MBA programs and career pathways

¶ … pursue this degree or this degree combination? How will it apply to your career goals?

Once upon a time, business employees were neatly divided into management and technical staff. The paths of these two different 'species' seldom intersected, and the two communities spoke a different language. In today's modern business world, the walls between management and technology have begun to break down. Technology is ubiquitous to every facet of commerce, and no technician can overlook the human element of technical design. As an electrical engineer, I have always prided myself on my ability to listen to customers, and to suit my designs to the human needs of those customers I serve, as well as deliver a superior technical product.

In the future, the expanding role of CIO (Chief Information Officers) in managing corporate affairs and the need for managers with technical expertise means engineers with knowledge of how to manage people and to suit designs to relate to human and commercial needs will be in increasing demand. Armed with an MBA, I seek proficiency in both my chosen field and in the science of management with the aim of becoming the ideal engineer and the ideal manager simultaneously, in all of my endeavors.

I wish to gain the necessary knowledge to sharpen my capacity to lead others in my field and in the corporate world in general. The part-time MBA would enable me to continue to learn on the job, but make my work more meaningful, as I learned to relate my experiences with others to what I was learning in the classroom.

Required Essay #2: How will your background and experience enhance the quality and diversity of the entering class of graduate business students? In what ways will you contribute to the learning experiences of your classmates?

My experience as an engineer has made me precise, rigorous, and analytical in my approach to on-the-job problem-solving. I think that my practical view of the world will be an asset to any case study or work team I am a part of in business school. Also, business problems involving technical or engineering problems would benefit from my insight in class discussion. I think I could offer valuable input about developing business solutions to suit technical needs, motivating others to use technology more effectively, and grappling with the problems of adjusting to new technology in the workplace

Engineering is about finding efficient solutions to complex problems. Even a manager from a non-engineering background can appreciate the value of efficiency and saving time. Someone once said to me that the key to being a good engineer was developing a solution for a dollar in ten minutes that would take a non-engineer ten dollars and ten hours to solve. Error-free efficiency in the shortest time possible is critical to best business practices in a variety of fields. Continuous improvement is always the goal of any good engineering practice. Being independent, self-motivated, and able to complete assignments with minimum supervision has always been my strengths, but I look forward to sharing my experiences with other students, and learning from their diverse backgrounds.

Required Essay #3: Describe a situation that prompted self-evaluation and change. Discuss your involvement and its effect on your goals.

After obtaining my degree in electrical engineering, I began working full-time as a control engineer. Over the course of my employment, I have had to remain flexible to customer orders, as I have designed PC-based machine tool control hardware and software to suit customer needs, as well as provide customer support of automation equipment in the field. Through my work and development of new automation and motion control product solutions I have constantly had to reassess old models, and solve things in the 'here and now,' suiting the demand of the moment. When setting up and maintenance engineering design, drawing, documentation systems, automation and continuous improvement of all engineering processes, I can never rely upon what works or worked in the past, I must keep my eye on what will work in the future.