The MBA in DC (job market, school, university) - City-Data Forum

BeOptimistic · 07-07-2010, 01:28 PM

I have a BS in finance and I applied to start my master's in public policy but I just got denied. I really wanted to get away from business and go more into the field of government, but techincally the next step after a finance degree is an MBA. I currently live in the south and want to get away from here and I had my mind set on relocating to DC. I wondering how valuable a MBA would be in the DC job market if i decided to come there and continue in a business direction opposed to trying to change fields. I'm pretty much open to anything beside spending the rest of my life in the south were my BS is good for nothing besides working in a bank. Anyone have any advise? I know this post if all over the place but please forgive me I just got some devastating news.

sbhaskar002r · 07-07-2010, 01:32 PM

An MBA without work experience is pretty useless. Unless its from Harvard, Stanford, etc.

The Heartbreak Kid · 07-07-2010, 01:40 PM

What school did you apply to?

BeOptimistic · 07-07-2010, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbhaskar002r

An MBA without work experience is pretty useless. Unless its from Harvard, Stanford, etc.

You have a good point. At this point i'm at a loss because my finance degree is almost just as useless.

BeOptimistic · 07-07-2010, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahales

What school did you apply to?

I applied to George Mason. I knew there was no chance that I could get into any of the others.

BeOptimistic · 07-07-2010, 02:44 PM

Someone suggested before that I look into some consulting firms and I did. Not getting into grad school may actually free up my time to put my all into a consulting career if i can get my foot in the door that would be great. So maybe all is not lost. But the thing is finding viable enough employment to support myself there.

juniperbleu · 07-07-2010, 02:58 PM

Why don't you apply to a bunch of entry-level jobs here? While MBAs can be useful, I don't really see the point in spending the time and money on a degree when you don't want to go into the field. Also, as other people said, the degree is worth far more when coupled with experience (also, good experience can help you get into better programs).

What sort of thing do you want to do with the government? Certain career tracks have entry-level programs, and then others start out with internships that you can apply to.

sbhaskar002r · 07-07-2010, 03:16 PM

Apply for govt. jobs, work for a few years and then go back to B-school. They don't get a lot of federal employees so you will have an edge getting into a top MBA program with a unique/ different background.

BTW where is your undergrad degree from?

btsilver · 07-07-2010, 03:18 PM

Apply to Robert Smith's School of Business at University of Maryland. That school is very good.

juniperbleu · 07-07-2010, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by btsilver

Apply to Robert Smith's School of Business at University of Maryland. That school is very good.

I'd second this. My roommate is just starting up her MBA and she found that Georgetown and Maryland have the best programs in the area. GWU is decent, but I've heard that it's overpriced and not nearly as good as the others.