Very interesting post by the guy and by fellow G'clubbers.
My analysis on this guy's case
1) As said before, quitting a job after 6 weeks because you are doing SOX work instead of financial whatever and you travel a lot does not sound like a mature decision. His employer was probably significantly understaffed in all SOX matters (as probably every other consultancy was at the time) and they required he chimed in. He instead chose to run away, just after orientation. His attitude sounds like a bad case of MBA-arrogance (he should star the Fedex MBA add). Additionally, how do you think the person who recommended him looked like? Thanks to this guy, this other person will not be able to recommend effectively another person for some time.
2) I am a firm believer that the GPA at the MBA is meaningless, GND or not. Unless you are bottom 5 or 10% (in which case you'll need to explain), you'll know what needs to be known from the courses. Or you'll be wise enough to learn fast. Unluckily for this guy, however, GPA does not measure other characteristics like: leadership, people skills, networking skills, etc. If you are going into research (Physics Major, etc.) or maybe Law, then GPAs will definitely matter. MBA? Not so much. Maybe only at a few subjects you did not tackle before in your professional life, such as finance for an Electrical Engineering major, but that's about it.
3) A lot has been written about the "rituals" in the financial sector. I've read of hand-written thank you notes in fancy stationary, golf playing, cigar and wines discussions and so on and so forth. This guy disliked all this stuff, so it's no wonder he did not make progress in this industry. He failed to understand the unwritten rules of the job search. How would potential employers expect him to understand the probably much more complex rules later on?
4) I think not only him, but all of us, should be realistic in our career change expectations. I read somewhere, that you can change only 2 of 3 parameters. Eg: you are in IT, in Latin America, experienced as a project manager. You can expect to transition to Finance, Latin America, [fancy position]. Or you could expect to transition to Manufacturing, US, Project Management. But you'll struggle to change all 3 criteria simultaneously. You could try, but you should not assume it's your MBA-given right. It will require a lot of effort.
5) Why is it that us Engineers think we are better than anyone else? Why would he say that his Berkeley Engineering was better than a Princeton history major? I could argue it's the other way round. Anyone can learn the quantitative models quite fast (if they made it to B-school). But learning how to communicate compellingly takes much longer. And having a Princeton network? That's probably very valuable. And I could expect communication skills to be important at such a job.
6) As Pelihu wrote, he messed up his whole 2nd year strategy.
A few comments on the implications of this post for us
1) It's good to be reminded that post MBA job hunt will be as tough or even tougher than applying (which in turn was tougher than GMAT, which was tougher than post undergrad job search, which was tougher than high school, etc.).
2) I think it would be a wise move if we take some time to analyze our backup plan, for eg., if all else fails and we are confronted with a stagnant economy, what will we do? For some, the backup plan could be: "I'm gonna master the whole recruiting process so much that I'm gonna land a job even if I have to compete with every student in my school". For others, it could mean leaving doors open at our current employer.
3) The guy in the example is most likely a US citizen or a US resident. I think this post is much more relevant to internationals. I usually stress to internationals the importance of MBA prestige. I can argue that if you are an international any program below the Elite (maybe Trans Elite) cluster will have a non negligible risk attached to it. You would not want to be left with some debt you can only service by working away from your home country and struggling to land a job. I refer you to a related post from the Ask Hjort forum.
https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=19845
Don't get me wrong, I sincerely think that there are several lower clustered program which will be very valuable to several people. What I'm saying is that these programs will probably make much more sense to:
- US citizens or residents.
- sponsored or "scholarshipped" internationals.
- Internationals who need the education for entrepreneuring or some other project but not for landing a job.
I'm pretty confident I can recover the investment both back home or elsewhere, but this may not be the case for everyone.
4) This shows why adcoms want us to have a realistic post - MBA plan in our apps. They know most MBA grads will be career changers. And they know that most people end up doing something else than what they wrote in their applications. But they need to know that if all else fails, you still have a reasonable back up plan. Or most importantly, they need to be assured that you know what a reasonable plan is!
5) FIT with an industry or position. I think we will have to take some serious introspection time before deciding on job searches. I agree that FIT with a particular MBA program is probably overrated. FIT can help you choose among 2 similar clustered programs. But who would choose a Near Elite over an Ultra Elite due to fit concerns? I do, however, think that fit is more important for a job search. You do not like spending energy on the endless array of rituals that go with the financial industry? Guess what: you don't fit. You need your weekends? then there are several jobs that are not for you. You would not like to travel 3-5 days/week? then MC is not for you. I think the whole: IB/PE/MC or bust attitude is dangerous. Sure, we all like to look at the 300k + bonus salaries and imagine making our first post - MBA million within 3 years or graduation. But can we really put up with it for 3 years? Most importantly: do we have what it takes? There's a reason why salaries are so high in certain positions. Yeah, you're right, it's because only a few will be able to land and handle such a job.
6) I firmly believe that the MBA experience is much more than its ROI or its career changing power. I think that even when we land a non MBA position, the MBA will help us shine and be promoted. It will help us manage our lives more effectively (personal finances, time management, networking, leadership, cultural awareness, values, etc.). Where else can you not work for 2 years, have the time of your life and enhance your resume all a the same time? Where else can you brush up on several skills, learn new ones, forge friendships with people from around the world other than at an MBA? Where else can you get an enthusiasm shot that could last a lifetime?
IMHO, that's that.
Cheers. L.