abexman
08-15-09, 07:13 AM
Hello All,
Was hoping to get some advice because I think highly of the opinions of iTulipers. Please share your thoughts, ideas and experience with the below topics:
Here's my story: I am interested in entrepreneurship, particularly in technology areas like energy, nanotech et - other than that I cannot say that my goals for the next decades are crystal clear - to some extent I feel I need to adapt to market conditions. I am not sure I will stay in sales forever. During the past decade I planned to ultimately get an MBA. I had made preparations for going to MBA school several years ago, starting with taking my GMAT test. I did well on those tests after a lot of study and now I only have a few years to utilize that effort since most schools only look at scores within the past 5 years.
The biggest reason for me to get an the MBA is for credibility (with potential employers and investors) and connections. I had discounted the value of an MBA previously until I started talking to a lot of investors and being within their sphere. In what I witnessed in my exposure to startups and early stage companies over the past decade, you got instant cred with investors when you had an MBA from certain schools. Also, if you wanted to go work for an early-stage company in a business role with some financing, it was very difficult without an MBA. I also felt that there was a big difference between the big-name schools and the second tier in terms of where it would get me, but not in terms of price. In other words I felt I should shoot for the top and not easily accept a second tier school. There's a lot in the name of a business school.
Granted I think the next few years, possibly longer, will not be an entrepreneur-friendly environment here in the US. I guess I should have started reading iTulip earlier because in my process of slow and careful planning for my MBA the economy fell off a cliff. When I went to apply to 2 highly selective US schools last fall the competition was obviously more intense than ever. However, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. The last 6 months has clearly revealed the weak state of the American long-term economic future to me. I don't think Europe is going to be much better - especially from the perspective of an entrepreneur. It seems Asia is where the future will be brightest over the coming decades.
So, I am now considering looking to Asia for an MBA. I certainly would prefer to stay in the US as opposed to moving to Asia. However even if I got an MBA in Asia and returned to the US, I imagine connections to the Asian business community will be very valuable no matter where you do business in the coming years. I guess where I feel a little lost is in trying to determine the quality of business schools in Asia. There does not seem to be the same consensus, fwiw, about schools abroad as there is here in the US. Hong Kong seems like it might be a good fit. I am only truly fluent in English at this point but would be happy to learn another language. I am curious if anyone has any experience or knowledge of these schools?
International Side by Side MBA School Rankings:
http://www.bschool.com/intlsbys.html
Was hoping to get some advice because I think highly of the opinions of iTulipers. Please share your thoughts, ideas and experience with the below topics:
Here's my story: I am interested in entrepreneurship, particularly in technology areas like energy, nanotech et - other than that I cannot say that my goals for the next decades are crystal clear - to some extent I feel I need to adapt to market conditions. I am not sure I will stay in sales forever. During the past decade I planned to ultimately get an MBA. I had made preparations for going to MBA school several years ago, starting with taking my GMAT test. I did well on those tests after a lot of study and now I only have a few years to utilize that effort since most schools only look at scores within the past 5 years.
The biggest reason for me to get an the MBA is for credibility (with potential employers and investors) and connections. I had discounted the value of an MBA previously until I started talking to a lot of investors and being within their sphere. In what I witnessed in my exposure to startups and early stage companies over the past decade, you got instant cred with investors when you had an MBA from certain schools. Also, if you wanted to go work for an early-stage company in a business role with some financing, it was very difficult without an MBA. I also felt that there was a big difference between the big-name schools and the second tier in terms of where it would get me, but not in terms of price. In other words I felt I should shoot for the top and not easily accept a second tier school. There's a lot in the name of a business school.
Granted I think the next few years, possibly longer, will not be an entrepreneur-friendly environment here in the US. I guess I should have started reading iTulip earlier because in my process of slow and careful planning for my MBA the economy fell off a cliff. When I went to apply to 2 highly selective US schools last fall the competition was obviously more intense than ever. However, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. The last 6 months has clearly revealed the weak state of the American long-term economic future to me. I don't think Europe is going to be much better - especially from the perspective of an entrepreneur. It seems Asia is where the future will be brightest over the coming decades.
So, I am now considering looking to Asia for an MBA. I certainly would prefer to stay in the US as opposed to moving to Asia. However even if I got an MBA in Asia and returned to the US, I imagine connections to the Asian business community will be very valuable no matter where you do business in the coming years. I guess where I feel a little lost is in trying to determine the quality of business schools in Asia. There does not seem to be the same consensus, fwiw, about schools abroad as there is here in the US. Hong Kong seems like it might be a good fit. I am only truly fluent in English at this point but would be happy to learn another language. I am curious if anyone has any experience or knowledge of these schools?
International Side by Side MBA School Rankings:
http://www.bschool.com/intlsbys.html