bucks pretty quickly. That said, I am happy with this change because it opens up a lot more in the future and I hated my dead end current job.

I was Computer/Electrical Engineering, been in technical sales since graduation. I applied for Rice and UT's Professional programs, got into both, chose UT, and start in August.

I'm not sure exactly what I want to do with an MBA, but that's kind of the point. An MBA is a very broad degree. People from an wide variance of backgrounds come into it, and then funnel out of it back into diverse fields.

[This message has been edited by bcl2000 (edited 2/4/2010 9:29a).]

what you want to do?

Experience, interests, strengths, etc

what you should do?

See above

what you can do?

See above

what others will let you do?

Never let anyone limit you

I have my Mechanical Engineering degree from A&M, and then I went to UT for my MBA. There is an opportunity cost, so it just depends on what your long-terms goal are. I felt I wanted to be more on the business side and that a MBA would provide more options in the future. I don't regret it one bit. I also chose the full-time program. If you are looking to change careers, I think it is the better choice.

By the way I would get the loans and save your retirement. I consolidated my loans at a little over 2% of 20 years. The monthly payment is very reasonable.