Why did I want an MBA?

If you plan on doing an MBA - the first thing that you will be asked by pretty much everyone (friends, colleagues, the neighborhood watchman and, most importantly the school that you are trying to get an admit into) is, why you want to do the MBA.

So why did I want to do an MBA? Why did I want to go back to school when I am doing reasonably well in my career at the moment. I have a family depending on me and I am not exactly in my mid-twenties where I can bravely take any decisions without worrying about any of the resulting consequences. Although it's nice to say that one should not worry about money it's pretty difficult to dismiss it.

Moreover, I would need to spend at least 2 years of my life studying - not to mention take huge loans - with the hope of making a much better income than I would otherwise. Also did I really need an MBA to succeed in my career? Do I really slog for the next couple of years while I could perhaps show the same dedication to work and succeed? Could I afford a full time MBA since I already had a family - I mean not just in terms of money, but also in terms of having to relocate without my family (I would miss two years of my son's life)!

Even assuming I wanted an MBA I had no clue as to what kind of work would I need to do to get into a program of repute? I would need to study for my GMAT again - all Indian colleges of repute require you to have a score valid for two years and it had been three years since I had last done mine. Should I go for an Indian college which would be relatively cheaper (with limited international visibility) or try for an international university? Would I want to do a part time program where I could work and allay some of the costs of the program by working or a full time program where I could get a well recognized degree with the caveat of it being part time.

All these questions bogged me down for the better part of two years. Ultimately I decided that if I wanted to make any brave decisions regarding my career I had better make them in the next five years. The only way I was going to be able to do so was if I did something that could make me ready for any job - technical/non-technical. I believe that I already had the technical angle covered - however there was the whole management/business angle. Although I have reached the lower/mid management ladder without the aid of any business degree - it will take ages for me to grow quickly. The only way to prove yourself in a new role is if you are offered it - and of course nobody will unless you have something to show that you are capable of doing so. So I decided that I had to an MBA although I had no clue as to where I could apply.

So along came the MBA@UNC. My sister had heard about this course first. The MBA@UNC contacted her back in 2011 (when they started) and asked her if she would like to apply. Unfortunately as she did not have enough work experience she was unable to apply for it. However, the program seemed to be a perfect fit for me. The best part about this course is that it is the same (not like or similar to) as a full time on-campus MBA at the Kenan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill - one of the top business schools in the world. The only difference between the traditional two year course and this is that the content for this course is delivered online. Although I was skeptical I figured that not only would I be able to get an MBA, I could continue working as well. This meant that not only would I be able to offset some of the tuition costs, I would more importantly remain in the job market while I studied. I was also excited about the fact that I would be able to apply and use everything I learned in class at work immediately. The clincher though was the fact that I could continue to live with my family without having to uproot and move elsewhere.

Given this I figured I'd give the program a shot and started the application process.

To be continued....