<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am a recent graduate of a great (albeit, small) liberal arts college. I majored in Humanities and ended up with about a 3.2-3.3 g.p.a. I think that I would eventually like to go into finance, but right now, I've got the travel bug, and I've got it bad. I don't think that I would be happy spending the next five years of my life as an analyst at a financial institution here in the states. I think that I would really regret not taking advantage of this time in my life (no wife, kids, serious job, attatchments, etc...) to get out and see the world.</p>
<p>So, right now, I am thinking about getting my pre-mba work experience in the arena of international development. I was thinking about joining an organization like USAID, the United States Agency for International Development. If I worked hard there, got promoted to a leadership position, and got great letters of reccomondation, I think that I could get into a solid m.b.a. program, in spite of my mediocre g.p.a (though I would be willing to get a masters of some sort if raising that was necessary). I also think that it would really help in setting me apart from the typical applicant, who does exactly what I mentioned I'd regret doing.</p>
<p>Here are my questions...</p>
<h1>1) Do you think that would be good work experience for getting into a top mba program?</h1>
<h1>2) IF I got into a great mba program, and graduated, do you think I would have a hard time getting a nice finance job? Would it matter that all of my previous work experience was in international development? Or would a great MBA degree be reason enough for them to give me a shot?</h1>
<p>Thanks in advance for any thoughts!</p>
<h1>1. could be an interesting differentiator. i think it would be fine work experience.</h1>
<h1>2. depends on the rank of the school. possible from the elite schools but not so much from the mid-range imo. however, there are other business opportunities outside finance that would be more accessible so mba could still be a great choice</h1>
<p>Getting a good finance job requires that you go to an elite business school - most of the time. Several generations of my family worked on wall street. They went to the university of Chicago for their MBA’s. Working in an international development organization sounds interesting…but I don’t know if its the experience a lot of finance MBA programs are looking for. Maybe you should try to get your MBA in international business instead. They would value your international experience. Then, you could move into global finance. By the way, this is not directly my advice. I am in a similar situation, and this was the advice from my wall street relatives.</p>
<p>what is the difference between ‘regular’ finance…and global finance?</p>
<p>thank you very much for sharing that article!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What type of finance job do you want? If it’s IB, then your chances from a top b-school should be fine - they hire plenty of people, so prior finance experience is not a prerequisite. If you want IM, PE, HF, etc. then it may be more difficult, as many firms place some value of prior work experience in a related field (i.e., experience with financial analysis, modeling, valuation).</p></li>
<li><p>The jobs you describe sound fine for getting into school. The specific field is really less important than your role in the organization and what you accomplish there. I go to school with people who were teachers, engineers, writers, etc. before school - there’s not one type of career that gets you into a top program. </p></li>
<li><p>Consider your overall candidacy, not just your work experience. Take a look at the class profiles for schools you like and see how you compare. While your GPA is a bit low, it’s not terrible or anything (and when you say that your school is a top LA school, is that Amherst or Williams level?). Make sure you have a strong GMAT, good additional stuff (volunteering, interests, etc) and your work experience tells a good story about what you’ve done since college. There’s no one path to school/successful profile … and besides, you may eventually decide you don’t even want an MBA, so you might as well do something you enjoy in the interim!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>not quite amherst, but a little below. the regional med and law schools raise our graduates gpa’s by 0.3 when considering them for admission, because we’re known for having such tough graders.</p>