Tuesday, January 3, 2006

The Choice: Why go back for an MBA?

Why did I decided to go back for an MBA?

I am a professional engineer working in Calgary, Alberta during a time when the oil and gas industry had just experienced some rather impressive growth. Finally my hard work to earn an engineering degree and put together some work experience are paying off and I decide to put it all on hold? Why leave a position I enjoy that is compensating me well? Why take on even greater debt?

After having worked with a few consulting companies and meeting several other senior engineers I realized I was likely looking into my the future. These individuals have spent a life time acquiring specialized technical knowledge. Some of them have had the opportunity to rise to management positions and other not. If I stayed in the industry I would likely be subject to a similar fate.

I could not see myself in 20 years being able to get up every morning as a technical expert that didn't make it into management. Although I love engineering and the challenges that come with it, I couldn't risk not having new challenges in my future.

Economically the cost of the MBA will likely pay for itself and then some. Not in 1, 2, or 5 years, but in 10 years I am sure it will. Besides, there is more to life than money.

In the end I have decided to return to school; not because I think it will get me that high paying job instantly upon graduation, but because it will provide me with the business and management education I need to find personally rewarding employment. I don't want to switch industries; I just want pursue a career more involved with business and management rather than a career focused purely on my technical knowledge and skill. If I don't take the initiative, I feel I'm just waiting for someone else to decide that I'm the right individual, the "chosen one", to learn those skills. An MBA will allow me to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to make that path available, instead of waiting to be pre-selected for grooming; an opportunity that may never arrive.

In short, I'm taking an MBA to preserve my sanity.

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