Is an MBA worth it?

My co-worker sent me a very interesting article where the author talks about an MBA being a waste of money.  In the article, he states that the most valuable things you get from an MBA can be obtained without paying the $100 K + price tag. Networking can be done through sites like MeetUp and LinkedIn and the classroom material can be learned from books.

I can agree with him to a degree, but I'd have to disagree as well. In regards to networking, I don't feel like it's entirely the same outside of this environment.  B-school gives people a common ground to connect on. Particularly with alumni, it helps to make a warm connection vs. a cold call with no common meeting ground. To give one example, after a week as an official student at Anderson, the network was already starting to pay off. I recently connected with a fellow classmate that worked at EA Sports just to chat about her experience at EA, her experience with school and any tips in general for what skill set I should work on developing to improve my chances of breaking into marketing/brand management. By the end of the conversation, she was happy to refer me for an open job position I was asking her questions about and I was called in for an interview within the week. After five tough interview rounds and making it to the final two candidates, I didn't get the position, but I impressed my interviewers and turned several cold connections into warm ones. They told me the open position wasn't the best fit for me, but they felt I was a strong candidate and they wanted to bring on in another capacity. So unfortunately, not a win in the employment category, but you can check that off as a win in the networking category.  I'm not sure if I would have made it as far as I did without there being that common ground we could initially connect on.  Also, several of my classmates know that I'm looking to move into a more marketing-centric position and have been keeping their eyes and ears open for me. Whenever positions open up, they email me to see if I'm interested and tell me they are happy to refer me in. So prior to this, I was one person looking for a job, but now I have a ton of classmates trying to help me out as well.

In regards to learning from books, I think its a great way to learn. As I've been trying to break into marketing, I've read TONS of non-fiction that have helped my mind get acclimated to the world of marketing. For example, I've read books like "Onward" and "Primal Branding" to learn more about general management and marketing, but where can I apply and test what I learn?  Nowhere really.  However, b-school creates a low-risk environment for you to apply and test book/classroom theory.  In school, you can take that theory, enter a case competition and then get your strategy assessed by some of the best people in the game. It gives you the opportunity to evolve your strategic thinking further and lets you make stupid mistakes now when they don't matter. When you make a mistake in the real world, you can potentially be canned for it.  Make a mistake on a class project or a case competition, there are no big consequences.

So in the end, I can agree that you don't really need an MBA and the degree doesn't necessarily announce to the public that you are well versed in any certain skill set, but it is one path out of the hundred different paths up the mountain.  For me and many others, this just happens to be the best path for us to take. I can network without b-school, but I feel like the bonds created in b-school are a lot tighter then the ones made with people outside of this environment.  I can learn tons from books, but b-school puts me in a low-risk learning environment to test what I've learned and refine my thought process.

So next time someone tries to talk you out of an MBA:

When someone tells you an MBA is worthless and your wasting your money.

Okay, on a serious note, take what they say with a grain of salt.  I believe with all my heart that Anderson was the missing link to get me to where I wanted to be professionally.  For others, this might be a waste of time and money, but for me its not. 

PS...to my friends and others I've talked to and asked if you think you really needed an MBA, I'm giving you a hard time because until I really understood WHY I needed an MBA, I couldn't write an effective essay. Just trying to help!

Thank You, YouTube

Wow....things have been pure madness over the past month since I've gotten into school.

I had a pretty cool development that I wanted to share with you all. Thanks to YouTube (not the company, but in general, the platform), I was offered a contract job to shoot a commercial for my old accounting company.  I'm not sure if I'm allowed to discuss the strategy etc, but essentially, me and my team have been given our first opportunity to shoot a professional video and we have a REAL budget to work with!

If it wasn't for the digital revolution and YouTube, I'm not sure that I would have ever gotten an opportunity like this. I have to say, I'm pretty damn stoked. For the past month, we've just been storyboarding, producing the song, writing lyrics and coming up with shot ideas.  It's been hectic, but its an awesome learning experience at the same time.

Looks like this might be a viable side business for me and my buddies if we do good on this initial video.  I'll be sure to link everyone when we are done with the project!

In other news, McKayla Maroney is NOT impressed with any of my videos.  Can't make everyone happy I guess:

She told me to win a gold medal and then we could talk about impressive talents.

Passion and Effort

Mark Cuban wrote a blog post a couple months back about not following your passion, but instead, to follow your effort.  If you haven't come across that post, you can read it here.  I think Mark Cuban is awesome, but I can only agree with him to a degree.

His philosophy is that when you dedicate your efforts into an activity, you master it and become passionate about it. My standpoint is slightly the opposite of Mark's.  I believe that the passion needs to exist in order for you to invest effort into succeeding.

I have tons of friends who put a huge amount of effort into their jobs, are really good at those jobs and make a good living, but I have yet to see them develop a passion for their careers.  They are wildly successful, but absolutely hate their jobs.  I guess a question I would shoot back to Mark is, "What is the end goal of the advice you are giving in your post?  Is it making money or finding happiness in your career?"

If it is making money, by all means, invest your time and effort into whatever career you initially land in and hustle and grind until you reach the top.  If you're trying to find happiness in your career, I think you need to explore to find your fit. Everyone has multiple passions and things they want to pursue.  It's your job to pick which passion you're going to transform into a career and which one you're going to keep a hobby.  For example, I love dancing, but don't want to ever be a professional dancer.  

So some advice to young professionals, go out there and find your fit. Don't let someone manipulate you into a career you don't want to do (ahem...parents) and don't be afraid to try something new.  I realized I didn't like public accounting by doing it.  I realized I didn't like public relations by doing it. I realized I did like brand management and product development by doing it. I've always taken risks and tried new things, but I think that's the best way to learn.  We are young and can afford to make mistakes here and there so long as we learn something along the way.

Things work out when you take calculated risks.

Tying this back to the theme of business school, when you really understand WHY you want to pursue a certain career, you can project that passion more coherently in your essays. If you can project that passion clearly, the reader can feel your enthusiasm and that's the kicker to get them to give you an interview.  I believe what made the difference as I progressed through the application process was being able to channel my enthusiasm and determination to the admissions committee.  Bottom line, make sure you know what you want to do and why you want to do it. 

The Verdict

June 22nd started out like any other day.  I waltzed into work at Anderson and sat down at my desk poised to get started on my tasks.  I had a training scheduled around 1pm to learn about the admissions database so that I could help with some analytics.  

Around that time, my colleague shows up and I pop open the program to show him where I was having problems.  He tells me that he actually hasn't learned to do that himself yet so he couldn't help me out. However, he did have something else to show me and from around my cubicle, he whips out a bag and says, "Looks like you're going to be hanging around for at least another three years.  Congratulations and welcome to the FEMBA (Fully-Employed MBA) Program."  I literally froze and thought, "No way this is happening right now!"  Speechless, I took the bag from him and shook his hand.  My office mates congratulated me and I was completely dumbfounded.  The moment that I had been working towards for the past two years of my life was finally here!  In three years, I would have my MBA from one of the top schools in the nation. I had to take a break from work to express my happiness in the hallway:

Ok, but really, immediately after finding out, I called my family and friends to let them know the good news.  After that, I proceeded to do nothing but smile at the screen of my computer until it was time to get off.

To those of you that have been getting discouraged in this process, understand that hard work pays off.  I have applied to a total of 11 schools (all in the top 25 programs in the US) and have been grinding through this process for approximately two years.  On my 12th application I was accepted into UCLA Anderson.  Every single time I was rejected, I learned something new, repositioned myself and filled another gap in my profile.  For me, it will always a matter of "when" I was going to start school, not "if" I was going to get in.  I knew it was going to happen, but I'm really stoked that it happened this year.


To be honest, I didn't expect to realize this goal this year at all.  I was planning on keeping this blog for a bit longer to document my journey into applications again next year.  Now that I'm there, I'm going to continue to blog, but alternate topics.  I'll be talking about my business school experience as well as other points about the business school process.  Hope that you all will continue to follow me on this journey!  The road to matriculation ends Sept. 20 when I start school and the road to graduation will begin!


Thanks again to everyone for their support!!!

Throwing a hail mary

It's all about perspective.  In football, when a losing team decides to throw a hail mary to try and win a game, some people might see it as a sign of desperation, but I see it as a sign of determination.  They haven't lost hope and they aren't going out without a fight.

While walking down the halls at Anderson, I learned about the UCLA Anderson Commercial Challenge and after watching some of the entries, I thought to myself...can my team compete with these guys? Hell yes we can.  My application was already submitted and the outcome was out of my hands, but in a hail mary attempt to impress the admissions team, I decided I would make a video and try to get it in front of their eyes.  

Did it guarantee anything? NOPE! But was there a chance it could help me?  YUP! That 0.0000001% chance is all I needed to motivate me to crank out an unofficial submission.  If admissions didn't see my video, at least I had a new video added to my channel, but if they did see it, it could potentially tip the scale in my favor, given they share my humor and appreciate the effort it takes to make these videos.


So on the GMAT club forums, some people flamed my NYU video saying that it made me look desperate to get into the school. People have a fear of being judged all the time. Whether it be with women, peers at school, colleagues at work or friends...we are all scared of being judged and at times, this will stop us from taking risks and doing what we want. Well I'm here to share some advice with you. In the words of one of my favorite musicians, Childish Gambino, "I ain't gonna be around forever, so fuck it all."  Internet trolls will always hate and you can never please 100% of the people around you. Regret the things you did instead of the things you didn't do.  Where someone sees my video as a sign of desperation, others will see it as my determination to get into a school. I'm glad most people can appreciate my videos though and that the Debbie Downer's only make up a small percentage of the population.


Moral of the story, make your own decisions and take calculated risks.  Throw a hail mary if you feel the time is right. Don't let someone discourage you because sometimes, big risks pay off.  Did you guys see that Michigan kid that sang a song to try and get off the wait-list?  Bet you some of his classmates made fun of him, but shit, he got off the wait-list and into Michigan. If I was going to get rejected from UCLA again, I was going out on my terms and I was going to do everything humanly possible to get accepted. 


If you got a minute to spare, here is the project I put together with my awesome friends.  The challenge was to create a 60 second spot about UCLA Anderson.  I'm hoping this pass is completed for a touchdown!

Different paths up the same mountain

When my friend from USC Marshall saw that I had been rejected from school, she reached out to me to tell me about her experience.  She had gone through the same thing and had also been rejected from schools two years in a row.  After this, USC's one year global MBA program was brought to her attention.  She evaluated what she wanted from her MBA and decided it was a good fit. Ultimately, she wanted to live in Asia so she saw this as the perfect opportunity for her because more than half her classmates would be from Asia.  She would be building the network she needed and learning how to successfully conduct business internationally all in one swoop. 

She applied to Marshall's Global MBA program and was accepted even though she was already rejected from their full-time program earlier in the year. The program ended up being exactly what she needed and upon graduation, she landed a management consulting gig with IBM and had an amazing experience at Marshall.


With her encouragement, I did my due diligence on the Marshall program. I decided it wasn't a good fit for me, but it got me thinking about checking out the other programs at UCLA. I decided to do some research on UCLA's part-time program.  After concluding I couldn't get a brand management job without experience and an MBA, the part-time program seemed to be a perfect fit because I could build both simultaneously and be a stronger contender for these jobs in the future.  I also thought the promise of having an MBA in three years would entice employers to want to hire me now...kind of like investing in a stock.


I attended an open house and began reaching out to part-time students to learn about their experiences.  From the students I spoke with, it seemed like they were having just as good of a time as the full-time students.  All of them were in the same clubs, participated in the same events and had access to the same resources.  During my tour at NYU, it seemed as if  the part-time students and full-time students were highly segregated.  They didn't have access to the same resources and seemed to operate as two different entities.  However, at UCLA, they try to integrate and encourage interaction between the programs.  The whole reason I never considered part-time is because of the invisible line drawn between each of the programs, but I was excited to hear UCLA was different.

I also spoke with the Dean of Admissions to tell him about my situation and asked if I could apply this year even though I had been rejected by the full-time program already.  He was very understanding and told me that he understands people's situations change some time.  As long as I explained myself clearly in the optional essay, it wouldn't be a problem. Although I originally did not intend to do the part-time program, it seemed like the best route for me to go in terms of professional development.

There are always alternate routes to get you to your goal.  You just have to find your fit and what works for you.

With the advantage of another profile analysis under my belt from the multitude of people that helped me, I believed I had the ammo to crank out an awesome application.  I had nothing to lose and tons to gain so I decided I would apply to UCLA's part-time program.

Catch 22

After working in PR for 6 months as an intern, not only did I know for a fact I did not want to do PR now, but my savings was depleted due to my oh so sweet hourly rate of $12-$15.  Although making 70% less than I did as an auditor, I still had to take care of 100% of the same bills (school loans, rent, etc.) so I needed to find a higher paying job I liked while building experience in the proper direction.  If I wanted to stay at the PR firm until I found a new job, I would have to sign another 3 month contract. Since I didn't want to screw my supervisor and leave midway through my contract if I found a job, I decided to turn in my two weeks notice.  For the next couple of weeks leading up to my departure, I started applying to jobs and talking to TONS of people in the brand management industry and getting advice from friends that were recruiters.


Based on my talks with people from Nestle, Mattel, Disney, WD-40 and a ton of other places, here is what I learned about brand management:


1.  No one will look at your resume for marketing/brand management unless you have an MBA or you have extensive experience.  


2.  In the chance you do miraculously get an interview, you will not get hired unless you have prior experience. Quick anecdote within an anecdote, I met a great guy from WD-40 through my NYU video. After I told him I was rejected, he said that he was happy to recommend me to WD-40 for an assistant brand manager position.  He printed out all my materials I sent him, walked it over to HR and emailed them my NYU video with a personal recommendation.  Although NYU didn't appreciate the video, making it was all worth it because it helped connect me with awesome people like this. Long story short, I was extended an interview, but not extended an offer because I didn't have experience.


3.  It is extremely difficult to get into marketing/brand management as a former CPA. Because of my former life, I get judged all the time as an uncreative, number crunching square and it pisses me off. It's okay though, I've always felt like an underdog, so as much as it makes me mad, I love being put in these situations because so I can show people anything is possible.


Switching careers is a damn paradox and its difficult to find that first person that is willing to give you a chance. You keep hustling though and opportunities will eventually come your way. 


After my last day of PR, I hit the ground running and four days later, one of the most ridiculously perfect opportunities lands in my lap. My recruiter calls me and tells me there is a marketing position open at UCLA and they are looking for someone who has an interest in marketing, marketing analytics, supporting on campaigns and is an Excel pro.  I tell her I'll take the interview and when she emails me the location, guess what department of UCLA it is in? UCLA Anderson. Holy shit.  Did this really just happen? Even better, I walked into the interview room, nailed it and was hired on the spot.  Just 4 days after my last day of work, I found a new job and it was at one of top schools on my list. Hustling pays off my friends.  Miracles do occur and I'm living proof.  Now I'd be put in an atmosphere where I could really show UCLA Anderson what I had to offer and I could help them put a face to the name.

As I was driving home from the interview.