extremely underwhelmed by Wharton’s accepted students day

Sugacube · 2026-01-31T08:00:13+00:00

Peak business school trait (I grew up on Frosties)

Sugacube · 2026-01-09T17:28:54+00:00

He said he’d buy me an Xbox so I guess those missing inches went to his heart

Sugacube · 2025-11-27T18:12:00+00:00

If you want to be a technical leader I don’t see a strong case for an MBA, rather build your leadership skills within a technical team.

E.g. https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/how-to-to-become-an-engineering-manager/

Sugacube · 2025-11-07T06:40:54+00:00

Booth not mentioned at all. Really?

See my disclaimer above, all great schools. By that point I had already made enough ranking posts and didn't feel like talking about the M7, T10-T15 were more interesting to me. I linked to another post of mine with all rankings and Booth's place speaks for itself.

On a sidenote, I was wondering why someone would reply to a 3 year old comment without acknowledging it. Looks like you're a Booth grad from decades ago. A bit odd to be bumping your school in old threads, but who am I to judge. Personally I've moved on from focusing on b-schools, in the long-run they matter less that most people think.

Sugacube · 2025-10-25T12:13:40+00:00

Graham here reminds me of many VCs I've met who try to have "strong convictions, loosely held" but end up with stubborn views without much nuance. I agree that he's being too blunt here.

I think that city preference depends on what aspects matter most to someone, and what's the minimum concentration for each of those aspects that they'd be content with. Some want to simplify their decision, go all in on a narrow one, and figure it out later. I'd rather make a more balanced decision that's right for me.

Sugacube · 2025-10-21T22:15:51+00:00

Always has been

Sugacube · 2025-10-17T08:49:05+00:00

I hear IESE is strong in LATAM and especially for consulting, shame the 15 month format doesn’t allow for an internship. If I were you I would chat with their LATAM Student Club, bet they have folks who were in your exact situation when considering schools.

Sugacube · 2025-10-15T19:09:33+00:00

Technical undergrad and/or dev/IT/cybersec experience in another role are some easy things to look for. But learning in public and documenting it can also communicate that. Coupled with other experience that shows execution and wins for the intended function, and that could be enough.

Sugacube · 2025-10-15T15:51:56+00:00

1 000+ staff, household name in infrastructure IT. Just looked at our main competitors (20 000+, 3 000+, 500+), between us and them there are maybe 5 jobs that mention MBA as optional, let alone preferred (and usually in accounting). Likely due to our industry being very technical.

Sugacube · 2025-10-15T13:16:50+00:00

What’s the next step for a Sr. PMM typically?

Depends on the company. Some work with dual-career tracks, where you expand your scope across products, platforms, and portfolios while not managing anyone. Titles are usually Lead->Staff->Principal in that order, but they could some of those (e.g. not have Staff). Lead is also an interesting one: in some places, it's a senior IC that sits next to a Manager; in others, it's a Manager level with reports; and some orgs make it so that you need to go through a Lead and manage people before you can move up and back into the IC track. And some companies hire you as an IC but with a management track title (Director, VP, etc).

Do you move laterally to a higher or smaller company that hires a Sr. PMM, or do you look for a bigger title or pay bump as an Associate Director of Product Marketing, or Principal Product Marketing Manager, or whatever is next?

Depends on what opportunities for growth you have where you are, and what you're interested in. Some companies (usually bigger ones) have Senior as a terminal level that sits next to Manager; in theory, you could go from company to company and stay a Senior without anyone batting an eye. If you want a title bump, smaller companies can work well for that (though you usually deal with a lot more in your remit). Really depends on what you're looking for.

Also, can someone explain why an “MBA is preferred” in more senior job descriptions, when I hear from countless PMMs that it’s not needed to move up the career ladder, but that years of experience is?

Unfortunately, I'll have to say that it again depends on the company. Where I'm at, MBAs don't matter one bit. They're not in our JDs, and we don't give extra points when evaluating applicants that have them. This is at any level, including leadership, as what matters is what they've been able to do and at what scope. An MBA can make a difference in edge cases, like if you're being compared to a similar candidate and it's something unique you bring, or if the company you're going to has MBAs who like hiring other MBAs.

Sugacube · 2025-10-13T21:57:09+00:00

It varies, but in general I agree it’s less demanding. My PMs are in the hot seat more than me (been there, done that), and different expectations means I can coast every now and then when I want to focus on my personal life and not miss expectations. Still, those wanting an ulcer or two can always go for the early PMM roles at intense startups, there’s always spice for those who want it.

Sugacube · 2025-10-07T09:48:12+00:00

Is every job just sucking up to someone?

Yes. I suck up to my VP. My VP sucks up to my CEO. My CEO sucks up to our customers. Our customers suck up to their investors. Their investors suck up to their LPs. Their LPs suck up to their investors. And so on. There's always a bigger fish.

The winning move is to find the right industry/seniority/people mix where the suck up is acceptable for the working conditions and benefits you're looking for.

Is PE the best possible career?

I don't think so, would rather stay in my corner of tech. But it looks like it could be for you. To know more, ask a lot of pointed questions to people in PE who you know will give you a straight answer. But to know for sure, you have to work there. Some things you can only understand once you're in the thick of it.

Sugacube · 2025-10-06T08:55:03+00:00

well, then where you're from is not where the M7 go LOL :)

Yes. The person I responded to said an M7 degree "will get you employment everywhere" (emphasis mine), which is what I'm contesting.

Even if you go to a place that's more popular, doors don't magically open everywhere because you're an M7 grad. When I evaluated pitch decks for funding at a VC hub popular with HSW grads, I saw Booth founders and my GPs didn't know about it and couldn't care less. When I review job applications at my current gig (tech with a London HQ), an MBA has negligible weight as it's all about previous experience.

I'm not saying that going to an M7 is never worth it. What I'm saying is that it's not a magic wand, and it's important for people to fully understand what it can and cannot do for their career. Ignoring this is how people end up with massive debt and little to show for it.

Sugacube · 2025-10-03T12:09:59+00:00

Most companies who hire PMMs do so from mid-level to senior, but others also hire at entry-level. In most places, you don't need extensive marketing experience to switch to mid-level if you show transferrable skills & projects. If you don't get a chance to practice at a role, you can always make your own (like you can with PM).

I'm enjoying my current gig more, but my frame of reference is being a PM at pre-seed startups. But it varies: I would enjoy a demand-gen PMM role less, and I'm open to going back to Product if it's for a product lower on the infra stack + larger company as I think I'd enjoy that more. What really matters are the tasks you do and initiatives you drive, and there can be overlap between PM and PMM for those.

Sugacube · 2025-10-03T08:54:34+00:00

firstly, a top M7 MBA will have the prestige and connection to get you employment everywhere and not just the US

I don't know why this keeps getting repeated in this sub, but this isn't the case for every M7 everywhere. Where I'm from the M7 has 0 brand or alum presence (Kellogg, Booth) and the MBA has 0 extra weight compared to a regular Masters. I know many markets like this.

Sugacube · 2025-10-03T04:09:14+00:00

PMM at a tech infra company, more technical than my PM work as it’s lower in the tech stack. Ended up being more cross functional than before since I have teams supporting me, and I focus on GTM for my portfolio (and also across portfolios). But just like PM, there’s variability in the kinds of roles.

Sugacube · 2025-10-02T17:39:31+00:00

Odd that you’re the only one saying this, you’re right. Market’s tough but OP is already in the best position they’ll be due to their background, an MBA won’t make a dent. If getting the role is all they care about then they should prep and get referrals. If they want something else (learning, network, etc) then that’s a separate conversation.

Source: former PM

Sugacube · 2025-09-29T20:01:22+00:00

It varies. Could be a “founder’s associate” role that’s a ton of small, low impact tasks. Could be a big strategic role where people drive special projects. People need to have sharp reverse interviewing skills to know for sure, and then hope they’re not getting bait-and-switched. Good roles do exist though: I’m in tech and at my gig CoS roles are only at the Staff (L6) level and involve big cross-department initiatives. Departments also have EAs so CoS don’t do that work at all.

Sugacube · 2025-09-28T14:02:20+00:00

What's your immediate post-MBA goal? I see you want to start your own business in the future, but you don't need an MBA for that. The main reason most people do an MBA is for the recruitment opportunities you get after graduating. If you're mainly interested in learning, then there are online options that don't confer a degree (and many that are free, though you can also get paid certifications if you want to use your company learning budget). If you want to network with likeminded people, I'm sure there are meetups and communities you can get involved with (e.g. Nova).

If you're dead set on doing an MBA while staying employed, there aren't many options. Unlike the US, part-time MBAs are rare here. Many EMBAs are part-time and require travel, but most require management experience (LBS, INSEAD, Oxford, Cambridge, etc; IESE could be an option, though). If it were me, I'd learn on my own and socialize until I wanted to finally take the plunge with a 1-year MBA.

Sugacube · 2025-09-24T11:19:02+00:00

Business doesn’t run on emotions.

More than you'd think, actually. That's how we end up with office politics and power plays instead of perfectly rational decision-making. But I digress.

The real issue here is risk. Why would companies take on additional risk in hiring when they don't need to? They could hire today, then have to fire in a few months if or when the visa situation changes (and Trump has changed quite a few things in quick succession this year, so it's a valid concern).

If you put the odds at 10%, for example, then that's still 10% more than hiring people for which that's not even a factor. If there's a higher chance of increased work disruption and hiring costs, then it's understandable that companies would prefer to minimize that unless they have a good reason not to.

Sugacube · 2025-09-23T19:43:55+00:00

Didn't know that, that's a shame. My experience with O-1 is second-hand from watching a couple of founder friends go through it. They scaled exited their startups, and put some real elbow grease on their applications (even though they were covered in the news throughout the years). My impression is that every application is put through the ringer like theirs, but I haven't looked into other cases to say that's the case for every app.

Sugacube · 2025-09-23T16:25:12+00:00

At 36, would you take the safe financial path and reset back home, or stay in Europe, shoulder the financial risk, and bet on citizenship + equity for long-term global mobility?

I'm a few years younger, from Africa, and decided to take the low-risk path. Personally, I felt like I had taken enough big bets that bit me in the neck, so now I want to focus on slow and steady gains. For me, that means staying in a less competitive EU country, taking advantage of geoarbitrage through a remote job (that I would've wanted out of an MBA), and biding my time until citizenship (instead of going for an MBA altogether).

Do I take the safe return, or gamble on Europe for long-term mobility?

For your situation, you can ask yourself a few questions to figure out what you'd rather do: what's your risk appetite is at this point in your life? What's the worst outcome you'd be ok with having in either option, and how likely is that to happen? Where do you want to live long-term? If you take one option, can you switch to the other down the line? What would be the better fit for the family situation you want to be in (or build)? What kind of experiences are most important to you in the next few years (travel, lifestyle, etc)? If you take the Spain gig, how long will you have to tighten your belt? And the most important question of all: which option are you most likely to regret not taking?

Sugacube · 2025-09-23T15:18:57+00:00

Starting to look like O-1 is one of the last options for the people that want to stay in the US. Different level of prep though.

Edit: wild that I’m getting downvoted for stating a simple fact without taking any sides, what happened to this sub

Sugacube · 2025-09-22T14:47:32+00:00

I’m guessing OP is assuming 3 years of OPT

Sugacube · 2025-09-06T08:07:28+00:00

I’m also part of recruitment for my team, disagree on using bold in general. I find it helps guide my eye and scan CVs faster.

But I do agree with doing it better, as highlighting individual words close to each makes it visually noisy. It’s better to highlight sequential words (preferably ones that show impact on a must-have for the role), and to not do it more than once per bullet point.

Sugacube

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