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August 2016 Moms
charmedlifex3
member
NBR : A school / career related question WWYD
charmedlifex3
member
I've seen some wicked smart ladies on here, so I am picking your brains. I'm (in addition to working full time) going for my MBA. The time has come to pick my concentration.
There are three options:
1. MBA in sustainability. 65 credits, certified green MBA, I have 33 of the 65. (core classes)
Pros - sustainability is a recognizable term, and companies are looking for "green MBA's" to run their sustainability departments. I've toyed with the idea of going to law school to work in environmental regulation, so this would support that goal.
Cons - I would only be halfway done (two to three years until completion) ugh. and trying to get the other half done, while working full time with a baby. And the opportunities for green mba's are limited in my area, so we would likely have to move to use my degree to it's fullest.
2. MBA in project management. 45 credits, one of my classes I took doesn't apply to this path, so I would have 15 credits left to complete.
Pros - The industry I already work in (Operations for financial services) project management is useful. It's also marketable, especially when paired with my BS in information systems. If I did want to continue on to law school, this path has several regulation / legal focused classes, in addition to traditional PM. There are job opportunities relatively locally in this field, upstate NY (40 min to and hour) has been attracting technology companies with tax breaks, and they are hiring PM. I'd be done in about a year and a half.
Cons - one of my classes doesn't apply, it's a pretty narrow/ specialized field.
3. MBA in "conscious business" - 45 credits, all my credits apply, about 12 credits left.
Pros- I'd be done in less than a year. The MBA has "business" in the title.
Cons - I'd constantly be explaining what conscious business means, and the terminology may actually put off the business as usual crowd.
I talked to my husband about it, and he is supportive of whichever path I take. He's also supportive of me continuing on, but that depends on him being able to take over the financial burden for our family, which right now isn't possible, so I have to assume may never happen. (something to keep in mind) Financially, I have a hefty scholarship and tuition reimbursement through work which covers *almost* the entire rest, so paying for more credits is less of a consideration than it would normally be. Usually per term it costs less than it did to go through community college, out of pocket.
Time wise, it's usually a 5-15 hour a week commitment, a lot of which I do on my lunch breaks from work or while laying in bed on Sunday mornings. Classes only meet once a month, all day on Saturday and Sunday, about 9 times a year.
So, WWYD?
Re: NBR : A school / career related question WWYD
Plus, you're close to finishing and that's a HUGE pro!
It sounds to me like the PM option has the best opportunities for you close to home, which I think is a pretty big pro. Moving to a different state with a toddler is of course doable, but would it be easy for YH to find work elsewhere?
Just a note about law school (from someone who has BTDT)-- if you want to be a lawyer, I would tell you to just start law school asap and not bother with the MBA. Law school is kind of this weird beast that is quite unlike other courses of study, and most starting-level career options for lawyers are not especially interested in other degrees. I would also tell you, though, that full-time law school is pretty much impossible with a baby and a job. Once your kid was in school, it would be much more manageable, but still difficult to balance even a part-time job and a kid. I found it to be a pretty demanding course of study.
BFP #1: 08/17/2012 DD1 born 05/01/2013
BFP #2: 07/31/2015 M/C 09/23/2015 (11.5 weeks)
I would go with project management. It truly is a marketable degree that you can use in a wide variety of industries. If one industry tanks for whatever reason, you can switch to another. It's a very universal degree. Later on if you do pursue a legal career, a project management background shows leadership and organizational skills.
My second choice would be the sustainability degree -- that is a booming field for sure, but as you mentioned, the opportunities will be clustered in certain cities. Also it seems like your career would be more subject to the ups and downs of the economy. If a company were in trouble, the sustainability department/person could be high on the list for layoffs.
I'd pick conscious business last, because as you said, you'd constantly have to explain it to people. I had never heard of it, so I did some googling and found a wide variety of results. The problem with a degree or anything else on your resume that requires explanation, is that you may never have the opportunity to explain it. If your resume doesn't make it past the first stage of the hiring process (either the manager or someone in HR sorting through resumes), you won't get to the interview stage.
At the end of the day, you should choose something that really speaks to you -- it's not all about marketability. On the other hand, a graduate degree is a huge investment of money and time and you're going to want it to pay off. Good luck with your decision!
@fremdschamen I don't really want to be a lawyer - I 'd like to work in the regulatory side of things. I don't know if my MBA will be enough to get me where I want to go - the answer seems to be "maybe." I think it's worth finishing, and seeing what opportunities it opens up (especially since I am at least halfway through!)
Also, law school is honestly a bigger time commitment, since this program is so flexible. financially we aren't able to swing me working part time, or not working, so that is in the "maybe someday" pile.
My cousin is a lobbyist in DC for environmental non-profits, that's more the direction I was interested in going, someday.
My inclination was the PM degree. There is some attraction to being done sooner, but between the fact it would let me dip my toe in the legality of things, and the fact it IS more marketable (Thank you for confirming that @SNAPS816 ... I had thought it might be, but it's been a VERY long time since I looked for a job, so who knows?)
It just seems to be the most potential ROI, and the most likely to pay off in the short term as well as the long term... Which, since I am supporting our family at the moments, does count for a lot.
ETA - I have my MBA and the hours to qualify for the PMP but have chosen not to stress about the certification because I dont want to be tunneled down the PM path. Im wanting to stay in more of policy.
BFP #1: 08/17/2012 DD1 born 05/01/2013
BFP #2: 07/31/2015 M/C 09/23/2015 (11.5 weeks)
@thisisnumber3 I know if I stay in my current field, there are arbitrary "MBA preferred" (read required) on a lot of jobs, including the next promotion within my current office. To some degree, they don't care what it's in... Just that you have those three little letters after your name. I actually did the PM certification during undergrad in agile PM, so this would be additional to the certification, not in lieu of.
My current field is very much work to live, not live to work. I don't hate it, I'm good at it, but I'm out the door at 5pm because it's just work, not a passion.
I do recognize that what I "want" to do (or think I might), and what is realistic / opportunities arise to do, isn't always going to coincide, so there is a deep practicality in this decision. Like I said, even going to law school depends on a lot of external factors I don't have control over.
@Fremdschamen - No worries I get it! I actually considered going to law school prior to starting my MBA, but the fact is I really have no interest in practicing law, and between the scholarship I was offered and the lessor time commitment, this made more sense. More within advisement of companies or non profits on the regulatory / operations side. I do all the compliance in our office now, (we report to 37 different regulatory agencies, so you can imagine!) and it seems to be my niche, of what I am good at, don't hate and a lot of other people are not good at and DO hate.
It would be more, if I am headed in a direction it makes sense, AND financially it makes sense for our family, I wouldn't want "You got your MBA in... WHAT?" to stand in my way.
@snaps816 That is a good point about the disposability of sustainability people. A good friend of mine is the CSO for delta, and her job (a C level employee!) was cut in half, demoted to part time, and strongly suggested she move to "consulting" rather than working directly for the company.
Thanks ladies for challenging me to think this through - completely. I know I need to, and I need to make a decision but honestly I'm distracted by baby brain.
I would go the PM route - it seems like the most balanced decision of all the choices. Good luck and congrats on your hard work!!
I agree with most of these ladies about the PM concentration. It was many many application in corporate America and financial services. I completed my MBA with a concentration in Finance. At the time I was seriously considering a focus in Public Economics. Although it was my passion, I knew it was going to limit my career options. I chose to use my elective credits in that concentration instead.
Good luck. Whatever you choose, you will make the right decision.
@Katienu I live just over the border from Mass into Vermont. I lived in Boston for years though, so I guess it counts.
@tmk0325 I think, looking purely at the classes themselves there are more classes I am excited to take in the PM track. The concept and the challenge of the susty MBA appeals to me, but the actual classes I'm kinda meh about, plus the extra work (for no real reward) is daunting.
The thought of the "conscious business" mba doesn't appeal at all, so I think I can toss that out.
But I am going to disagree with some previous posters about law school. I have my law degree and don't currently work in a field that requires one (but I will starting next year) and I find my degree to be invaluable everyday. I went to a state school where alumni primarily go into practice, and I don't feel like I was "trained" to be a lawyer. Quite the opposite actually. I couldn't write a contract, try a case, or file a brief if you paid me a million dollars right now. I do think there was a law school bubble where people went to law school because they didn't know what else they wanted to do and there was this misconception that you can do anything with a law degree. That's definitely not true, but there a lot of non-practice careers that require or prefer a JD. I have friends who serve as in-house counsel or as a compliance officer and love it. There are also JD's in government work for administrative agencies like the EPA that would fit with someone interested in sustainability or environmental issues. I also know that dual degrees (especially practical ones like JD/MBA) are on the rise because of the flexibility in marketing the degree to potential employers. If this is an area you're interested in participating someday, it's definitely worth it to speak to some employers or career centers at law schools to see how they place people with JD/MBA's. I graduated with a few people who had already received their MBA. I may be biased because I seem to be one of the few people who genuinely liked law school and would go back in a heartbeat. I just hate seeing so much negativity about law school -- yes it's a lot of work and can be expensive (depending on what type of school you attend), but done correctly it can open a lot of doors and teach you to think in a way that no other degree or profession would.
I will say that even if you're interested in environmental law or being a lobbyist for an environmental agency, an MBA with a concentration in sustainability is not necessary. You would have to take environmental law focused classes while in law school anyway. Some schools have concentrations and some allow you to create your own concentration, so if there are enough environmental law classes at a school you could go that route. I know you said this is still just a maybe dream and way in the future, but I just wanted to give you another perspective about law school!
Married May 2014
DD born August 2016
Baby #2 due December 2017
And as another piece of advice i'd hold off on any sort of law school for now. The return won't be there financially and the market of law related jobs is so low compared to the amount of people walking away with decent worth while jobs.
Baby #1 - DD 8/29/16
Baby #2 - EDD 4/6/18