MiM or MBA or internship ( difficult situation :( )

Question

Hello everyone,

I will tell my story since now I'm experiencing the hardest decision in my life and I truly need help.

First I will talk about myself, I'm 22, engineering senior student, with 7m of work experience in Saudi Aramco, And I'm Saudi.

My goal is to get into MBB In my country since they are actively recruiting here because the gov asks them to do so.

I couldn't join them now since I'm not from targeted school, but I can join them easily with MiM But with a bachelor degree entry level.

Now I'm in an ongoing recruiting process of an internship role in second big player in MBB But only for 7m (internship) still I haven't attend any interview yet.

so the options are:

1. I go for the internship and hope to get a full-time offer.

2. go and get a MiM degree from a well known B-school and nail the full-time role easily.

3. Wait and go for an MBA from a top b-school and go for MBB.

explanation for each option:

1. for the first option the odds of getting the offer is less than 50%.

2. Going for an MiM for me is a very good option since it will get me into MBB and It will be a free scholarship if I got the acceptance.

3. This is the best option but in order to get accepted in a great school you need a prestigious profile (which is hard for me cause I don't have an offer from Aramco) and the odds of getting into a prestigious company is so small.

Note that: I will start MiM on 9/2024 not this year I have 1 year to go in the engineering school.

I need your help since I can't see everything from all perspectives because I'm still young with a lot to learn.

Answer 1

Hi there,

thanks for sharing - great question. Considering your current profile, goals and tenure, would suggest the following path:

Continue your internship application - if you can land the offer, great, if not, you can try again later, so nothing is lost.
If internship doesn't work out, do a MiM or alternative Master's degree from a target school. Both can be great pathways to land MBB offers

In terms of MiM, may I ask which program you applied to? Asking this, as the odds of getting into MBB via the MiM path is very depending on the brand of the school.

With regards to doing a top MBA programs, it's not the right time yet do try that. In my experience as Top Tier MBA graduate, at age 22 you will likely lack the credentials (work experience) they require you to get in. It's not surprising that median age of the top schoold is typically anywhere from 26 to 29 years.

Feel free to reach out via DM if you'd like to have a chat. Happy to help.

Regards, Andi

Answer 2

Hi there,

You are making a difficult life decision that will affect the rest of your career. I highly recommend you invest in a case/career coach to guide you through this decision. I free + written Q&A is not where you should base such an important decision.

From what I've read I would recommend the following:

Apply now
If you get in, great
If you don't get in, apply to both MiM and MBA
Accept the best MiM/MBA offer
Then try to apply to MBB

Here's some more reading to help: https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-get-a-consulting-internship-tips-and-tricks

Answer 3

Hi there,

Thanks for sharing your situation and providing such clear context on it.

In short, do all of them that involve moving forward rather than waiting.

As in, apply for the internship and for MiM programs. Some may not work out.

Don't assume that everything will materialise. So if you distribute your risk, you have higher chances of getting at least something.

Sharing with you also a guide on how to build an application strategy:

Free Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy

Best,

Cristian

Answer 4

Hi there,

Q: I need your help since I can't see everything from all perspectives.

If I understood correctly you are currently in the process with one MBB. If that’s the case I would recommend the following:

Continue the process with that firm
Look for a referral for the other 2 MBB and Tier 2 and apply there as well (you can move from Tier 2 to MBB after a few years) – you can find some tips on referrals here
If that doesn’t work and the MIM allows to open better opportunities even outside MBB, I would then go for the MIM, assuming it is one year
If after the MIM you don’t succeed with interviews, you can work for a few years and then do an MBA. After the MBA, you can apply again

Hope this helps,

Francesco