Leaving her comfortable job to go back to school for her M.B.A. would mean trading a challenging, exciting job for exams, late-night studying and a totally new career path. For Robin Waller, that "change of mindset" led her to an unforgettable experience.
Like many M.B.A. students, Robin enjoyed working in the business world before she decided to earn her degree. She excelled in her position as an IT consultant, and was finding success working in-house for a biotech company. With a decade of work experience under her belt, she found herself at a crossroads.
Finding the right time to apply
"My plan was always to go back to school," Robin says. She even began the process to apply for an M.B.A. program, but another plan formed even as she answered the questions on the applications. "As I answered the questions I just realized I wasn't ready to give up what I had going quite yet." She moved from consulting to the biotech position, gained experience, earned a healthy salary, and bided her time.
Years passed, and Robin moved up the career ladder, wondering all the while about a graduate degree. When the time came to fill out another M.B.A. application, she felt more confident listing the experience schools were looking for. "For me, the timing just felt right," she says. Though she still had doubts about leaving her career path, she was ready to move on with her education.
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Choosing the M.B.A. experience
The decision was made, the paperwork was filed and Robin was accepted into an M.B.A. program. Though she considered keeping her job while going to school part-time, like many M.B.A. students choose to do, Robin decided to return to school full-time.
Part-time M.B.A. degrees are becoming a popular choice over traditional full-time programs. A 2005 survey found that only 20 percent of business school students were enrolled in full-time degree programs. The rest chose part-time, distance learning, weekend programs and the executive M.B.A., allowing students with experience in the field to work full-time and earn a degree in two years or less.
Why make the decision to return to school full-time? For Robin, it was a matter of returning to the act of education without distractions. "So much of the value in an M.B.A. is more than just content," she says, thinking back to the choice she made. "I just didn't want to short change myself of the entire experience."
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Financial advice for adult learners
The decision was made. Robin would walk away from her career and immerse herself in her studies. Paying for a full-time degree, however, was another matter. She took out federal student loans and sold some of her valuable stock. It was a gamble that paid off for Robin, who had enough savings to keep from sliding into debt. "I was lucky," she admits. Focusing on school was a priority that for her, required her full attention.
Though Robin remains an advocate of the full-time M.B.A. experience, she has wise words for anyone considering a return to school. "Be smart about your money," she advises. "Don't rack up huge credit card bills where you are paying interest, because you're not going to be able to pay them anytime soon and of course, that's a pit that is hard to get out of." If you're not sure you could make ends meet with a few student loans and your existing savings, consider a part-time M.B.A. or a hybrid program that offers more flexibility with online and on-campus classes.
Making the leap back to school
Robin makes a good point for anyone considering a degree program after some time away from school -- just do it. "We all come up with excuses to procrastinate," she points out. "Do it! It's always going to be easy to say, 'it will be easier when the kids are older, or after my next promotion.'" Robin draws from her own history when she considers the courage it takes to leave a comfortable job for an unknown.
The life of a full-time M.B.A. student
When she returned to school, Robin knew she made the right choice to wait. "I think I got more out of some of the course material because I had context and experience in so many of the things we talked about," she says, adding that the experience of coming to the degree with job experience made the experience more tangible. She often compared the academic lessons to real-world examples she found over the course of her career.
Robin was also impressed with the range of backgrounds, experiences and interests she found in the M.B.A. program. "I was pleasantly surprised by the caliber of talent around me in the program," she says. For Robin, the full-time business degree experience allowed her to immerse herself in the graduate school culture, adding her own knowledge to the stories she shared with her classmates. Business school graduate finds success
In 2007, Robin made the decision to return to school after ten years away from the classroom. Today, she works in the human resources management rotation program for a Fortune 500 tech company. The management rotation program is designed with flexibility in mind, offering an ongoing challenge and adding to her growing store of knowledge and ability. While some of her fellow graduates had trouble finding jobs immediately in a difficult economic climate, Robin's M.B.A. degree plus years of business experience worked in her favor.
Robin maintains a balanced view of her decision to leave the business world and pursue the degree she had considered for years. "The fact is, getting an education is never going to be a bad thing," she says. "It opens up your mind, your world and the way you look at and approach everything." For Robin, it meant an optimistic new chapter in the story of an already successful career.
