….And Why I’m Not Going to Get My MBA Afterall

If I went to school, my immediate career choice might be constrained by the necessity of paying off my monthly loan payments. Assuming I’d graduate with $150,000 in debt (Stern’s 2011-12 student budget times two, less ~$20K for summer and in-school earnings), payable over 10 years with an annual interest rate of 6.8%, my monthly loan payments would be over $1,700/month, which equates to ~$20,000/year. It’d be tough to support myself on a startup salary with those payments, let alone with other obligations.

Plenty of people start companies before, during or immediately after school, but I think it’d be easier to do so without enormous debt. Perhaps my next opportunity will be an unpaid internship or to start a company that isn’t profitable in its first year or so – but, even if these are the best fit for me, I might not be able to do it if I had debt to pay off.

*Leaving the deferred life plan*

I can see why I might choose to take a higher-paying job immediately after business school, with the plan to change jobs after I gain more experience and am more settled financially. But, I’m not getting any younger, and sooner than later, I hope to find or create work where I’m not looking at “exit options” even before starting. Why wait?

I believe I can contribute to an organization now, either by using my existing experience or by learning quickly, without needing to go to more school or first taking on a job that I don’t ultimately want. So, instead of thinking “as soon as I do X or as soon as Y happens, I will do Z,” I intend to pursue my ideal life and career now.

After spending a significant amount of my academic and professional career on jumping through hoops, doing things to “check a box” or for the sake of improving my resume, I want to do something for the sake of itself – to learn, to create something meaningful, to add something to the world.

Even if I fail, I will be able to move on, knowing that I at least tried. But, as Conan O’Brien emphasized in his recent commencement speech, ”though you should not fear failure, you should do your very best to avoid it.” Agreed.

A note (among many) of caution

I want to emphasize that what is right for me might not be right for others. As you can tell from the above, my decision is specific to my particular circumstances, so I am not advocating for others to make a similar or different decision. I will say that it’s important to make a fully-informed, self-aware decision. As they say on Friday Night Lights: “clear eyes, full hearts – can’t lose!”

Next steps

So where do I go from here? It seems like I’m in the same position I was about a year ago, but there is one big difference: I now have a much better sense of what my path forward is. Making things happen will require a lot of self-initiated effort, but I know that and am ready for it. My guiding question now is similar to how I framed my decision to go to business school. As for this blog, I’m not sure how often I will update it, but I intend to keep it as a repository for my thoughts as I take the next step in my career.

Until next time

When I created the blog, I must have known, or at least considered the possibility, that I would not be attending business school, because I deliberately avoided making the blog’s name MBA-specific. Instead, I chose a title that is rooted in the business world, particularly among startups: “just ship” means you can only plan and tinker with your product internally so much, until you reach a sufficient point where the best next step is to put it in the marketplace  and improve it based on real world feedback.

As I move beyond business school, I think the blog’s title, more than ever, appropriately embodies the kind of spirit that has guided me. I also strongly believe that you have to define what “success” means to you and then pursue it as best you can, on your own terms.

As always, thanks for reading, and I wish you the very best of luck on your own journey, wherever it may lead.

“Reflections on the GMAT for the Next Generation of MBAs”

“Rethinking the MBA”

“Sitting, Wishing, Waitlisting”

“An NYU Invite vs. Chicago Waitlist: Inspiration from The Simpsons”

“Reviewing ‘Ahead of the Curve’ on Harvard Business School

“Going to an Admit Weekend at NYU’s Stern”

“Still on the Waitlist at Chicago Booth”