<p>I am a political science student, and am finishing up my sophomore year. Originally I was going to master in political science after college, then work my way from there, now I've decided to go after an MBA. I was going to intern at a think tank DC, should I? I know that you have to have a few years of post graduate work experience, but is interning during your four years important at all to business schools? Is it necessary? Because interning in DC sure is expensive. Also, not interning would save me a lot of time, because I was planning on replacing one of my spring or fall semesters with that internship. Also, regarding post-graduate work experience, what type of experience do business schools look for? Should I be working for some office job at some company, managing a small business or something? I was thinking of becoming a realtor at some point. Would an internship help me find the type of job I would need for sufficient experience for my MBA? Should I be chasing some other internship for a job after a I graduate? My final question is on schools. I'm thinking about going to Rutgers Business for my MBA, does anyone know if this is a good school, with a good chance of a job post mba? Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>I’ve found the main benefit of internships to be that they were a preview into an industry. More are generally better. Internships won’t help you get into bschool per se, but they will help you get a better job out of undergrad, which will in turn help you get into a b school.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how you would define “good school”, some would say Rutgers is perfectly fine, some others wouldn’t. Generally speaking though it isn’t considered a top business school (but not everyone needs to go to Wharton). I suggest you look at USNews’ best business schools rankings to get a decent - although far from perfect - lay of the land.</p>
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<p>If it’s between interning and not interning, all else equal, yes you should intern.</p>
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<p>Interning during your four years is not absolutely necessary, but it is important for post-undergraduate job opportunities, which are in turn important for MBA admittance. The more/relevant/impactful experience, the better. Interning can certainly be expensive and time-consuming, but it is very worthwhile if you can afford the time and money.</p>
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<p>Business schools do not necessarily seek after a certain type of profession, but ~half the student bodies at the top schools consist of ex-investment bankers and ex-management consultants.</p>
<p>I concur with storch on the Rutgers analysis.</p>
<p>And now I refer you to a couple of select Mergers & Inquisitions articles: [Positioning</a> Yourself for Business School, Part 2: The Non-Financier | Mergers & Inquisitions](<a href=“http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/positioning-yourself-for-business-school-part-2-the-non-financier/]Positioning”>MBA Investment Banking Recruiting: The Comprehensive Guide)</p>
<p>[Positioning</a> Yourself for Business School, Part 1: The Financier | Mergers & Inquisitions](<a href=“http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/positioning-yourself-for-business-school-part-1-the-financier/]Positioning”>MBA Investment Banking Recruiting: The Comprehensive Guide)</p>
<p>as well as a general MBA admissions blog, MBA Apply: [MBA</a> Admissions and Careers](<a href=“http://mbaapply.blogspot.com/]MBA”>http://mbaapply.blogspot.com/)</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I’m thinking that even though I’m a poli sci major, I should intern somewhere business related instead, especially if I want to go to business school at some point. Interning at a think tank may look good and diverse, but if I intern somewhere business related, it would help me find a job graduating out of college, and I would need a good job for work experience for business school. Also, if I find an internship outside of dc, it would be much more accessible.</p>
<p>According to princeton review and the rutgers site, the average rutgers mba graduate gets somewhere around 90,000 as a starting salary (<a href=“http://mba.business.rutgers.edu/FullTime/Students/ClassProfile[/url]”>http://mba.business.rutgers.edu/FullTime/Students/ClassProfile</a>). This is actually pretty good compared to a lot of other schools, even some of the tier 1 schools, and the tuition is cheap. It would be worth it. Also if I were to go there, I would be commuting. My real question is, is the networking at rutgers decent, I mean would I have a good chance of finding a job with a salary between 50 to 90 thousand within a few months of graduating at rutgers or any similar decent business school? Or are many jobs just concentrated for the top schools?</p>
<p>No doubt you could find a job starting around 90k out of Rutgers, but this is relatively low compared to the top schools which have an average signing bonus and base (never mind year end bonus) in the 130-140 range. Most of the most prestigious recruiters will only go to the top schools - although that does not mean it is impossible to get into a great firm out of Rutgers, it is just a lot harder.</p>
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<p>That certainly holds some weight, but it is only your sophomore year. I met a kid at one of my investment banking superdays (for junior summer internship) that had interned at a think tank in DC during his sophomore summer (granted, he goes to Princeton, where kids are recruited very heavily).</p>
<p>storch’s point is a good one. You will be able to get a pretty good salary, but I would be surprised if the top high finance & consulting companies come to Rutgers to recruit for front office positions (not sure which career path you are thinking about, but banking and consulting are very popular ones once people figure out what they want to do).</p>