我的年齡和工作經驗是否申請top 20 MBA無望?

[bearhan]

我是個空服員,已經飛了十年了
十年下來得到了許多卻也失去了許多
現在存了一筆錢想back to school
學習我一直以來想唸的商業管理
實現未來不同的人生規劃
希望能順利轉業
但我今年已36歲.....雖然一切都還維持得不錯
台大外文系畢(非商業相關,亦未修過會計統計經濟方面的學分)
GPA3.5 託福有考到100分以上但GMAT成績不夠理想正在加油中
工作經驗.......唉....poor.....就是空服員.......
請問
我聽說美國人視空服員的行業為婦女二度就業的選擇
也就是說他們對這個行業有一定程度的歧視,這是真的嗎??
所以我的工作資歷是相當不利於申請的??
可以請哪位在學的大大幫我探探學校入學主任的想法嗎????(特別是US top 20)
真的拜託了, 我很想知道他們是否多少歧視空服員這個服務業的applicant??認為很難具備leadership的特質?
還是有哪位大大您本身是服務業,或有來自服務業的同學?
可以分享一下您們的申請經驗與心得嗎?
還有,就是另一個頭痛的問題
我的超齡是否真的就是申請上的一個障礙?特別是美國top 20??
我真的很積極全力以赴地在準備.....desperately!!
一心一意希望能申請到好學校
讓我中年以後的人生有不同的成長
不同的價值與歷練
但真的很worry學校那邊是否很容易拒絕我這樣的applicant
真的拜託各位為我指點迷津吧........!!
萬分感謝您的忠告!!!!

[davidlee0222]

no discrimination
don't worry

instead
it's an intense customer service and relationship management
it's all about hospitality and empathy
while leadership is about these 2 particular characteristics
you're in good shape
only need to read some fundamental management concepts

it's all about customer insight
just like our speakers in these 2 weeks
International Marketing Leader from Eli Lilly
VP from American Express
Recruiting Director from L'OREAL
they all emphasize the same thing
senior executives must have front line customer experience
or it's hard to lead to success

another good news is in the U.S.
B-schools appreciate more experienced applicants
the rationale is simple
only the more experience you have
the more value you can bring
and the more you can learn
so just go for it

[davidlee0222]

still another good news
or should be two

first is the job diversity you can bring to school
you have more chance to enter the prospective pool

second is assuming you're female
the chance is even higher

also you're from Asia
from the top undergrad
you should be committed and passionate in your application package

and you must have a great story about why you've flown for more than a decade
just show them all you've got
and connect all the management logic with your future career

[bearhan]

To Davidlee:
Thanks a lot for your encouragement !
seems that my working experience instead strengthens my profile and serves as a favorable part! well I still wonder that among those top 20 B-schools, any one not favoring applicants who are over 35-year-old? I really heard about things like age consideration.....
It's hard for me to target my first priority school. I really wanna try those dream schools, but I also need to weigh my chances and make my target practical. During my career as a flight attendent, to be honest, besides service, no deeds nor significant accomplishment to highlight myself. The question is how can I make myself stand out from all the other flight attendents? B-schools are, tellingly, looking for candidates of successful quality from his/her field, that is, they want people with compelling working performance. If this scenario is true, how can I prove myself distinct without straightforward evidence?
Could you give me any advice?

[bailey]

Hi bearhan,

Age? A single factor can't really hurt you. From what I read, you can be a very competent candidate. Be confident and find out your story! ;)

I assume that you have significant leadership experience in your career. Are you leading a team of flight attendants? How many people do you manage?


Cheers,
bailey

[MarkHsu]

I am going to disagree here and say that you should not consider an MBA.

Basically, you are asking for advice from people who are generally 6-10 years younger than you on this forum. As smart as some people are on this forum, they don't know what it is like to be in their 30's. = )

An MBA is a signficant investment. It will likely cost you NT 4-6 million. If you have that much saved up already, I suggest you look at alternative ways to develop a second career.

In another 6-9 months, US economy will deterioriate further and the reasons why one should get an MBA will be less compelling.

[Jason Lee]

I agree with MarkHsu’s points. The US dollar is declining, and the housing markets just collapsed. No one could safely project when, if ever, the US market would recover. We are not US citizens, so why does this have to do with us?

First, your chance of getting into your targeted schools might significantly decrease due to the US market now. Many people are returning to schools hoping they, with MBA degrees, could get better opportunities. Consequently, the number of applicants surged this year and will probably continue in the short future.

Second, whenever the market is not hot, companies generally tend to reduce the number of employees in order to achieve or maintain their goals. With everything being equal, who would cost companies more than they necessarily would have to? H1b, a.k.a. working visa, workers cost more in terms of administrative costs, legal fees, and application fees. Furthermore, Bush administration reduced H1b visas from over 100,000 to 65,000. Many people filed H1b petitions this year and were not able to obtain visas due to the 65,000 cap. Not even knowing whether you would be able to work in the US, companies are now redundant to hire foreign workers.

Of course, if you were returning to Taiwan or Asia, only number one issue is applicable to you. Although there are people who are over 30 in elite schools, you should reevaluate your reasons, not everyone’s opinion here. Why you want to pursue a MBA degree?

If this is what you have always wanted, as you mentioned, I wish you have a successful year applying business schools.

[cy6077]

Be confident with yourself!

You can be a good candidate with your strong and diversified background. All you need is to justify why MBA and how MBA would help you achieve your future career goal. However, are you really convinced that a top 20 MBA program is the only steppingstone to the success? If the answer is yes, just go for it as David Lee said. (I am 36 years old and a current MBA student without sponsorship.) If you can't verify the answer, there are lots of alternatives that lead you to success as you swith your career path.

[bailey]

Mark點出很多申請者的思考盲點, 大家通常會先問 (或問版眾) can I get the admission from top schools? 但更根本的是 is MBA for me? 常被忽略. 希望版主已經經過一番思考. ;)

另外所提到的申請者增加及美國景氣下滑所(可能)導致的對持H1b工作簽證者的不利, 這個影響是全面性的, 對於不同個案來說, 需要權衡到什麼程度, 見仁見智. To be honest, too many excuses only keep people from taking challenges. It's all about evaluating the situation, making the decision (of getting MBA or not), and taking the risks.

Cheers,
bailey

[cburger]

just want to raise another point. I believe MarkHsu mentioned it before:

Admissibility is very different than employability. Getting into an top MBA school is just the beginning. The challenges and issues you will face in a business school is much much more than taking GMAT or preparing essays. If you ask for no return (monetarily) from a business school education, then you don't need to think too much about "is MBA for me", but if you are looking for a career switch, or wanting to get into a particular industry, you need to look at the profiles of each top business school and decide which could offer you the most benefits in terms of your career goal.

[zephyr_h]

提出非MBA 的 career transition suggestion 給樓主參考。

我處在IT產業，也認識一些業務朋友，是空服員三年左右轉職的，這些朋友由於面貌談吐佳，語文能力也不錯，對人敏感度夠，加上學習能力和企圖心，在工作上都有很好的表現。

尤其是Taiwan-base，打國際IT品牌的海外業務群，對招募空服員很積極。
而這些工作，其實並不一定需要『TOP 20 MBA』, 可以去念一個國內的IMBA,或是更省錢省時的外貿協會ITI program (好像也有一年制，不知道有沒有part time)。
package-wise ,據說ITI畢業是照碩士敘薪的，選對公司好好作，package破1.5m nt 很普遍，更好的也蠻多。

[Charmin]

我能體會工作了十年想轉職...可是...沒有相關學歷經歷, 又不想真的去賣燒餅, 鹹酥雞(好想吃~), Back to school 是一條途逕(不管是不是捷徑)~

兩年前(工作九年了)我也是在考慮去哪念, 要不要找代辦, 年紀會不會太大了被拒...現在我只後悔沒努力申請更好(通常意味排名更高)的學校.

在美國(舉例), 中高階經理人回學校唸書的比比皆, 狀況和台灣很像, 大家都想拿個MBA. 只要敢申請, 年紀不會是問題, 美國送UPS到家門口的多半不是"小弟"而是五十幾歲的"爺爺"(很像United Airline 或西北的空服員 ). 十年工作經驗可以在國際學生之中輕易脫穎而出, 在我這學校絕大部份的國際學生不超過26歲, 這也意味著十年工作經驗可能更容易被錄取 plus 滿意的獎學金.

與其存一個念頭想唸MBA, 不如問問為何要唸? concentration 將會是什麼? 我想樓主不會太迷失於自己以後要做什麼, 只是看到一群人說這個, 一群人說那個, 不知哪個才是對的.

就算年紀是問題, 難道就不闖了? 就活過來了嘛~ 還能怎樣? 其時那一群人說的那個, 只適合那一群人, 套用到樓主身上就不搭了.

申請學校都是靠包裝的, 十年同一間公司有足夠的資訊可以包裝自己, 飛去過哪些國家看國哪些民族文化, 遇過哪些奧客, 哪些亂流, 從中給了什麼啟發, 這些在Essays裡面寫都寫不完了.

我的建議是好好準備申請文件, 考個好GMAT分數(這才是Top20決勝關鍵). 美國經濟狀況走下坡的時候是最佳的時刻 back to school. 現在不唸, 難道要等過四十再後悔嗎?

最後還有一個建議就是-實現你的夢, 如果樓主有心在Top20, 就努力追尋夢吧~ 總有一間在那個 round 裡你是夠優秀的, 有時候申請要靠命運, 在天空飛十年都活下來了, 想唸個書運氣也不會太差才是.

[yelloweriol520]

我想要問一下適合唸MBA的年紀的範圍是什麼。

[Charmin]

我想要問一下適合唸MBA的年紀的範圍是什麼。

我的個人見解:
Start time: 有幾年工作經驗之後, 這樣在課堂上比較有得"share", GPA才容易高些.
to:
Condition 1.退休前(畢業後還可以在工作上發揮所學)
Condition 2.直到老死(if it's for fun, just kidding)

這問題在看過各校的課程內容後, 應該自己就會有答案了,
也就是, 唸這些之後要做啥? 為何要念? 喜歡或適合唸嗎?

還記得聯考選填志願嗎? 早早以前電機系熱門, 大家都去選的那個時代?

論投資效益, 如果唸完回台灣工作, 出國唸書就很難撈回本的,
在Boston很省的過一個月生活費還要燒USD$1000, 唸個兩年的話,
這 80 萬新台幣要省吃簡用多久才能回來? 或是要換怎樣的工作才賺得回來?
當然在美國工作就不同, 但收入差異因人而異, 也看個人造化.

天才是少數, 大部份的人就當追夢吧~
不是有人說, 傾家當產都要去唸Harvard嗎

雖千萬人 吾往矣~~

[ccuturandot]

只要有心 都不嫌晚....我們學校有個37歲的韓國人(很帥歐 ! 他小孩也很可愛)
已經有Phd的學歷了 又來念MBA...畢業在IBD

美國很注重多元文化 我朋友的班上也是有大韓航空的空姐
所以 應該不用太擔心 只要把你自己好好包裝 並想清楚
你有什麼 contribution 可以給 MBA 這個 program

至於投資報酬率 的確是因人而異 (這是以金錢來衡量的)
但是 過程中的一些酸甜苦辣 以及無形的東西 , 結交的朋友, (未來的老公老婆?)
(ex:去華爾街某投行總部喝下午茶, 親眼看到希拉蕊來學校演講....)
會是你一輩子的回憶 ....也是用金錢買不到的東西

當然 就要看你怎嚜衡量這些留學經驗的價值了....

可以申請到越好的學校就去...因為 學校跟同儕可以帶給你的東西
是你無法想像的.......

加油 !

:smile
我是個空服員,已經飛了十年了
望能順利轉業
但我今年已36歲.....雖然一切都還維持得不錯
台大外文系畢(非商業相關,亦未修過會計統計經濟方面的學分)
GPA3.5 託福有考到100分以上但GMAT成績不夠理想正在加油中
工作經驗.......唉....poor.....就是空服員.......
還是有哪位大大您本身是服務業,或有來自服務業的同學?
可以分享一下您們的申請經驗與心得嗎?
還有,就是另一個頭痛的問題
我的超齡是否真的就是申請上的一個障礙?特別是美國top 20??
我真的很積極全力以赴地在準備.....desperately!!