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MBA in Top Business School After MS in USA – Is it a Good Idea?

Question from reader in USA who is contemplating to study MBA after completing MS in USA.

 

I came to US in 2008 for my MS in Electrical Engineering in USA and i graduated in 2010 and having been working since then.

When i came to USA, i came here with a dream of getting in to a Job profile which i really wanted to get in to or if in case that was not possible, i had a plan B.

As you all might know, for a an average Student, from a Average university in USA, its not that easy to crack a Job in Electrical Engineering especially when your degree was a theoretical one with out any research experience involved.

Currently I am working in a Big Corporation with a FT job but, again not exactly in the Profile i would have wished to work in.

Now, i am thinking of my Plan B which is to do an MBA from a top School (if i get an admission) and then pursue my dreams and reach the top in Management.

There are many things running in my mind right now.

  • Is it a good idea and is it worth it ?
  • What are the odds of me cracking a MBA admission from a Top B school in USA ?
  • What happens to my Visa Status ? I will be on H1 by the end of this year and woudl have used up all of my 12+17 months OPT as well. So if i decide to do an MBA, should i convert back to F1 and in that case will i get more OPT ?
  • Is it a possibility that, i could continue at my current job and then pursue my MBA on H1 itself ?

I just want to get views/opinions from HSB and its followers.

Odds of Admission in Top B-School

That depends on your effort and desire. Top schools might not be accessible for students right after Bachelors degree.

But, with MS from USA and couple of years of work experience, you get admit in Top Business Schools in USA.

Looks like you will have over 2 years work experience when you apply for MBA.

Typically B-Schools look for students with atleast 2 years work experience.

H1B to F1 COS

You can convert your visa status back to F1  when you get admission for MBA. That wouldn’t be a problem. Check with school’s DSO.

Part Time MBA

Part Time is certainly possible. But, you might have to handle travel, based on where you are located.

If you can get admission in top B-School near your place, then you can do MBA while working in H1B. It can take upto 3 years to complete MBA.

If your employer is sponsoring the program, then after MBA, you might have to work with them for next 2 years (usually) or pay back the money they paid for your education.

Hope this helps.

Lets see what others professionals who have similar plans have to say about your questions.

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24 Comments

  1. I feel this is surely possible. I’m in for fall 12, and have plans for MBA from a top school after a few years of work ex. I could have taken a college here in India this year but decided that I need some brushing in my technical skills and thus work ex, before I go for MBA. And if I’ve to work, I’ll make my profile better because time is still on my side.

  2. so if a guy graduates from an average university is it hard for him to find good jobs or better jobs. whats the point he is trying to say. If i graduate with good acads from an average university (electrical engineering) cant i get job in corporates like GENERAL MOTORS, BOSCH industries, IFB , APPLE etc ( just stated some examples of places where i m willing t work).

    1. Well what i was trying to say is…. by average i meant.. i am not a freaking genius… and if i was .. then i would have been in MIT or UCberkeley or something and probably had… so many research publications …. or by now may be some US patents as well… But.. the whole point i was trying to say is … if u graduate from an average school… even with decent academics in any field apart from Computer Science/Computer Engineering, u will see the big difference of the amount of opportunities being available for you. Most of the FT jobs in many companies … in Wireless Communications in specific (which is one of the concentration areas of Electrical Engineering), are only for GC holders/US Citizens .. so you will end up not getting any calls from them… and the other biggies in the field … want obviously the best among the available pool of candidates….. so they normally pick form top schools (if someone is available from there).

  3. its so funny that ppl(widout talent) think abt being rich widout taking chances…if u r talented den u will see opportunity everywhere…u don’t need is forum to tell u wht is best for u…if u r hardworking (which makes up for talent all d time) den take calculated risk…study hard…get an exceptional GMAT score…get into better (leave best) college which will give u some financial assistance cause every college wants high GMAT scorer to improve der avg GMAT cutoff nd to look good…study hard nd b proactive in cllg…be A+…nd den i refuse to believe u will not land a good job…

    1. Well.. i donno… what your background is .. where you are geographically located… but if really understand the life of ppl (Excluding SW engineers & Top School grads).. and come out of the Software World, you will understand what i am trying to say. ..
      I am not trying to say that, SW jobs are like a cake walk, of course not…. they are equally hard as well.. but you atleast get an opportunity to face so many interviews. . and the more interviews u face.. more exposure u get.. on wat is being expected and u get better and eventually crack a job.. and u could sit on bed and Start practicing coding …. and even come up with some wonderful SW projects……. Try to understand that.. not all fields are like that…..

      1. ha ha…so u wanna be loser nd still get paid…dats bit tough dude…nd if u talk abt SW jobs…yup dey r plenty but to get one d qualifications r pretty simple…its a simply pyramid concept…higher u go up d value chain…opportunity will be less nd scrutiny will be more…so if u don’t hv talent stick wid mundane things like a job in SW…why to waste time thinking this or that…

        1. Well…. For me i dont consider that as loser attitude…. coz … there was always a plan B….. which is MBA…. the only thing is … it may have been later on in my life … if i was in the job which i really wanted to right now …. . but now .. its gonna be like..tthat is coming early… so i am not losing much…. for me … getting into a pure sw job… will be a loser thing to do….. its like … being okay with what ever you are getting or coming across… and frankly speaking …in my opinion….. u probably should change your username… “takecahances:) to may be dontakechances 🙁 … coz it looks like … taking chances ..going against the odds and achieving success… does not seem like your cup of tea…. .. which is not certainly the case with me though .. .

          1. true man. If you aren’t happy with your job, you could as well pursue your MBA but i guess you should work for a few years to have some of your money invested(for MS) and then may be swtch on to MBA. I have silmiar ideas after my masters. I dont still know how good the plan is, though.

            Good luck 🙂

          2. Hey Abhilash,
            I have over 4 years of experience in telecom domain(optical fibre ,networking) and currently working in reputed telecom firm in india,but i am not satisfied with my job and planning to do ms in electrical engg. Now i am pretty much concerned about job prospect after completing MS in USA after reading your article. As i am a average student can you please tell me is it safe to do MS ? If not then what should i do MS from computer engg or MBA?

  4. Hi HSB,

    I have been reading your blogs for quite some time, as a mute spectator, to understand the nuances of higher education abroad. But, since my interest is to pursue an MBA and spending the past 1 year studying GMAT and researching about MBA, I thought I should comment on this one.

    •Is it a good idea and is it worth it ? I don’t think studying MS and later studying MBA is worth the money someone will be spending, especially considering the fact that he/she is an average student
    •What are the odds of me cracking a MBA admission from a Top B school in USA ? To answer this question, only he/she can tell. But, let me tell the way it is done. First, the GMAT has to be completed. Assuming that you are aiming for a Top B school(Top 20), you need to have an average GMAT score of 700+. The average GMAT scores of Harvard/Stanford are as high as 721/725. If you are an Indian, you should be(not necessarily) above the average for better chances. Then, you have Essays(as important as GMAT), Recommendation letters, Interview, etc..
    •What happens to my Visa Status ? I will be on H1 by the end of this year and woudl have used up all of my 12+17 months OPT as well. So if i decide to do an MBA, should i convert back to F1 and in that case will i get more OPT ? You will have to go on F1(not 100% sure though)
    •Is it a possibility that, i could continue at my current job and then pursue my MBA on H1 itself ? Not possible, if you are looking for a Full time MBA. If you wanted to do a part time MBA, it is possible.

  5. The writer of this post says ” As you all might know, for a an average Student, from a Average university in USA, its not that easy to crack a Job in Electrical Engineering especially when your degree was a theoretical one with out any research experience involved.”
    So the question is this the case for jobs only in Electrical field ? or in general all jobs in USA.
    I would be thankful if anyone writes on the details about the job life of an IT professional in USA.

  6. I am in a USA I know some guys are doing MBA
    What are the options after MBA?
    1) New job
    You will get salary in a range $1, 00,000 to $1, 50,000 PA.
    a) If you think in terms of money,
    i)First we need to do GMAT, TOFEL and go then go through admission process you know that, some money involved in this as everybody knows.
    ii)If you got admission you have to pay $65,000 to $75,000 depending on B school.
    iii)If you get admission for part time MBA, this is fine otherwise you will lose money that you are getting by job now.

    2) Own Business
    You can start your own company (But the fact is that who starts their own company they don’t do MBA they just hire a person who did that and the guys from B school works for them)

    3) If you plan to move to your home country you will get a job as a manager in a good company you can earn more money (That will not help you to clear your educational loan anyway).

    4) As you mension it is difficult for average student from average university to get good job profile and good salary , it is still difficult for average student to get admission in good B school and do good at B school that result in a average job after MBA so less money.
    If you are earning say $ 80,000 PA , to get $1,20,000 spend $ 60,000 to $ 80,000 not a good business right?
    5) If you wish to thing in a long term, I really not able to imagine what happened after 5 to 10 years.
    6) If you are thinking that something miracle will happened to your carrear, let me tell you, you are wrong.

    1. Although it is good to suggest on my own perspectives ,you should clarify yourself that what you are really looking for. If you are looking for a core job in your field ,you have many online certified courses available which can add value to your resume. or else , opting for MBA is a good career option even though it costs more initially. Can you please specify your study background(universities) so that i can suggest you…………………………….

      1. I was actually looking for opportunities in the field of Wireless Communications and to be specific- RF Engineering or any positions in the filed of CDMA/UMTS/LTE. Trust me, i have did every possible ways of career search and i did get some calls from some top companies in this field including Apple, Qualcomm… but could not go all the way to the final stage of getting the offer from them and its been almost 2 yrs…. i am not even sure.. how much i remember all those things which i studied .. coz i never got an opportunity to get a practical exposure in the field..

        1. Hi Abhilash ,

          I think I can understand your situation .You don’t have job satisfaction.
          You don’t feel what you are doing is adding any value to your career; you want one option that will end in good career prospects, good salary and feel yourself valuable. (If I am wrong forgive me.)

          Then I think doing MBA is good option, but trust me buddy you have long way to go, with lots of hard work. But at the same time I want to tell you take your decision, have trust in your decision think this decision is going to change your life fully. Give your 100% , I must say more that 100% .Take 2-3 yr away from everything and you will get what you want. This may sound like a philosophy but technical things will not work all time you must have trust in U and your decision. Once you take your decision forget about each and everything, who says what go ahead and do it.

          All the best and/or Best of luck whichever suits you. If there is a will there is way.

          -Priya.

          1. If you don’t want to spend 2 years, try one year option in European programs.

          2. I dont thing doing MBA European program is good option ,that is not the well recognized master programs.In USA that will not help .
            According to knowledge i am having , even rank of the master’s program matters in this case mba from europen countries not a good deal.

            SO i sais go for MBA prgram in USA ,try to get in to top ranked B Schoool.

            -Priya.

        2. Late to talk…… but couldn’t resist writing on this becoz I am going thru the same probs as urs,,,,,only difference is that ur still in states and I came back to india and started working here in telecom domain………..

          In India and rest of the world telecom story has gone bad and everybody is in dire straits……Interim I also have decided to go for MBA………..

          Let me add my perspective on MBA after MS

          MBA opens several domains for an individual, so you can switch from telecom to CN, FMCG or etc……

          For Job in states for avg student from avg unie needs to do good networking, becoz rarely u will see campus recruitments for avg Unies been done….

          Job thoroughly depends on the market situation prevailing when u pass out from MBA.

          (Mind you getting in top B-Schools you need to something exceptional, in terms of GMAT Score, essay or academic grades)

          For Fees there are unies(2nd tier) which have fees from -40k-65k and good Unies for considerations……..

          I believe telecom is gonna face some rough weathers in coming years so instead of hanging in industry with some sloppy work, better it is to gain Management knowledge…..

          For you I would say that check if you can gain more exp…3years exp with MS degree is good on paper to reach to decent unies……..

          Don’t worry none of the knowledge/degree ever goes waste everything counts at the end………

  7. Can any one tell me how to post an Independent question in HSB.
    I want to post a question not a comment for an existing post.

    thanks
    MNK

  8. How easy is it to start a company if you are on a F1 / H1 visa in USA . Do the rules allow you to do so or restrict a visa holder from doing so unless u are a green card holder?

    1. I agree to him to certain extent, but how may folks are going to jump into self employment to learn about Business Skills. If you are on visa in USA, god luck starting a company in USA.

      1. the poser of this question must understand the fact asking questions like this will only attract subjective answers – including mine. people will answer from their own perspectives. one should always consider the worst case, we might want to call it catching the exception! suppose, he quits his job and finishes mba but didn’t get placed, he will have to return to india. if he’s a high risk taker he’ll go. but a medium risk taker like me will stick to the job and go for some reputed online mba like unc ( http://onlinemba.unc.edu/new2/ ). the value of opportunity cost is truly unique to everyone which can not be measured or determined by outsiders.

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