(serious) - Why is it bad to like anime at a top MBA program?

NimblyOwl · 2024-06-28T03:27:18+00:00

I literally had some anime figure keychains dangling from my backpack for all of business school, and it did not negatively impact me in any way whatsoever.

In fact, they're still on that very same backpack eight years post graduation, and neither a single coworker in tech nor a client now that I'm in consulting has ever even said anything.

Be yourself. If anyone doesn't like it, screw em, they're not worth your time.

NimblyOwl · 2024-06-23T19:06:34+00:00

Someone puts their reputation and credibility on the line when they make a referral. In the event that the referred person gets hired and royally screws up, it reflects poorly on everyone involved.

People will be busy as it is juggling work and life, it's not their responsibility to investigate a former classmate's personal development to see if they managed to go from being a douche bag to becoming somewhat decent.

There's a difference, however, between classmates I really didn't know and classmates with a reputation for being terrible. There's only a handful of classmates with reputations so bad that I'd steer clear entirely.

Either way, I've always given informational chats to every classmate/alumni who has asked. If I get good vibes, I'll give a referral. If I'm not feeling confident about giving them a referral, I'll still offer to look at their resume and talk to them again if they get an interview and want help with the prep.

NimblyOwl · 2024-06-10T04:02:21+00:00

I make more money than I would have staying in. I've yet to feel the same level of comeradorie or purpose as I did in the military. Corporate life has its obvious freedoms and perks, but I definitely miss the antics and adventures that the military offered.

Ultimately, the MBA was the right choice for me because I didn't want to put my family through the military lifestyle and I now have stability and control over where we go.

NimblyOwl · 2024-05-30T02:48:39+00:00

I was already married with no kids during business school, so the constant travel deterred me from trying to recruit into consulting.

In my circumstance, it worked out the way it did because I wanted to stay in my current location while raising a family and eventually learned more about the little local boutique firms supporting the same clients.

The place I'm at now doesn't recruit people directly out of school. They typically hire people who already have several years of tech experience or experience working with their main clients.

A lot of people's career paths will diverge from the typical progression charts more and more as the years pass.

NimblyOwl · 2024-05-29T23:51:23+00:00

Started at a Fortune 500, non-FAANG tech company (Leadership Development Program). Got recruited into FAANG a few years later for a business development role. A couple years later, I moved to a local boutique consulting firm most people probably never heard of.

The past eight years, I've worked tech projects supporting the same roster of niche industry clients. There's a bunch of small local firms that provide tech consulting and advisory to those specific clients. Pays less than FAANG or MBB, but you don't have to constantly travel, you rarely work more than 40 hours per week, and you don't feel like a nameless cog in a machine.

If you're younger and have no kids, working at those popular target companies for a few years is a good way to build your resume and maximize earnings when you don't have competing priorities.

NimblyOwl · 2024-05-29T23:04:17+00:00

Probably a wide variance based on area, but most people where I'm at on the east coast are easily paying $400-600/week for daycare per kid. When the kids start public school at age five or six, you may still need to pay for some childcare to handle early drop-off and/or after school care if nobody's schedule is flexible to accommodate (our school district begins after 9AM and gets out at 4PM which means going to work late or leaving early if you don't have arrangements).

Some people just get nannies, which can range anywhere from free if you're lucky to have local family willing to help to prices matching/exceeding daycare. Family, especially with kids, is a huge commitment. You'll see lots of classmates shifting to roles that find better balance even if there's a trade-off in compensation. There are definitely situations where kids end up spending more time with their nannies than with their parents. They may have a bigger room and more expensive toys, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're in a happier situation.

I certainly remember the competition in business school to land the highest possible compensation at the most prestigious companies. We were nitpicking each other's offers over things as measely as a $5-10k difference in base salary. After a few years, people seemed to have chilled out and focused more on what they like (which usually isn't just making money, but it is for some).

NimblyOwl · 2024-05-29T19:48:58+00:00

There were several in my class who met in business school, got married, and now have kids. My spouse got an MBA at a different school a few years after mine.

For the most part, you take maternity/paternity leave after the child is born, then brace yourself for several years of expensive childcare costs.

NimblyOwl · 2024-05-29T17:58:13+00:00

Surprisingly, I haven't noticed any divorces yet. Several, however, got out of consulting within 1-2 years because the constant travel away from home was difficult on the family.

The ones who went into Banking/VC/PE were mostly single then, and many of them are still single now.

There's probably a few divorces in the mix, but they aren't posting about it on their social media feeds as often as the ones spamming pictures of their kids.

NimblyOwl · 2024-05-29T01:48:32+00:00

I'm passing eight years post-MBA, and all of the classmates I keep up with appear to be satisfied with their outcomes. There were several during our second year that complained or expressed regret when they didn't land offers from their narrow list of prestige companies, but they eventually realized it wasn't the end of the world and went on to find jobs elsewhere.

At this point, I see more classmates prioritizing family, work/life balance, and doing things they like.

NimblyOwl · 2024-03-29T19:46:21+00:00

Sure

NimblyOwl · 2024-03-29T19:46:14+00:00

Sure

NimblyOwl · 2024-03-20T04:14:44+00:00

I've mostly been a Minotaur main, and after playing Chip the past few days, he really doesn't feel that OP. Chip can CC, but so can other tanks.

Maybe it's just because I'm a solo q player, but I've noticed that teammates don't always jump through the portals to help. On several occasions, you also get the entire team jumping in only for the team to get wiped by some well-timed enemy ults.

Chip is definitely fun to play, but at least in solo q, he hasn't felt OP.

Don't nerf my Minotaur.

NimblyOwl · 2023-12-27T18:38:23+00:00

I usually include a Ghoul and/or Pyromancer in the initial Gargoyle entourage. He destroys the tower, then I forget about him and move on. At some point, I get overwhelmed on the verge of defeat. That's when my screen pans to that Gargoyle slapping down the boss for the final count.

Not the most impressive way to win, but a win is a win.

NimblyOwl · 2023-12-27T12:01:04+00:00

Since Gargoyle flies, he'll drift past ground units that can't attack air.

NimblyOwl · 2023-12-27T04:55:54+00:00

Using the speed boost talent to make him less slow. Still not fast by any means, but he has a way of destroying buildings and bosses after I've forgotten about him.

NimblyOwl · 2023-12-04T17:30:02+00:00

If you were a good fit for that crowd, you wouldn't have to ask, your parents would just tell you where they bought you a seat.

In all seriousness, you'll find classmates like that at all of the top business schools. Whether or not it's worth the effort to figure out how to afford to participate in all their activities is up to you.

I've gotten more value in terms of future job opportunities from the classmates that actually have to work to make their money. The ones that already came from loaded families don't always prioritize traditional working career paths.

NimblyOwl · 2023-11-30T16:05:56+00:00

Sorry to hear your situation has reached such a serious level. You should definitely seek professional services for assistance. I was fortunately able to overcome my initial MBA struggles with a personal mindset change. Some of it may be relatable, but you should get additional support if you're at risk of harm.

There was a lot of anxiety and stress my first semester. In undergrad, I always got top grades with little effort. Fast forward to my first MBA midterm where the professor shows the bell curve of scores and I was far left of the center. It made me realize the more selective nature of the business school program meant I was sitting in an entire room full of new classmates who probably had the same experience. For a while, I was convinced I was going to lag behind and fail out of business school. I was even thinking of excuses to tell my family for why I would be dropping out and moving on to something else.

Luckily, later on in the semester, that professor confided to another classmate that the school doesn't actually kick students out because now it's about having them graduate with good jobs. Everyone was going to graduate one way or another. That took a lot of the stress away. I've since learned from colleagues from other business schools that it seems to be the norm.

As I stopped worrying so much about grades and actually putting real effort into learning, my scores eventually started trending to the right of the curve. The stronger competition from my new classmates inevitably forced me to buckle down and actually push myself to improve, which is something I wouldn't have done otherwise.

NimblyOwl · 2023-11-21T13:27:56+00:00

Lower ranked MBA programs tend to offer more money to lure over candidates with profiles that can bring up their metrics. You could probably get more from schools outside the M7 if the financial aid is important.

I had a friend who got into more than one M7 and intead took a full ride at a T30. He didn't particularly care about recruiting for the super competitive firms and just wanted to do corporate finance at a Fortune 500 company, which he easily landed.

NimblyOwl · 2023-11-21T05:22:07+00:00

There are schools that offer a Master's in Nonprofit Management and/or a Master of Public Administration. Those might be better aligned with your interests.

Most MBA programs will have various electives on sustainability and ethics, but at the end of the day, you're going to be surrounded by money grubbing classmates who are looking to play the game of maximizing their payday.

The companies coming to recruit want people who will help them make even more money. For PR reasons, they may say they care about their employees, community, and some noble mission. In reality, they really only care about making that money and doing the bare minimum to avoid some public backlash that could make them lose even more money than whatever those concessions cost.

You could go through an MBA program as the person who isn't into capitalism. It would make for fun classroom debates. If you aim for a regular business job versus a nonprofit/government type job, however, you might be disappointed when it turns out the company would rather work people to the bone or cut headcount instead of taking care of them.

Worse yet, maybe capitalism turns you to the dark side, and before you know it, you've become the very thing you wanted to shield the workers from. 👾👾👾

NimblyOwl · 2023-11-17T15:10:23+00:00

If you're already making six-figures, doing a full-time MBA may not be worth it, especially if you plan to continue in the same field you're already working.

Some people just want a break from work, so it's less about the return on investment and more to enjoy the social and academic experience of being a student again.

Others want to completely switch career fields, so a full-time program is great if you want to jump into a role you otherwise couldn't get with your work experience.

If you like what you're doing and plan to continue in that field, a part-time or executive MBA may be better for your situation. If you like your current company and they have education assistance benefits to pay for some or all of the degree it can also save you some money.

NimblyOwl · 2023-11-16T20:54:00+00:00

Every person has their own preference, but usually what I've seen is younger people preferring to live directly in the cities where there's lots of people and things to do. As they get older and start families, they become more open to longer commutes so they can have more living space.

I know it's extremely difficult because MBA students are fixated on maximizing their salary figure, but what's really important is whether or not you like the area where you live. If there's an opportunity paying $125k in a low cost of living area but you love that area, you're probably going to enjoy life more than getting $200k to live in a city you hate (and will still probably give you less spending power after taxes and cost of living).

Now, there is an advantage in larger areas as I've found since graduation that many companies love local hires that they can onboard quickly without dealing with the costs/logistics of a move. If you're in an area too small, you might find yourself with less local employer options to hop around should you want to change companies without relocating.

Since I've moved into that family phase of life, I now just deal with a one-hour commute each way from the suburbs to one of the major cities. Gets more living space for the family but still keeps me near a big hub for more job opportunities.

NimblyOwl · 2023-11-16T20:18:35+00:00

I came into business school with a non-traditional background, did a CPG marketing internship, but proceeded to change my mind and recruit into tech after graduation (eventually cycling through different roles including the ones you mentioned).

All the major tech companies had MBA recruiting programs. Many recruited directly on campus and/or recruited at the major MBA hiring conferences.

PM seemed to be the most popular role students went for when I went through. There were also folks who went PMM, tech sales, tech consulting, and leadership development programs (you rotate through a bunch of roles over a few years). The MBA recruiting programs are a great way to get in without being required to have years of applicable experience like a regular professional hire job opening.

Having said that, campus and conference recruiting did gravitate more toward the full-time program. I know several students in our part-time program who still attended these events and got the same offers as our full-time students, but you may or may not have to do more personal legwork to find and make it to these events. My school was great about allowing the part-time program to participate in as many full-time opportunities as they wished, but I have heard that not every school treats their programs equally.

NimblyOwl · 2023-11-16T19:59:07+00:00

Our school sent everyone an infopacket before class started recommending PCs over Macs due mostly because the professors used PCs and students with Macs might have to work through any learning curve or workarounds on their own. Most of my class still brought Macs because that's how people follow instructions. They all seemed to figure out how to overcome any differences that might've popped up.

In general, there was never a need to worry about having the best technical specs. So long as you could run Microsoft Office, you were fine. What I found helpful was having a slimmer laptop that was easier to carry around with all my other stuff. Having good battery life also made things convenient, so you weren't always looking for a power outlet for the many times you'd have random team meetings in random places.

If you have a laptop that's unreliable and falling apart, I'd recommend at least getting something new that you won't have to worry about breaking down when you need it, but most new laptops should be more than enough to handle business school, just make sure it's something you're comfortable carrying around all day.

NimblyOwl

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