How feasible career pivots are via an MBA?
Busting the narratives that the world makes you believe
When I got to know about what an MBA is for the first time, there was one resounding word—pivot. As a 21-year-old engineer soon to graduate from IIT, all I understood was that people who wanted to make a pivot into more managerial positions did it. But that was for Indian MBAs. A couple of years later, when I learned about global MBAs, everyone told me it was meant for “global exposure.”
Talking more to people who had done a global MBA, the concept was broken down very neatly into three categories (the rule of three that an MBA teaches you—of course, they used it here too):
Geographical Pivot
Functional Pivot
Industry Pivot
When you’re going for a global MBA, you are most probably going to work in that geography, so the first pivot is done naturally—your effort required in this is minimal. What you need to do is follow the standard processes that have been laid down, tried, and tested by a lot of people with similar profiles as yours already.
Now, the second pivot—the functional pivot. What it means is to do something else in the same industry you were in, but not something wildly different. For example, you can move from software engineering to product management in tech, from product management to corporate strategy in CPG, from TMT investment banking to corporate strategy in tech, and many such examples. While these pivots seem feasible—I felt they should be a cakewalk—they are not. You need to show the company that you have gained the skills required to operate in the new role already, either via your internship in that field (this is a strong signal) or via personal projects while being in business school. This is what a majority of people who come into an MBA thinking of making a pivot are able to achieve. However, it’s important to note that it’s not easy; you need to put in all the effort to stack your resume, make sure you have the right connections at the right companies, and present your candidacy in the way the company wants.
Then comes the third pivot, and the hardest—the industry pivot. This is the one where you not only need to show that you have the skills to operate in a new role, but also that you have the context, the vocabulary, the network, and the deep knowledge required to operate in a new industry. Examples of this pivot would be moving from tech to finance, CPG to tech, energy to retail, etc. A lot of people come into an MBA with the notion that the MBA is the key to unlock every opportunity, but then realize that you always come with baggage. The baggage of your past experiences, job, school—everything you did until business school. And when you are trying to change industries, this will haunt you. Because every industry you will try to pivot to will have people who have worked in that industry, have years of experience, and are now trying to upgrade. They would always be preferred over you because of the sheer context and connections they have in the industry. The two-year MBA is nowhere compensating for that.
Having seen this closely, I have realized a couple of things:
Figure out if you really want to change your industry, or if it’s just novelty that you are seeking. Try to move to a different function within the same industry before the MBA to test the hypothesis.
If you figure out you are actually happy in the industry, figure out if your industry values an MBA—some industries (like tech startups) don’t, and you would really not gain a lot (professionally) by going for the degree.
If you figure you really need to make the pivot, see if you can gain some experience as an intern/early career job in your desired role (this can be a game-changer post-MBA to prove your credibility for that job).
And at the end, I would say—treat your baggage as your catapult. Use it to your advantage; make it count. Your experience is the biggest advantage you have coming into business school, so use it to get better opportunities in the field you have been operating in. Eventually, every job is going to get monotonous or procedural, irrespective of how interesting it looks—you need to figure out your poison.