Hi everyone,
I am a member of the incoming Class of 2010. Having come to the MBA from a rather unconventional route, I hope I can provide insight for those who are approaching the MBA option from similarly untraditional waters.
Professionally, my career has taken some twists and turns. I began my career at Cowboy Pictures, a small film distribution company. Unfortunately, Cowboy went bankrupt nine months after my arrival. I moved into book publishing at Random House and stayed for four years, spending the last two and a half as a Business Analyst for the Crown Publishing Group.
As I considered my next steps professionally, it became clear that I was in skills limbo. I wanted to combine creativity, communication, and analytics into a position in the entertainment industry. Enter the MBA. I incorrectly assumed that the MBA was a place for bankers and traders. I saw the options that existed for an MBA degree after researching the class offerings and alumni careers
In the end, I chose UCLA Anderson School of Management. While Anderson’s location and industry connections align perfectly with my career goals, there are many other factors that brought me here. I am attracted to the variety of experiences amongst the student body: consulting, financial services, health care, technology, marketing, non-profits, and media. As a large part of my education will come from my classmates, I am looking for professional, cultural, and social variety therein. UCLA Anderson also did a spectacular job of showing the collaborative and passionate nature of its community. The students and alumni have been available to answer any questions I had throughout the process. Ultimately though, Anderson offered me the best professional opportunity. The strength of its teaching, international program, media research center, and class offerings are the ideal place for me to take the next step professionally and personally.
My advice to those beginning the process would be to try to find which school is right for you. Each school has different strengths academically, professionally, socially, and personally. By blogging my experiences, I hope to share UCLA Anderson’s and help you decide if this is the place for you.
