MBA grads? What jobs await?

[StageLeft]

I'm thinking of taking my undergrad in BSc and my very questionable "career" in IT and going back to school to do an MBA. I have no business background, but assuming I get accepted, what can I do after? Ideally I'd like to do something like investing (not working on a trading floor though), or business analysis, financial advisor. Really I find economics and money quite interesting (not just because its fun to spend). Unlike in the past, what opportunities await people with MBA's these days? I would be going to a reasonably good university but its certainly not an Ivy league. I'd anticipage decent grades and do what I can during the program to help me out after...

BTW I do NOT want to be an accountant filing people's tax-returns. No thanks!

 

[pmark]

It depends on what you will concertrate on. Most people with MBAs usually got into business stragety(sp?) or some sort of manager of a department. You won't be doing the grunt work of tax returns. The whole point of getting a MBA is learning to manage people.

 

[StageLeft]

Right - but I don't want only to manage employees of course, although managing some client's portfolios could be fun! So, are there plenty of jobs for MBA grads with no experience at all? I'm in the IT field now and was told there are but junior positions are very quickly filling, so I'm thinking of paying my dues and getting an MBA, and I don't want to find myself in 2.5 years stuggling to find my first job...

 

[pmark]

Well, getting into a good MBA school with no experience is impossible or near impossible. You could go to a subpar one but that might not be worth it (time and money).

Whoever told you that there are only junior positions available in the IT field is wrong. There are plenty of positions still open. Matter of fact, I just got a new job after being laid off from my old one. It isn't a junior positon either. Where are you looking? What area do you want to work?

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

hmmm flipping burgers is always available.

 

[StageLeft]

What i meant pmark, is that there are are increasingly few juniors. I was laid off as well and I have a year's experience, but its very difficult to find a job, and I don't want to be stuck 6 months down the road looking for another one. IT is so frigging unstable, damn I wish I had a job at a strong company!

You may be right though about the MBA thing...

 

[pmark]

Skoorb,

You have a year's worth of experience, you shouldn't be looking or settling for a junior position. You should be looking for a mid-level position when the requirements are around 2 years of experience. That one years of epxerience can really make a difference.

 

[StageLeft]

Believe me I know! I'm trying, and I've gotten a couple of interviews but there is a hell of a lot of competition. There are very few juniors now that require no experience, and its getting to the point where one year is what you need to even get an interview...I can get these and do well in them but still most companies aren't hiring now. I guess I may have to move to Boston

 

[tontod]

You could always be like a manager of an IT Department somewhere, responsible for the overall infrastructure.

 

[pmark]

Have you tried looking in Maine? I don't know how close you are to there, but I hear that they are dieing for IT professionals.

Moving to Boston isn't a bad idea. Great city and you will be sure to find a job here.

 

[linuxboy]

your best bet after getting an MBA is to intern with a company. There are many positions open and you get a taste of what you want to do. Go to a site and search what position companies have for MBA grads.

 

[pmark]

A MBA isn't the only choice for higher education. If you want to stay in the IT field, you can get a Masters in Computer Science or Masters in Computer Engineering. It will be easier to get into a school for that and it will most likely be quicker.

 

[linuxboy]

I'd actually have to agree on that

most master's programs in EE or CSE have 5-10 people. Depends on the college. And admissions are not competitive because not many people arwe that crazy/skilled.

the grades are thus curved because of the difficulty.
and the instruction is very good

most programs are 45 credits and they have co-op options where you can get up to 10 credits. The downside is that you will be actually working in the field. So make sure you like what you do.