So, just went through the whole admissions process thing. I only applied to HBS (interview/rejected), Stanford (rejected), and Yale (accepted). My stats are good (780 GMAT, 3.5 GPA) and I'd like to think I have an interesting background (two years in highly selective public service programs with long hours and multiple simultaneous responsibilities).

I'd like to stay in the nonprofit field after I graduate, so I'm not necessarily looking for a whole lot of recruiting prestige. I am, however, looking for fundraising potentail (ie. Will people give my organization money because I went to [blank]?). Affordability is also an issue, and loan forgiveness will be crucial.

I've talked to my boss, and there may be potential to stay on with my current org for another year.

So the big question is: Do I take the admit at Yale SOM or wait it out and try again?

you want to stay in non-profit? ----> GO TO YALE!

I would agree—goto Yale.

Below H&S, the real good non-profit schools would be at par or around par with Yale. If you had been interested in finance I would have advised otherwise.

unless you are going to seriously improve your candidature there's no reason to think next year's outcome will be any different...

i would go to yale. do you seriously think you would get funding just on the back of the HBS name on your resume? access to richer people maybe but they aren't idiots...

Mbauk makes a good point, and to be honest, a 780 and 3.5 will get you in the door in most schools but that doesn't mean you'll have better, say, leadership by next year. That said, two things: (a) there is a huge gap between HBS and Yale, with quite a few schools in between, so you really didn't get a good sense of what your ceiling is; (b) if you're really not sure about Yale, then hell yes, reapply.

Hi.
I would appreciate some thoughts on what future holds for a fresh MBA graduate with an engineering background and with oil&gas background specifically?

1) chances of going into management consulting
2) chances of going into investment banking
3) the best job outside of petroleum industry is…
4) is there some advantage of having an engineering experience when trying to get a job in 1 and 2?

I am interested to hear from MBA graduates with an engineering background and people that observed careers of MBA graduates with an engineering background.

Thank you!

i would say your engineer background reflects good quant skills, and it's great that you've got oil/gas background. Though oil prices are down, they're expected to go back up in the long term. I read this in an article somewhere...think it was Euroweek. Anyway, oil prices are going to go back up in the long term b/c the drillers will be opening again with increased demand caused by all the drillers closing right now and supply going down. Lots of potential bang in the bucket there, until our energy source bceomes completely replaced by re-usable energy.

As of now, I'd say I-Bank recruitment generally is still quite down in the dumps, but perhaps no so bad in the oil/gas/coal sector. Perhaps the same goes for MC...i'd say the business there is still quite good, especially compared to deriatives.

Overall, i'd think it should still be ok but it also depends on how you execute your interview and your networking skills right now. Thoughts anybody?

Thank you Captain Obvious for your illuminating post.

you're welcome

I'd say you have a good chance at both. However, you'd perhaps want to research some MBA programs that cater to the oil industry (Rice for example, but I am sure there are others) and talk to the students and alumni there to get a feel for the market.

As you are aware banks aren't recruiting much, but there are plenty of boutique i-banking firms that cater to the energy sector though (and boutique firms are currently the only ones recruiting). Because this is a niche market whatever school you get into a good portion of recruitment activity will probably have to be done off-campus and through networking, alumni contacts, etc.

I think the same will go for consulting, it will all depend on what happens over the next few years, but again there are many companies that cater to the energy sector alone, so the same argument above fits into this.

So, probably the best bet is to look carefully at the right schools and try to get in touch with students in the Energy Club or such, or the Consulting Club etc which could give you a little more insight for someone like you.

But again, if you wish to completely shift out of the energy sector, with an engineering background most MBAs will fit your profile if your aim is to switch careers.

Best jobs etc...just check the stats for the schools you are interested in...most consultancies and banks recruit in all top 10/15 programs, so it's just a matter of you picking the schools you like and getting in...

Historically, banking has paid more historically but banking is about timing and opportunity: right product, right team, right bank at the right time....pay fluctuates and while changes are occuring in pay structure, living in most financial centres and getting no bonus it's quite dire.

Here are banking pay stats for the UK for 2008....

Thank you for sharing thoughts. I got into top 10 MBA programs. School places graduetes well into both management consulting and i-banking. With an assumption that thing will only marginally improve in 2011, do ex-engineers get a chance to compete for jobs in mc and i-banking?

Yes, without a doubt!!!! Especially for consutling, but for all jobs really....that should be the least of your worries...

In the recent past (2004-2008) a very large portion of the MBA classes have gone into finance. I think that will change and only the really interested guys will be getting in atleast for the next few years, including 2011.

MC depends on the economy as they are very cyclical businesses.

Hey, so I have been accepted into LBS, and I am going bananas right now. I have been WL at several US schools, but am not counting on them, especially this year. I am trying to understand how is LBS viewed in the US...I ultimately want to come back to the US to work (not a US citizen), so just wondering if LBS is treated with respect here if I don't have any other options....

Everyone says London is great and the program is amazing, but I need a bit more concrete feedback. Has anyone made the move from the UK to the US, and if so, what did you find?

Congratulations! LBS is a great school. Its reputation is extremely strong in Europe and Asia. However, it has some scope for improvement in the US. If you want to work in New York, there is some good news to you. I think the second biggest alumni base is in New York, after London. If you want to work in the US after your MBA, the chances are minimal. To enhance your chances, I can suggest the following:

i) Participate in the internship/full-time job treks to the US

ii) Take an exchange program to a US school. As you are currently living in the US, you might not be eligible in the first round of exchange program applications, but as per my knowledge, you can get into some US school. LBS has the exchange program with almost all the top schools.

iii) Take-up a full-time role in a US based company in London and then take a to the US transfer after few years.

Best of luck!

I'm going to LBS, but I think that if you know for sure you want to work in the US, you should go to a US school. It's not impossible, but why make the job search harder than it has to be, especially in this environment? If I were you, I'd go to any top 10-12ish school you can get into, and do an exchange at LBS. If you really don't get into any other top schools this year, and don't want to wait another year, then I'd take a shot at LBS....

Most likely going to LBS as well. World wide I consider LBS on par with M7, stronger in Europe and obviously weaker and North America.

Agree with getmeoutta...proximity to recruiters would be important under current environment so if one is 100% sure to work in the US a school with less brand (e.g. 10-15 such as NYU) may work better...otherwise same comments re. exchange and career trek.

This is not me saying:

Got from European schools career advices when visitng them couple weeks ago: US cos look for students graduatig in th US...there are many thousands skilled people graduating from 10 top notch schools, so why these cos would fly to Europe to take a look at maybe 50 skilled students graduating from insead or lbs........

again not me....

You're right - they won't go looking for you. But, if you are at a top overseas program such as INSEAD or LBS, they'll give you a chance and speak to you if you go to the US on a career trek for example. They'll be open to interviewing and hiring you, but they won't go out of their way to get you.

agree 100%

from time to time, after reading a lot of crap, you find a smart guy in these forums....

I am an international going to LBS too. Immediately after MBA, getting a job in US might be more difficult than if you go to a good ( top 10-15) US school. Like others have mentioned, if that's your objective, you might have to do career treks, use your network, tap into the network of students around you, etc. But if your long term plan is to come back to US, then I think it should be fine. If you are ok with working in Europe or Asia immediately after graduation then probably after 2-3 years when you have established some name within the company, you could always get a transfer to US. So then, if your question is how would the LBS brand be perceived in US when you eventually come back, then I would say ( based on speaking to LBS and other school alumns working in US and mining through tons of material on this forum and otherwise) that it has a brand name comparable to the non-HSW M7 schools. Ofcourse at that point in your career brand name of LBS might matter less and your work accomplishements might really be the key thing.

Just my 2 cents

Hey let's not kid ourselves here, market is down, jobs are done, its a big mess all over the place.

Assuming you are a normal person without major contacts where you want to get in, you are going to have to work to get that job whichever you go.

All else equal it is going to be easier the closer you are to the recruiting base. And obviously with all the expense cutting and so forth, companies are not going to be flying all over the place to give by signing bonuses to everyone. That said, global corps recruit at top B School with global outlook (e.g. HSW, Col, Chi, Kellog, LBS, INSEAD, etc.) and will get the talent they need to fill their positions. However, wherever you go location for the job may be something over which you dont have as much control as youd like.

For the US situation right now I would agree with you with the following caveat in terms of who will have easier access to these jobs:

- American studying at local schools

- American studying at foreign schools but that do career treks, network, perhaps exchange

- Foreign studying at local schools

- Foreign studying at foreing schools

If you are a foreign wanting to get into the US it may actually be a smarter play to go study in Europe stay there for a bit and then use your work exp or your company to get transferred in the US.

On Friday MBAMA (the BYU MBA Marketing Association) got together and had our first conference call since graduating from the program. I remember while still in the program talking to alumni and many of them still held monthly conference calls with many of their fellow students to keep in touch and share ideas. I thought this was a great idea so nearly 11 months after we all graduated I finally went through the work and I organized the call. Only 8 of the possible 40 of the MBAMA members showed up, but seeing it was the first call I thought it went very well. We are hoping to hold it every month so those who can make it one month and not another can still keep in contact.

It was great talking to those who were on the call and to hear how they are doing. Another great thing is that a lot of them are in contact with people that I am not so they can fill us in on how everyone is doing. It is always good to keep in contact with everyone because first of all they are my friends, and second if one of them becomes super rich and successful it is always good to have that kind of network! I can see some of my buddies from BYU making some waves...

One of the best things that came from the call was the fact that we all got together and talked about our fellow classmates who had been laid off and who are looking for work. It turns out by keeping in contact and trying to help each other out someone found a job for one of those searching. It is nice to know that even now a year removed for school we are still helping each other out and finding jobs.

Just because you graduate from school doesn't mean you can't still keep in contact with everyone from your program. I have found it very beneficial to stay in contact with my friends, not only because they are my friends, but I have seen many of them go out of their way to help and find jobs for those you are in need. It is also good to talk to others in maybe different industries and companies than you and hear their perspective on marketing or whatever job function they might have. There are a lot of smart people out there with good ideas, and luckily I went to school with a lot of them.

After running my own business, Krustyfries for a few months, I got the opportunity to join a large and well positioned strategic marketing consultancy, Kineo as their Head of Data & Analytics Strategy.

Although I was keen to go out on my own, I jumped at the chance to join a larger consultancy that already had Vodafone Australia as a client. At Kineo, my role is to help clients unlock the potential of their brands and business utlising the power of analytics, measurement and accountability.

My areas of expertise include search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimisation (SEO), web analytics, display advertising and marketing ROI.

I am looking forward to the challenge of switching from client side to agency side, I'll let you all know how I go!