Why MBA and why now for Veterans

A few people have asked me why an MBA and why now. I'll try to write this from the perspective of a veteran with some civilian experience.

As I was leaving the military I had a difficult time choosing between going to an MBA program versus going straight into industry. At the time I had a great offer from GE in my hand (November) and had yet to hear back from the MBA programs I had applied to. My wife and I discussed our situation and decided that going to work was the best course of action for us because I was pretty sure I wanted to work in energy and rotate among different business functions (pretty much what GE was offering me). I thought that if I went straight to GE I could either skip studying for an MBA or do an MBA on the side.

I left the military to pursue a career in business because I thought that I could make a bigger impact in business rather than the military. At GE I was working in the quality function as a six sigma guy and learning a lot about operations. The more I learned the more I wanted to study operations formally. GE had a certain way of improving operations, but this did not correspond with what I was learning about how Toyota operated (the model operations company).

Ultimately, I left GE to learn more about operations and investigate opportunities at other companies and industries. In the military I was taught to be happy with the positions and units I was given by my branch manager, but while at GE I learned that I could be most productive and happy by pursuing positions and companies that I fit in best. I knew this theoretically, but making the decision to leave GE for business school was a difficult one.

Leaving a stable job in a booming city (Houston is doing very well right now due to all of the oil and gas companies in the area) was very difficult and scary. I think it would have been less scary if I did not have a wife and two young children that I was responsible for. I went from receiving a pay check to receiving tuition bills. So far one month into business school I have not regretted my decision at all, but I do consider myself blessed. Not everyone has the opportunity to leave work for graduate school.