MBA's for Engineers? A Student's Perspective, Part I.

We often get the question ‘does an MBA make sense for engineers?’ To answer the question, I’ve been working on an upcoming MBA Podcaster show. I spoke to several students about their experiences. What are schools looking for from an engineer to be admitted and then succeed in business school? What should applicants with engineering backgrounds emphasize on their applications? Which are the graduate degree options for engineers? What’s the career track if you get an MBA versus just stay in engineering? I’ll be asking these questions of my guests and keeping you posted along the way with blog updates.

Margo Villadelgado is studying for an MBA and Masters in Engineering Management at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. She has an undergraduate degree in systems engineering and economics from the University of Virginia. When she graduated she consulted, mostly in IT. She has some really good advice for engineering students (that can apply to other students as well) who might want to go to business school.

“Really think what it is that you want to do after business school, both immediately and in the future. And really look at what skills you have and what areas you need to fill in and what the business school can do for you. Do some self assessment to make the most of your two years at any business school.”

Villadelgado took her own advice. She knew what she wanted her future career path to look like and that was to rise up in a product-based company. As an engineer she had good quantitative skills, but needed to round out her skill set, so she decided to get an MBA.

“I had a good understanding on how products are developed, but what I really wanted understand how to manage... everything from the marketing side of things to the operations side to how you keep a product-based company running.”

So she’s been able to prioritize the many opportunities and courses in order to get the most out of her two years.

Learn more of what the students and the other guests have to say about MBA engineers in our upcoming show that will be in a couple of weeks. Other guests on the show include:

• Iker Marcaide, student, MIT Leaders for Global Operations program, who will talk about why he chose to take the path he did and where he expects it to lead;
• Karla Krause, student, MIT Leaders for Global Operations program, who talks about the benefits work experience brings to an MBA;
• Beth Flye, assistant dean and director of admissions and financial aid, Kellogg School of Management, who will talk about what engineers need to know when applying to business school;
• Don Rosenfield, director of the dual-degree MIT Leaders for Global Operations program, who will and talk about the specialized nature of MIT’s program and what it takes to succeed; and
• Betsy Massar, Founder and CEO of Master Admissions, who explains which schools like engineers and why.

Updated! Listen to the new show here.