Does an MBA Pay?

I received this email from someone just the other day….

I recently graduated from …. MBA program and have not really found it to be providing any of the opportunities that  I had hoped for, even given the current economic and employment conditions. I have a desire to change careers and would like to ….., but unfortunately, I have no technical training or experience. I am currently …………. I have been doing this for 10 years, and I have hit the wall. I have to do something else, but I am having a very hard time finding what that something else is exactly as well as how to get there. I just know there is more out there, and I know I am capable of so much more than what I do or have done up until now, I just have no experience in anything else. Constantly surfing employment boards and firing out resumes is not getting me anywhere. I thought that a MBA would provide these for me, but …..

I have left the details as …. to protect the particular programs they are talking about. Fact is, the details do not matter. I hear this from so many people in so many career paths. It has become the mantra of the current tech community.

A few key points here…

1. An MBA is NOT the answer. Yes, I have one – and it was not the answer for me either!

2. Firing off resumes is not the answer!

What works?

1. Change your thinking! The education system most of us were programmed by (yes – I said programmed) is broken! You need to think differently. You have to think like an entrepreneur – even if you want a job! See a reading list you should add to your library.

2. Networking. But not the same old hat networking you have been told about. For most technical people that type of blind networking strikes fear into their hearts. Remember walking into a crowded room and seeing tons of unknown faces. You search for a face you know, but your hands get sweaty and your heart starts to race. You look to the door and think about running. Guess what – this does not work – for the obvious reasons. Instead do something that DOES work.

Try Networking for Introverts! Click Below to Read Parts 1 and 2 of this process (and there are few videos in there too!)

Part 1

Part 2