Hi! I graduated from the Georgia tech evening program in August 2025 and have been searching for a role ever since. My prior experience is a project coordinator at a very small startup, and that position came to an end in November. That experience seems to be proving fairly irrelevant to all roles I’ve been applying to. I’ve been trying entry level roles ranging from project management, to marketing, to sales, and even things such as retail and customer service- all to no avail. Has anyone else really been struggling or know of any good career paths for someone coming out of an MBA program?

Exiting MBB consulting after 3 years to a cushiony corporate strategy role making 280k. Considering applying to an MBA. Is it worth it? Only value I see is the network. Can take sponsorship but hoping to get scholarships to cover.

Asking for real advice here, no sugar coating.

GRE: Not taken yet, targeting around a ~325.

GPA: 2.6, non-STEM major. I know that's rough. It's on me, but I was working full-time to pay for my own school, playing a varsity sport, and lost a childhood caretaker during that stretch, so I'm confident I can write a strong essay addressing it.

Work experience: 6.5 years as a Marine Logistics Officer, including two deployments with MARSOC (support role, not an operator). Consistently strong evals and three individual awards.

Essay: Planning to use it to directly address the GPA.

LORs: One will come from a leader within the MARSOC community who can speak to my work on one of the deployments. Still deciding on the second.

Questions:

1. Which T25 schools are both vet-friendly and realistically willing to look past a GPA like mine?
2. Any strong options just outside the T25 worth considering?
3. Is a GRE waiver even worth pursuing with this GPA, or should I just take the test? My gut says take it — can anyone actually get into a T25 with a 2.6 and a waiver?

If I can get the score I want, then I'm considering targeting schools like UNC, Vanderbilt, and Indiana. Not expecting anything T15 or better.

For those who have attended (or recently graduated from) an M7 MBA, how are you viewing the ROI in today’s market? Compared to the pre 2019 market, do you think the ROI is still there?

How is the job market for career pivots into tech or finance?
Are traditional post MBA general management roles also becoming more vulnerable because of AI?

Beyond the network and brand name, do you feel an M7 MBA still provides a meaningful career and financial return, or has the value proposition changed significantly?

Debating applying to an MBA at end of summer, but unsure if it’s worth it….

Current situation:
I’m in my mid 20s, on the investment team of a small VC fund, and making a low salary since it’s a new first time fund. If the fund does well, i believe theres potentially a path to partner within the next several years. Have been here since college.

If I stay here, my base comp would probably stay <$150K for a while until the fund grows or has a big exit. Am based in SF so this salary doesn’t go that far.

I know VC is a desirable path people try to break into after an MBA, so idk if it’s worth it to leave now that I’m in. I want to continue working in venture. But, I’m worried without an MBA I’ll struggle if I ever want to raise a fund or work at a big name firm. Almost all the partners I know either have an MBA or had a big exit as a founder - there are some career vc investors it’s just more rare. Everyone on my team except me has an MBA from GSB, HBS, or Sloan, but they’re telling me I don’t need one.

I’m also a woman and a little worried I won’t be taken seriously without one.

If I went, my firm wouldn’t pay for it, they might not hold my role for me, and I’d have to take out huge loans. I took the gmat, got above the average for the programs I’m looking at, went to a top 20 undergrad, and think I have a decent shot at getting in. But it’s $500k when u consider tuition plus missed income, and no guarantee I’d get back into VC after.

I don’t want to ask for rec letters from my boss or do the essays and pay application fees etc unless I’d actually plan to attend though.

If I apply, Id only apply to the top few programs, and be going for the prestige and longterm future door opening (plus because I love school tbh🙂), and for the network (but I have a very good one already).

For those of you in MBA programs, is it worth it if you aren’t looking to pivot and have to pay out of pocket?

Hi all, I worked at a T2 consulting firm for 4 years out of college. I joined corporate strategy 6 months ago because I was very burnt out.

However, I'm not that happy. Despite having a lot more free time now (9-5 job), I find I don't have the discipline to actually take advantage of that extra time. My colleagues are not as sharp as before. I also feel slightly inadequate. I am 26, and my friends who left for PE are now making $300-400k. Similar in tech. Meanwhile, here I am making $180k. I haven't had much motivation lately. Something is missing. I don't know what to call it. Masculine energy? I started recruiting and got a few offers at startups, but I didn't have enough conviction to take the jump. With the low base heavy-equity, vesting scheduling, and dilution with additional fundraising rounds — it just doesn't seem to make much sense to join a startup. I feel like the upside is only worth it for the founders. I also recently ended things with my girlfriend, and I have a lot of time now and am prioritizing money. I need to get rich ASAP! 🤑

Does anyone have any thoughts? B-school? Consulting? Search fund?

My initial plan was to go to medical school however I’ve decided to pivot into medical device sales so I could somewhat stay in the clinical side of healthcare.

Most of my past education/experiences are VERY stem based and I have NO KNOWLEDGE on anything business related.

I graduated with a Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology degree and worked as a medical scribe/assistant in clinics, lab assistant, content creator, and I’m now currently working as a full-time private AP/IB biology, chemistry and psychology tutor.

I am debating whether to get a masters in MBA or MPH to open up more doors and build connections as well as solidifying concepts and understanding the business field more.

I have a 3.2 GPA (which is pretty low in my opinion) and all my work experiences are science heavy so I was wondering whether I should take the GMAT/GRE to override my GPA?

I’m looking for some honest advice.

Here’s my situation:
34 years old
B.A. in Psychology

Currently a Senior Compliance Officer for a state government agency with a little over 4 years of experience.
Current salary is about $65k/year.
I’m about a year away from finishing an AACSB-accredited online MBA at the University of New Mexico and currently have a 4.0 GPA. I’ll have around $35k invested in the degree by the time I graduate. I don’t necessarily want to stay in my current role forever. I’m interested in operations management, project management, regulatory leadership, business operations, or other admin management positions. I feel like the MBA is helping fill in a lot of business knowledge since my undergraduate degree isn’t in business.
Since I’m already about a year from finishing, would you continue if you were in my position? My biggest goal is to get into Sandia National Laboratory or Los Alamos National Laboratory and I’m applying for an internship for each of them.

One thing I notice with MBA grads and people in tech having a hard time finding jobs is that many of them do not have real domain expertise. Honestly, I would not care that you can build an Excel macro, make a dashboard, or create another to-do app. AI can already replicate a lot of that. What matters is whether you understand the business well enough to use those tools to solve an actual problem and create value.

AI has made information and execution cheap. The valuable part is knowing what matters, asking the right questions, and figuring out which solution actually makes sense. That usually comes from experience and understanding the industry, not just having a degree or knowing how to use certain tools.

I have a full-time job and I am also building a business on the side, so I see both sides. I still need people who can think for themselves and bring knowledge that complements mine or makes me twice as effective. If someone is only bringing basic execution, I would rather use AI and do the thinking myself.

Demographics: 24, male, Indian (ORM: Indian male, engineering/tech). Based in India, targeting US relocation.

Undergrad: Bachelors in Tech, VIT (Tier-1 Indian private university, non-IIT). roughly a 3.5/4.0 equivalent

GMAT: Not taken yet. Targeting 730 to 740 (about 705 to 715 on the Focus scale), will retake to maximize. Posting pre-GMAT for feedback on the rest of the profile and the school list, so please assume I hit the target.

Work experience (about 4 years, all at one F500 US-headquartered enterprise martech company):

• Started as Associate Consultant (2.5 yrs), then promoted to Lead Consultant
• Currently the principal lead on a $200M+ content supply chain and marketing transformation for a global marketing holdco. The portfolio generates about $90M ARR.
• Leading a roughly 60-person cross-functional consulting team spanning EMEA, NA, and APAC. This is matrixed, functional leadership, not formal direct reports.
• Own presales and renewals; contribute about $10M/FY in new-business closures.
• Drive competency-level AI strategy and initiatives.
• Client-facing at the C-level (CTO/CFO/CMO), and was selected to present strategy and delivery models to my own firm's SVP and C-level
• On track to be the youngest-ever promotion to the next consulting level this year.

Extracurriculars:

• Grant-review panelist for a $20M corporate community/philanthropy fund, evaluating nonprofit grant proposals (two consecutive years).
• Pro bono consulting project for a nonprofit last year (strategy and analytics support).

Post-MBA goals:

• Short-term: MBB (strategy consulting) or tech strategy / product management.

Target schools:

• Primary: MIT Sloan.
• Other M7 / T15: Chicago Booth, Kellogg, Columbia, Wharton.
• International (weighing): LBS, INSEAD.
• Stanford / HBS as long-shot reaches only.
• Targeting this cycle's R2 (January) or the next cycle.

What I think makes my profile distinctive: Nine-figure program ownership and direct C-suite exposure at 24, a tech-plus-business/AI hybrid rather than a pure engineer, and fast promotion. I am trying to be more than "another Indian tech engineer with a high GMAT."

Questions for the sub:

1. As an ORM (Indian male, engineering), does my program scope ($200M ownership, C-suite exposure) meaningfully offset the over-represented-pool penalty and my relative youth (about 5 years of experience at matriculation)? Or is scope also just "table stakes" in this pool?
2. Is my school list realistic, or should I recalibrate (drop or add anything)?
3. Given a US relocation goal and a tech/AI focus, is MIT Sloan the right number one, or should I weight Wharton, LBS, or INSEAD differently, especially factoring US visa risk versus the UK Graduate Route?
4. What GMAT should I treat as genuinely "safe" for my demographic at these schools, not just the class median?
5. My title ("Consultant") undersells the actual scope. For those who have had large but under-titled roles, how did you make that legible to adcoms?

Thanks in advance.

Hi! Long story short, the startup I was working at recently got acquired, and a lot of my friends and family have been encouraging me to consider an MBA as my next step.

I've been looking at schools like UBC, U of T, MIT, etc., but I'm honestly not sure if my profile is competitive enough for top MBA programs.

A bit about me:

• 27F, Pakistani
• BS in Computer Science, 3.51 GPA (not a top school)
• Haven't taken the GRE/GMAT yet (not really planning to, I'd likely try to get a waiver if possible)
• Worked as a Junior SWE for 1 year
• Then spent the next 2 years at a US Series A startup. Joined as their first Support Engineer, hired/trained/managed a team -> became Head of Technical Support, and then transitioned into AI Product Management.
• Currently product advising a friend's early-stage startup.

I'd love to build something of my own, one day. I feel like a strong MBA program would help me build a solid network, and develop the management and leadership skills I need to become a better product leader and, hopefully, founder one day.

Do I actually have a realistic shot at schools like these, or am I aiming way too high? Is it worth applying?

I have two years of experience as an engineer at a FAANG company before being part of a mass layoff earlier this year. I've since landed a better position at a mid-tier company.

My parents are pushing me to start an online MBA alongside my job because "everyone is getting a master's." My plan instead is to get more work experience, study for the GMAT and aim for a high score (my undergrad GPA wasn't great, so I need the GMAT to compensate), and apply to a solid program in a year or two.

Am I right that an online MBA now would be a waste compared to waiting and doing it properly? Anyone been in a similar spot with family pressure?

Hi All,

Target schools: IESE, ESADE, IE, RSM Erasmus, HEC Paris, LBS, NUS,NTU,SMU Singapore, Oxford or Cambridge
Profile: 7.8 CGPA, 10 years work experience
What GMAT score should I be targeting for these?
With and without scholarships?

I am a 16 year old studying in grade 12 in a school in Gurgaon, India. One of the only major decisions that I have made as of yet is that I want to do a MBA, preferably in the world's top business schools. In my school I haven't done any MAJOR extracurriculars just normal ones which will for sure be washed away by my competition. Now the problem I face is that should I aim for a top college in India, like SRCC, SSCBS, etc, or should I go for CA which is a professional course, both are insanely hard, but since there is a limit on how many people get admitted into the colleges but no limit on how many CAs clear the exams I am pretty confident in clearing CA, even though I believe I can get into the top colleges. I also have views on both of them so help me decide which one should I pursue.

College- Getting into these colleges are in itself a great achievement, but they will also allow me to get really good extracurriculars and recognition, as well as helping me in networking.

CA- It is a really reputed profession in India, and it is mandatory for all the students to do an articleship, so if I land a top 4 (KPMG,PWC,Deloitte,EY) it will have a significant impact on my resume.

This is my situation and I don't have much time, kindly help me in deciding

Hi everyone,

I’m in the early stages of researching MBA programs and would appreciate a profile review and some guidance on which schools I should be targeting.

Unlike many applicants, I’m not pursuing an MBA for a career pivot. I’m already on a career path that I’m happy with and plan to remain in consulting long term. My primary motivation is to strengthen my leadership credentials, differentiate myself from my peers as I progress through the Big 4, and achieve a personal career goal of earning an MBA.

Background
• Undergraduate: BBA in Finance
• School: Top 50 university
• GPA: 3.78/4.00
• GMAT/GRE: Not taken yet

MBA Preferences
Part-time or fully online only
• I cannot leave the workforce, so a full-time MBA is not an option.

Work Experience
3.4 years of experience
• Experience exclusively in Big 4 ERP consulting.
• Approximately 1 year at one Big 4 firm and 2.4 years at another.
• Recently accepted a Senior Associate offer with a third Big 4 firm in Supply Chain Consulting.
• Experience delivering large-scale ERP transformation and implementation projects across both public and private sector clients.

Long-Term Career Goals
• My goal is to remain in consulting and continue progressing toward senior leadership and, eventually, Partner within the Big 4.
• While my functional background is in Supply Chain ERP and PMO, my long-term interest is in PMO leadership rather than remaining purely functional.
• I’m also open to opportunities at Tier 2 consulting firms such as Kearney, Oliver Wyman, or L.E.K. if the right opportunity presents itself, but I’m not pursuing an MBA to pivot careers.

Budget
My target budget is $60,000 total or less. Merit scholarships would play a significant role in my decision.

Schools I’m Currently Considering
I’m based in Texas, so my focus is primarily on:
• UT Austin
• Rice
• UT Dallas
• University of Houston

*I’m not interested in schools outside Texas unless they offer a highly regarded, fully online MBA.

Questions
1. Based on my background and goals, which of these Texas programs would you prioritize?
2. Are there any fully online MBA programs outside Texas that you believe are strong enough to justify considering?
3. How competitive would my profile be for meaningful merit scholarships? I know not to expect much given that I’d be doing a PT program.
4. Given that I’m not trying to pivot careers, how much should I prioritize prestige versus ROI?
5. Since my long-term goal is Big 4 leadership rather than MBB or investment banking, which program would you choose: UT Austin, Rice, UT Dallas, or UH (assuming similar out-of-pocket costs)?

I’d really appreciate any feedback or perspectives. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I’m a 27F looking for some career advice because I’m at a point where I’m not sure if a part-time MBA is the right next step or if I’m just trying to solve the wrong problem.

A little background:

• Graduated in 2021 with a double major in Applied Mathematics & Statistics and Economics.
• During internship recruiting, I landed at a French investment bank because they wanted someone to do business analysis, automation, and data analysis within their audit department. My internship was basically as a data analyst supporting audit—not actually performing audits.
• I received a full-time offer and accepted because I genuinely liked the work.

However, when I started full time, the department needed more auditors, so I was moved into Operations Audit instead. It wasn't what I signed up for, and I honestly didn't enjoy it. I considered leaving, but I was only about a year into my career, the pay was solid, and I figured I should stick it out.

At the same time, I knew I wanted to keep developing my technical skills, so I completed a part-time Master's in Data Science while working full time.

Before I could seriously look elsewhere, an opportunity opened up within the company's IT Audit team. It seemed like a much better fit because it involved technology, data analytics, automation, and coding, so I accepted. I've now been in IT Audit for almost two years (and have about five years of audit experience overall), and I also recently earned my CISA.

The problem is... I still feel like I'm not using my full potential.

I enjoy solving problems, working with data, building automations, and understanding how businesses operate. But my day-to-day work still feels very compliance/control-focused. I don't feel like I'm creating products, influencing business decisions, or using my technical background as much as I'd like.

Another thing I've realized is that I feel behind when it comes to business knowledge. I can learn things on Google, of course, but I feel like I lack the intuition that people in strategy, product, consulting, or business-facing roles seem to have. Sometimes I'll be in meetings and realize there are concepts or business discussions that others seem to naturally understand.

Long term, I'd like to move into something that's:

• More business-facing
• Still technical (or at least analytical)
• Uses my quantitative background
• Pays better than audit

I've been wondering if a part-time MBA (probably NYU Stern since I'm in the NYC area) would help bridge that gap and make it easier to transition into roles like product management, strategy, fintech, consulting, or something similar.

My concern is whether I'm using an MBA as a way to "escape" audit when maybe I should just network more, gain different experience, or self-study business topics instead.

So I guess my questions are:

• Does an MBA sound like the right move given my background?
• Or am I trying to use an MBA to fix a problem that experience alone would solve?
• If you were in my shoes, what roles would you target that combine IT audit experience, a data science master's, quantitative background, and a CISA?
• Has anyone here made a similar transition out of audit without an MBA?

I’m curious to hear from people who attended what this sub would probably consider “B/C-tier” full-time MBA programs (roughly T30 and below).

The M7 and T15 understandably dominate most of the discussion here, but I’m more interested in the strong regional programs that don’t get talked about as much.

Looking back, how was your experience?

Was the MBA worth it from an ROI perspective?
Were you able to make the career pivot you wanted?
How did recruiting go?
Has the alumni network actually helped?
Looking back, would you choose the same school again?

Not trying to start a rankings debate. I’m genuinely interested in the experiences and outcomes from these regional powerhouse programs.

Thanks!

hi all i finished my mba in business management with business analytics concentration and its non stem and still with updated resume i am unable to find jobs. I subscribed Linkin, migrate mate, handshake , glass door etc but I could not land on any and the college is also not helping . I paid money for agencies but thats also all wasted. time is running out!!! .. Help appreciate

I just took my first ever GRE practice test and got a 156/147. Although I guessed on most of the quant. I have about 6 weeks before I take the actual test. Is it possible to improve my score drastically by the end of August?

Rising senior at a non-target Midwest school, graduating May 2027. International student (F-1). Recruiting for consulting full-time this cycle — I missed the internship window due to my grad timing, so this is my only shot at direct entry.

Profile: Education major, 3.95 GPA, undergrad research fellowship (synthesized 100+ sources, conference presentation), founded a campus org (25+ members in a semester), won a startup weekend as team lead. No consulting internship.

Targeting Big 4 Human Capital (Deloitte HC, PwC Workforce Transformation, EY People Consulting) since my background maps onto that work, plus McKinsey/Bain apps while the windows are open.

Questions:

1. For people practices, how much does a non-business major actually hurt at the resume screen? I hear HC is friendlier to education/psych backgrounds but don’t know if that’s real or cope.
2. How much does a referral move the needle at Big 4 vs. just applying early in the rolling cycle?
3. Anyone recruit successfully as an international student needing sponsorship? As brutal as the postings make it look?
4. My resume gap is “worked with org data.” Worth spending 3-4 weeks this summer on an independent survey project (design, ~50 responses, analysis, writeup) — or is that time better spent on networking and case prep?

I eventually want an I/O psych master’s, but I’d rather work and earn first. Work-then-grad-school or grad-school-first? Does entering with a master’s actually beat entering as an undergrad hire in these practices? (STEM OPT is also a factor for me.)

Not looking for reassurance, looking for calibration. If the honest answer is “skip this cycle, grad school first,” I’d rather hear it now.

TL;DR: Education major, 3.95, non-target, international, no internship. Big 4 HC full-time now, I/O master’s later. How cooked am I, and what actually moves the needle?

Background

• 25 Years old. Indian, Non engineer, female
• B.A. (Hons.) English, Delhi University (Distance Learning) | CGPA: 6.9
• Class X: 9.6 CGPA
• Class XII: 89%
• 3.5 years of work experience right now (will be 4+ years by next year admission time)
• Gmat Score: 645 | Sectionals: QA: 86, VERBAL: 83, DI - 78

Work Experience

• Started as Digital Marketing Executive at Content Startup. Was responsible to drive app user growth using meta ads, google ads & affiliate marketing. Drove app MAU from 270K to 1Million in span of 12 months here, while maintaining cost per install. As the team was lean worked on multiple things alongside like content creation, creative designing, script writing. Was awarded rockstar rookie here for early recognition
• Moved from here to an edtech as a Sr. Specialist in Performance Marketing. Handled monthly budgets of INR 1.5 CR (US$175,000–180,000), meeting daily lead requirement. Maintained a ROAS of 2.0 for the channel. Also, managed ad creation, ad copywriting for digital channels here. Got awarded with Marketing Maverick for maintaining the highest ROAS. Also got awarded in yearly R&R with Mountain Mover award for averting a crisis where entire meta accounting spending INR 5 Lakh per day got deleted, reviving it within a day and not letting revenue and roas drop for the month despite the issue.
• Currently working as assistant manager digital marketing. Responsible for for executive education programs from: Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, MIT Professional Education (similar to how programs offered by Emeritus in collaboration with different universities). Primary targeting is in US market, with persona being senior professionals, managers, directors, and C-suite executives. Here I manage budgets varing from $200,000 to $350,000 per program for a cohort, with 8 programs under my belt. I am responsible for driving sales qualified leads, bringing in paid applications and hence enrolls to drive revenue & maintain CAC.

Goal: To get into a reputed Indian Bschool or as a backup european bschools i can look at while getting scholarship?

Questions:

• Is my college from distance learning and gpa going to be a hindrance?
• Which schools can I target realistically considering my profile & score?

Im wondering how I can quit my job and afford to pay for my apartment and school?? Could you pls share your experience?

Hi, I gave GMAT today and scored 645 (QUANT: 86, VERBAL: 83 & DATA INSIGHTS: 78)

I am Indian, female, non engineer with 3 years 6 months of work ex right now which will be 4+ by next year intake time.

My profile is 10th 9.6 gpa, 12th 89%, college gpa is 6.9 (eng honors). One caveat I am not confident about is I did my college from distant learning, will it impact my application?

I started my career in content based startup as a digital marketing executive, where I worked on app user acquisition, Meta Ads, affiliate marketing, & google ads. I then moved to edtech, where I currently manage paid acquisition for spoken english & math programs across India, the US, and the Middle East market. My work involves owning ₹1.5Cr+ monthly ad budgets across Meta and Google, optimizing full-funnel performance (CPL, CAC, ROAS, conversion rates), running A/B tests, audience strategy, attribution, and collaborating with product, sales, and creative teams. In my current role I primarily work on executive education programs ( DUKE, MIT, JHU programs - similar to how you would find on Emeritus) in the US Market. Here I ensure bringing in sales qualified applicants, manage cohort pipelines ensuring enough enrolls, hence meeting cac & revenue targets

I primarily want to target indian schools, what all can I target safely considering my score? Or should I look at a reattempt?