It has now been two full years to the day since I completed the MBA at Queen's. I find myself in the same apartment after a day at work three years after starting the MBA, two and a half years after the worst financial crisis in my memorable history and two years after completing the MBA. The economy is improving, slowly, and it is much stronger than when I graduated. The good news for me is that my chosen industry, oil and gas, is doing better than most. “A rising tide floats all ships,” as they say, and I feel like I have chosen the right tide indeed.
Right now I am working in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. However, I am not in the role I took originally. After six months in my previous position, as a Market Analyst with a manufacturer of tubular products for the oil and gas industry, I conducted a self review. I took stock of where I was at, where I was going, how I was fitting into the organization I had joined and where I would fit in the future. The tough truth was that it wasn't the right fit.
After taking time to figure out exactly where I wanted to go, I started talking to friends, colleagues and recruiters. In the end, a friend referred me to a position that I absolutely love.
I am currently an Exploitation Engineer with a large Canadian exploration and production company in their Acquisition and Divestment team. As a professional engineer with a background in reservoir engineering and evaluation engineering I have a solid understanding of the technical and economic aspects of oil and gas. With my MBA I am able to go through the financial and corporate materials of small companies we are assessing for acquisition opportunities. It is the perfect place for me to be since it satisfies my desire to learn more about the corporate finance side of the business without necessarily having to take on a banking role, while at the same time allowing me to maintain my professional engineering status I worked so hard to get in the first place.
In addition, this role is definitely helping me advance toward my long-term goal of assembling a skill set that will allow me to be a member of a senior leadership team within an oil and gas exploration and production company in the future. Also, this position came with a raise that has put me above my pre-MBA earning level. It took bit of time with the downturn, but everything is looking up now.
This past year has seen some of my MBA colleague move into new positions as they found their dream jobs. In addition, the last few people who were holding out for the perfect job were successful. With those changes, I would say that the majority of my class has been successful in pursuing the dreams they set out to achieve when they started the MBA.
The class has drifted significantly apart in the past year. I see the one classmate here in Calgary about once a month, but I only hear from my other classmates about every six months and then it is only a few select people who make the effort. This is completely understandable as people move forward with their lives. From what I have been able to tell it is the same even when there are a lot of them in the same city (i.e. Toronto).
I have been attending a few of the alumni events for the business school and for the MBA program. It is here that I stay in touch with the administration staff and meet past as well as new grads. Through the administration staff I am able to hear about what my other colleagues are up to and what is new with the program. Also, I am able to help with information sessions when the school comes to town to promote the program and the school. It is during these visits as well that I have been able to learn that the placement level of the current class has returned to pre-crash levels.
Overall, my decision to complete an MBA has been a good one. It is taking a little longer for my career to get moving again than I had anticipated, but that is to be expected with what happened in the economy. However, I can definitely see where the MBA is already helping me advance and where it will help me in the future.
Well, that sums it up for my two year entry.
Until next time,
Appleseed
Informasi Terkini
10 years ago
10 comments:
Hi,
Do you think you would have gotten your position without the MBA? It seems these positions at Oil and Gas Co.'s mostly assess a person on their experience and an MBA is little advantage without the correct technical and project management experience.
Would an MBA from a more prestigious place like Harvard or Stanford have helped you more in Calgary vs a Canadian MBA?
I've been considering doing an MBA, but it doesn't seem to be worth it.
Thank you for your comment.
It is true that most oil and gas companies assess a person on their experience, skills and performance. Could I have moved into my position without my MBA? Potentially yes, but it would have taken much longer. Prior to doing an MBA I was an Evaluation Engineer and Reservoir Engineer both very technical roles. I would have had to spend several years working towards this position and then I may have been able to apply. The MBA gave me the base business background I needed to round out my technical experience to standout for this role.
Also, within the organization I have joined a lot of the managers and potential have MBAs or are completing them. I got an MBA to move my entire career forward not just to find a new job. Having my MBA will make it more likely I will be considered for a higher position in the organization sooner. Not only is it good to have the credential, but the skills and knowledge I gained through the program make me more useful to the organization and more effective in my role. The MBA is likely to allow me to standout and advance faster both now and in the future.
Similarly, having good experience and my MBA will likely allow me to fulfill my long-term goal of becoming part of the senior leadership team for an oil and gas exploration and production company. Prior to entering I did a lot of research on the experience and education of people in the positions I eventually want to occupy. There were a lot of different paths, but a common one I found was Engineers with MBAs and great experience.
In addition to all that, my skill set and credentials are in much higher demand now than without the MBA. Because I have an MBA combined with an oil and gas engineering background I have been contacted several times over the past few months to consider opportunities that I would not have been offered otherwise. I may not want to move to Toronto to work as a management consultant in that firm’s energy team, but I do appreciate being contacted to consider the option. As I found with my undergraduate degree, some doors you are only allowed to knock on if you have the credentials in the first place and I am finding a lot of post-MBA positions that follow this same path.
As for your question regarding an MBA from a more prestigious university, the answer is “it depends”. I did quite a bit of research on this prior to entering my program and I found that although an MBA from Harvard definitely got more attention and respect, the industry in Calgary is not willing to pay a higher salary for it; especially not within oil and gas companies. If you are going to pay the extra cost for a degree from Harvard or Stanford you are going to want to work in the US where these names will pay a higher salary so you can make the return on your investment.
If your heart is set on the more conventional MBA career paths (i.e. consulting or ibanking) it can help. I know of an MBA graduate from the University of Calgary who made it to the final round of interviewing with McKinsey with the only other candidate being a graduate from Harvard. They did not get the position despite being the top performer and were told it was because the Harvard name would make the other individual more billable, which is what it all really comes down to in the consulting realm.
In summary, it is my humble opinion that if you are content with your current career path and do not see the knowledge and skills acquired in the MBA as necessary to advance your career along that path then it is not worth the time and money you would invest in it. The MBA is only worth it if you can put the knowledge and skills to use immediately to advance your career and earning power. Ultimately that is your call to make.
Good luck with your decision,
Appleseed
Dear Appleseed,
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you. I have been reading your blog since the moment I thought about an MBA, and it has been instrumental in my journey so far. I am about to complete 2 months at Queen's now, and like you said, it has been an amazing journey so far, and I am loving every minute of it. Guess it was one of the better decisions I have made :)
Thank you again.... I know it is difficult to find time out from our busy lives, but still, I hope you start blogging more often...
Take care, and congratulations on your new job!
-Dancing Dreamer ;)
I stumbled on your blog while searching for the best business schools in Canada. Just wanted to thank you for your detailed comment above, it made a lot of sense. There are so many factors to consider regarding getting an MBA degree. No pay for 2 years, the insecurity of finding a job, on top of being an international student etc. Weighing my options on finding jobs post MBA in USA versus Canada.
Thank you Dancing Dreamer and Karen for your kind words. I don't often hear from readers and appreciate the positive feedback. I'm glad someone is finding the information in the blog useful as that was the primary purpose of creating it.
As for future entries, I'm really not sure if there is anything else worth writing about. Perhaps if something notable occurs with respect to my MBA and my career I will post an update, but other than that I am at a loss to think of what I could post. If you have any ideas please feel free to pass them along.
All the best,
Appleseed
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Good luck x
I am planning to go for MBA ( but not sure when..i am 28 right now, so probably at 32) when i have enough money to pay for it...:)...I already have Master in Geophysics...and bachelor in civil engineering.......i think ..i am targeting stanford or other US ivy league...your story is quite motivating...
Best of luck..oh let me know ..some day we can meet for a coffee :) in downtown....
Aki,
Good luck with your decision. You are likely to wait to ensure you have enough work experience for an MBA to have a meaningful impact on your career.
Feel free to e-mail if you want to discuss further.
Kind Regards,
Appleseed
My background is not science nor engineering but I am interested in MBA with concentration in resource and energy focused.
I am a designated accountant and would like to get into oil and gas companies in their finance and operations. Also, I am interested in moving into capital markets specializing oil and gas coverage, too.
There are programs with this focus from U Calgary and U Alberta. Can you give me your thoughts if a non-engineer candidate is worth doing MBA concentration in resource and energy? What are your thoughts about accounting and finance background with MBA looking for a position in oil and gas companies? Are there be second rated over those with engineering or geology undergrad and work experience?
Regards,
Hugo
Hugo,
Thank you for posting your question. It is always nice to here from readers. Not knowing much about what you are specifically asking I will assume you are inquiring about working in Alberta in the oil and gas sector.
As with most jobs and careers, experience is trump. However, there are more than a few ways to overcome that obstacle if you desire. In short, yes an MBA would help you enter the oil and gas industry, but as a career switcher you would face challenges.
Your accounting designation goes a long way. However, unless you are a CA or CMA here in Alberta, you may need to do some work getting you designation recognized. Either of these would help with your efforts to enter an oil and gas company in finace and operations.
Your second inquiry about moving into capital markets would also benefit from either of these, but of course you understand that path is very different from the first one you referred to.
Both U Calgary and U Alberta's MBA programs focused on resources and energy are good programs from what I have heard. Both would likely give you good guidance on how to enter the industry and likely have some good networking opportunities that might help. Overall, the oil and gas industry in Alberta is looking for people, so you would likely find your talents in demand.
As for being at a disadvantage to engineers or geologist, there are certain areas where this base technical knowledge is a must and others where it is very nice to have. I do believe you could find good opportunities without this background, but you would need to do some digging.
Hope this helps. Again, it is hard to comment without specifics. If you would like to discuss further, please e-mail me at Appleseed at live dot ca.
Kind Regards,
Appleseed
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