MBA Academic Experience and why MBB love MBAs ?

Hi,

1) First, it's the Network. As a partner, you will have MBA alums in major companies and will be able to sell the projects. Second - it's the prestige of the MBA brand for the client. Third - MBA makes you more well-rounded and helps you to lead the conversations with the clients

2) It's a curated business knowledge with the relevant basics + the subjects of your choice. Re Insead it's a 1-year school and academically it's worse than the 2-year programs.

3) Depends on the school. My leadership professor at Harvard was the highest paid CEO in the US and now he is the CEO at General Electrics. My Sales professor was Head of Sales at Hubspot. etc. I believe the quality of the 85% of the professors and thus academics at Harvard is extremely high.

4) I think you are wasting your own time trying to understand these things. Pls concentrate on prep / studying

5) It really depends on the person. Again, it's unproductive for you personally to contemplate on that

6) Your choice. Depends on many factors. I would personally recommend TOP3 US schools

Best

Anonymous,

Your perception of MBAs is biased. Your focus on academics is narrow-minded and not strategic. Think about where the future is headed. We will have robots doing most of the technical/objective skills within the next few decades. Unless you plan on doing a PhD in a highly specialized STEM subject that very few others have mastered (Statistics/ML/AI), soft skills and problem-solving in ambiguous environments are the way of the future. This skillset (leadership, creativity, critical thinking, sound judgement) is what is taught at top MBA programs. This is the glue that holds together MBBs and will provide value for future businesses.

The MBA goes well beyond academics and into more important contexts, such as leading teams, building relationship currency, and driving impact. The importance of these soft skills is substantially greater than an individual course selections and how smart you can be. When you graduate with an MBA, it opens doors to not just MBB, but product management at top tech companies (Amazon, Google, Microsoft, facebook), investment banking, and management roles at startups. Your impact is exponentially multipled. You will have learned how to communicate with diverse people. You will stop discriminating against liberal arts majors and learn from them. You will value different perspectives. You will build a network of the next generation of future leaders. These will be your closest friends and peers, and people you can trust to support in your career you well beyond the 1-2 year MBA program.

Side Note: MBB actually pays very little compared to post-MBA roles in investment banking and the tech industry.

Final Note: I disagree with the notion that you need to go to a Top 3 business school. You need to go to a decent business school (measured by the corporate partnerships at the firms/companies you want to work).

Meaning, unless you're on scholarship, don't go to Harvard for $150K in tuition and 800+ class size when you can go to University of Michigan for $50K and get the exact same interviews at McKinsey.

Think critically about what you want, and then decide on an action plan to get there. If it's the textbook knowledge you're looking for, you're better served by coursera.

Anonymous B

Dear Guennael

your answer doesnt help me so I would be very happy if someone else could answer my questions thanks!

The key thing you seem to overlook / dismiss too quickly is that MBAs already have 2-3 solid years of work experience on average.

Focus on what you can control, and don't get upset with the rules - they are what they are, doesn't take anything away from you or your own qualities.