US News and World Report Gives Advice for Returning to School from the Workplace
Frequently, business students will spend a year (or several!) in the working world after their undergraduate years before returning to school for their MBA. In fact, significant work experience is expected of MBA applicants. Work experience gives students the benefit of having an understanding of the business world that they can apply to their MBA classes, but it can be hard for students to transition back to school from the real world. Recently, US News and World Report provided advice for MBA seekers preparing to go back to school in an article called “4 Hurdles for Employees Headed to Business School”.
Many students work as consultants or marketers before returning to business school, and the change in income associated with going back to school is substantial. Students also have to return to academic tasks like projects, presentations, and tests, that will seem foreign after spending time in the business world. However, income and work are not the only factors that can make transitioning from the workplace to school difficult. In their article, US News and World Report identifies four other factors that make returning to business school difficult for employees.
The first challenge is having to manage your time in business school. US News and World Report talked to Fritswa Baffour, who pursued an MBA at New York University’s Stern School of Business. She said that when she returned to school, she had a much less rigid schedule than she had when she was working. However, that didn’t mean she wasn’t busy, as she observed: “There’s just a lot going. For two years you’re just constantly going.”
The second challenge is social interests. Business school requires significant social commitments, including recruitment events, clubs, activities, and networking with classmates. While one can have a social life outside of work, it can be more challenging to have a social life outside of business school.
The article also observes that self-direction can be a challenge for new MBA students. In business school, students don’t have a boss who manages their project assignments and oversees their work. Tyler Cormney, a Harvard Business School alum, says that self-direction is crucial for MBA students, who only have two years to make the most of business school: “you have to have your own action plan.”
Finally, the article observes that some MBA students enter business school with a strong background in quantitative subjects like accounting and finance. A quantitative background gives business students a strong advantage going into the degree program. Students without this background can take an online class or a community college class to help them learn useful skills for business school.
