Entrepreuneurship MBA job prospects

RocknRolla

2 3

Posted May 23, 2009 19:01

Hi people,

I was wondering, if one does and MBA in Entrepreneurship, what are his job prospects? Can one really get involved in real entrepreneurship?

A bit of background, is that I work in the City of London (3 years in) as a software engineer. Worked for an I-bank and now working for a financial services firm and I am contemplating an MBA, although I don't want to end up back at investment banks. Can one really get into entrepreneur jobs, maybe Venture capitalist or something?

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Alan

47 94

Posted May 25, 2009 09:38

That is a very good question. There's got to be some career paths open to grads of specialist entrepreneur MBA programs (like VC, for sure). But my feeling on this is that you should find a good business school with a strong entrepreneurship program/center/club, but not necessarily enroll in a "Entrepreneurship MBA" program. You end up with a general MBA, which might give you more options. I've often wondered if there are stigmas associated with specialist MBAs among recruiters. Anyone?

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RocknRolla

2 3

Posted May 25, 2009 10:55

Yo,

good point. I "think" I can get into one of the good schools. I have an undergrad in CS and an MSc in IS from the London School of Economics, and with my work experience I got a good shot, and the idea of an overall MBA is a valid one, yet am not sure I want to be just another MBA-with-no-clue out there. I am doing it to switch careers within the technology domain, and not like alot of people who think of an MBA as a way out. I hate science people who think by doing an MBA they can cash in and work less.

As for stigmas, well, I dont know if there is a negative approach by recruiters when it comes to specialized MBA such as entrepreneurship, but I do know that those with finance MBAs are heavily sought out by those same recruiters, sometimes even more than general MBAs. But thats from the financial services domain perspective. Consulting and industry may have stigmas.....

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Inactive User

45 89

Posted May 26, 2009 05:15

Hi people,

I was wondering, if one does and MBA in Entrepreneurship, what are his job prospects? Can one really get involved in real entrepreneurship?

A bit of background, is that I work in the City of London (3 years in) as a software engineer. Worked for an I-bank and now working for a financial services firm and I am contemplating an MBA, although I don't want to end up back at investment banks. Can one really get into entrepreneur jobs, maybe Venture capitalist or something?

Well, although your intention is to finish off as an entrepreneur, I wouldn't state this in your essays--just for the purpose of getting in. B schools are concerned with the post-MBA employability of their students, and they'd question why you need an MBA if you want to be an entrepreneur. You can pursue an MBA in entrepreneurship, but I'd suggest you say you want a job in marketing/consulting

<blockquote>Hi people,

I was wondering, if one does and MBA in Entrepreneurship, what are his job prospects? Can one really get involved in real entrepreneurship?

A bit of background, is that I work in the City of London (3 years in) as a software engineer. Worked for an I-bank and now working for a financial services firm and I am contemplating an MBA, although I don't want to end up back at investment banks. Can one really get into entrepreneur jobs, maybe Venture capitalist or something?</blockquote>

Well, although your intention is to finish off as an entrepreneur, I wouldn't state this in your essays--just for the purpose of getting in. B schools are concerned with the post-MBA employability of their students, and they'd question why you need an MBA if you want to be an entrepreneur. You can pursue an MBA in entrepreneurship, but I'd suggest you say you want a job in marketing/consulting

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RocknRolla

2 3

Posted May 26, 2009 10:42

Wait, I dont get this bit. Why would I want to do an MBA in entrepreneurship if i want to go into marketing/consulting? I don't see the correlation.

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Inactive User

45 89

Posted May 26, 2009 11:24

Wait, I dont get this bit. Why would I want to do an MBA in entrepreneurship if i want to go into marketing/consulting? I don't see the correlation.

Because marketing (more than consulting) requires the same kind of thinking as enterpreneurship.

My point is that it's better that you state that you want to look for a position post MBA that guarantees a salary jump, b/c this factors into a school's ranking. Maybe not marketing/consulting neccesarily (I just stated them very haphazardly), but they just came off the top of my head when I was thinking about how you should position career goal in your essay. I mean, if you're going to just say you want to be an entrepreneur, then the adcom will be like: "Then why do you need an MBA?" And if you just say something vague like: "Oh, I want to develop the skills and build the contacts"--then they'll be like: Oh, we've heard this before. Next!

Just my 2 cents. Thoughts anyone?

<blockquote>Wait, I dont get this bit. Why would I want to do an MBA in entrepreneurship if i want to go into marketing/consulting? I don't see the correlation.</blockquote>

Because marketing (more than consulting) requires the same kind of thinking as enterpreneurship.

My point is that it's better that you state that you want to look for a position post MBA that guarantees a salary jump, b/c this factors into a school's ranking. Maybe not marketing/consulting neccesarily (I just stated them very haphazardly), but they just came off the top of my head when I was thinking about how you should position career goal in your essay. I mean, if you're going to just say you want to be an entrepreneur, then the adcom will be like: "Then why do you need an MBA?" And if you just say something vague like: "Oh, I want to develop the skills and build the contacts"--then they'll be like: Oh, we've heard this before. Next!

Just my 2 cents. Thoughts anyone?

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andy.j.

82 164

Posted May 26, 2009 15:38

Wait, I dont get this bit. Why would I want to do an MBA in entrepreneurship if i want to go into marketing/consulting? I don't see the correlation.

yes, me to: you are not allowed to say you want to be an entrepreneur in order to get into an entrepreneurship MBA ?! - this is kind of like what groucho marx used to say: i don't want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member!

<blockquote>Wait, I dont get this bit. Why would I want to do an MBA in entrepreneurship if i want to go into marketing/consulting? I don't see the correlation.</blockquote>

yes, me to: you are not allowed to say you want to be an entrepreneur in order to get into an entrepreneurship MBA ?! - this is kind of like what groucho marx used to say: i don't want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member!

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sally

141 281

Posted May 26, 2009 19:54

i think MBA Cracker is totally wrong. If you say you want to go into marketing in an interview you'll be posed with the same question: "Why do you want an entrepreneurship specialization if you're planning on going into marketing?"

Don't give canned, BS answers. Be honest and tell them about your real aspirations. Your goal in the interview is to show them that you have the character of someone who WOULD be a successful entrepreneur. They may ask you what you want to do in the short term if you don't have the funds to start up a company. Then, you should think about jobs that would help you get to your goal of being an entrepreneur. Working for a venture capital firm or maybe an economic development organization would make sense to me.

You might also be interested in getting a lower level management position at a small, start up company. One that's already off the ground but that you think has a lot of growth potential.

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Inactive User

45 89

Posted May 27, 2009 08:43

i think MBA Cracker is totally wrong. If you say you want to go into marketing in an interview you'll be posed with the same question: "Why do you want an entrepreneurship specialization if you're planning on going into marketing?"

Don't give canned, BS answers. Be honest and tell them about your real aspirations. Your goal in the interview is to show them that you have the character of someone who WOULD be a successful entrepreneur. They may ask you what you want to do in the short term if you don't have the funds to start up a company. Then, you should think about jobs that would help you get to your goal of being an entrepreneur. Working for a venture capital firm or maybe an economic development organization would make sense to me.

You might also be interested in getting a lower level management position at a small, start up company. One that's already off the ground but that you think has a lot of growth potential.

Fine, that's also valid. But if you're going to say you're an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, etc., then you're going to need to show that you've done some solid preparation leading up to your post MBA career goal.

<blockquote>i think MBA Cracker is totally wrong. If you say you want to go into marketing in an interview you'll be posed with the same question: "Why do you want an entrepreneurship specialization if you're planning on going into marketing?"

Don't give canned, BS answers. Be honest and tell them about your real aspirations. Your goal in the interview is to show them that you have the character of someone who WOULD be a successful entrepreneur. They may ask you what you want to do in the short term if you don't have the funds to start up a company. Then, you should think about jobs that would help you get to your goal of being an entrepreneur. Working for a venture capital firm or maybe an economic development organization would make sense to me.

You might also be interested in getting a lower level management position at a small, start up company. One that's already off the ground but that you think has a lot of growth potential. </blockquote>

Fine, that's also valid. But if you're going to say you're an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, etc., then you're going to need to show that you've done some solid preparation leading up to your post MBA career goal.

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borism

35 70

Posted May 27, 2009 10:22

this is more like it IMO. MBAAdmCracker is right in this point - you have to give a good reason why you want to take the program(saying i always wanted to be one wont cut it!), and present your past experiences as leading in this direction. but almost every thing can be presented in such a way - it is mostly a matter of how you put it(matters more then what you actually did)

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Inactive User

45 89

Posted May 27, 2009 11:09

Wait, I dont get this bit. Why would I want to do an MBA in entrepreneurship if i want to go into marketing/consulting? I don't see the correlation.

yes, me to: you are not allowed to say you want to be an entrepreneur in order to get into an entrepreneurship MBA ?! - this is kind of like what groucho marx used to say: i don't want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member!

I'm not saying you can't be an entrepreneur, and most of all, I don't want to encourage anyone to be dishonest about their goals, butwhat I suggested in the beginning was based on the idea you're not just doing an MBA to obtain skills, but also to get a job. That's what MBA programs are ranked on--their success in helping you get placements, and the salary jump. You need to articulate a goal that will help the MBA programs achieve their objective as well.

All I'm saying is---if you start at point 0, and you go back to point 0 post mba--then just giving a vague description about being an entrepreneur is not going to cut it, unless you can show that you've done some solid preparation already.

I do appreciate all the thoughts that this discussion is generating, so I welcome further input.

<blockquote><blockquote>Wait, I dont get this bit. Why would I want to do an MBA in entrepreneurship if i want to go into marketing/consulting? I don't see the correlation.</blockquote>

yes, me to: you are not allowed to say you want to be an entrepreneur in order to get into an entrepreneurship MBA ?! - this is kind of like what groucho marx used to say: i don't want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member! </blockquote>

I'm not saying you can't be an entrepreneur, and most of all, I don't want to encourage anyone to be dishonest about their goals, butwhat I suggested in the beginning was based on the idea you're not just doing an MBA to obtain skills, but also to get a job. That's what MBA programs are ranked on--their success in helping you get placements, and the salary jump. You need to articulate a goal that will help the MBA programs achieve their objective as well.

All I'm saying is---if you start at point 0, and you go back to point 0 post mba--then just giving a vague description about being an entrepreneur is not going to cut it, unless you can show that you've done some solid preparation already.

I do appreciate all the thoughts that this discussion is generating, so I welcome further input.

quote

austinstri...

2 4

Posted Jun 12, 2009 14:04

Wait, I dont get this bit. Why would I want to do an MBA in entrepreneurship if i want to go into marketing/consulting? I don't see the correlation.

They support each other but I don't think it is necessary. You can do it in your own way.

<blockquote>Wait, I dont get this bit. Why would I want to do an MBA in entrepreneurship if i want to go into marketing/consulting? I don't see the correlation.</blockquote>

They support each other but I don't think it is necessary. You can do it in your own way.

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