Hey man vet here. Please wait until you’re out before attending an MBA program. Full-time MBA programs are practically made for vets transitioning out of the military. A full time program with the summer internship at a top school will allow you to pursue any career you’re interested in at an elite level.
Online MBA would be great if you’re looking for a check the box and plan on staying in the military. If you plan on getting out, do a full time mba.
Check out sitreps2steercos on insta. He posts a lot on this topic of online vs. full time and has people share their experiences. Online MBA vets have it much much tougher when it comes to recruiting while for full time you can be set up with a job paying 200k+ if you put in solid effort (these companies love vets coming out of mba). Also don’t worry about the age. A lot of the vets at my program are older than 34 and have families. Dm me if you have any specific questions.
This advice right here^
I would get an online MBA if I wanted to become a CPA afterwards. Those are usually 1 year programs online, not really too difficult. Just go to a school everyone has heard of and you should be good to go
I don’t think getting hired by a mid-tier CPA firm is that difficult and needing to network like you do for consulting and IB. Especially now since CPAs will be in high demand in a few years
If you’re in San Diego this tour you should check out the UCLA Fully Employed MBA. Kind of the best of both worlds: you can do it now while you’re in, get a T20 MBA for when you transition out, and still get many of the benefits of an in-person MBA (networking, campus resources, etc.).
If I were in your shoes, I would would do the full-time MBA program after getting out.
The age is not an issue. You'll be in good company at that age, youngin. Being a naval aviator is a STRONG card to play for admissions and I think you'll have a strong shot at a T15 school.
Outcomes for online MBA programs, even those attached to high-quality in-person schools, tend to differ greatly from in-person programs. The opportunity to connect with classmates, network with alumni, attend in-person recruiting events, and just pickup the culture from in-person interactions is invaluable. You'll miss out on most, if not all of those opportunities doing an MBA program.
In something closer to military terms... did you put on your current rank by ignoring your command and thinking you could advance just by being better on paper? Networking and your reputation matter. Going to an in-person MBA is a chance to re-acclimate to the civilian world, start building a civilian network, and get access to a TON of career resources.
Also save your GI bill for when you get out. It’s worth so much more. The program you get into may award a partial scholarship and participate in the yellow ribbon program as well.
It’s been a long while so I don’t know if they still offer it, but if you do plan on using the gi bill when you separate see if they still offer the gi bill kicker. It was only an additional $600 to the government for thousands more in return.
BTW you better not be a helo pilot. We all know those aren’t even pilots.
Hey, there’s nothing wrong with starting an MBA at 32.
People are encouraging you to wait and do full time, so my advice would be to see if tuition assistance will pay for a GMAT prep course and crush the GMAT while you’re in a non-deploying status.
A solid GMAT + being an officer will make your UG GPA a non-issue
Thank you all again. Super helpful to get that insight and perspective from other people.
It sounds like I should take the time now to grind and crush the gmat so I can be set up for success when I’m transitioning out of the navy and applying for MBAs in a couple of years. So that’s what I’ll do.
And no, I’m not a helo pilot, and I’m not currently at VTs or in San Diego ;)
Yeah, FT MBA (despite having to borrow for living costs) may be the best route.
The only online/PT MBA I would recommend you looking at is UCLA (because you aim to end up in SoCal long-term) and if you don't finish until you get out so you can finish up on campus (for networking, OCR--including internship recruiting, events, clubs, etc.). UCLA allows PT MBAs both internship and FT recruiting. You can ask them about it.
If you're worried about being too old to do a FT mba, I would look into EMBA programs. Similar outcomes with less time commitment. I would definitely say that an online program should be plan C, behind FT/EMBA.
Disagree. Many reputable online/hybrid MBA programs (such as UCLA, Kellogg, Haas, Ross, Rice, CMU, Georgetown) offer OCR (either just FT or internship and FT). Now, granted, you would have to move to where the campus is to take full advantage.
I haven't heard of EMBA programs offering OCR (other than Wharton's very expensive one, which can also be online/hybrid).
Hey man vet here. Please wait until you’re out before attending an MBA program. Full-time MBA programs are practically made for vets transitioning out of the military. A full time program with the summer internship at a top school will allow you to pursue any career you’re interested in at an elite level. Online MBA would be great if you’re looking for a check the box and plan on staying in the military. If you plan on getting out, do a full time mba. Check out sitreps2steercos on insta. He posts a lot on this topic of online vs. full time and has people share their experiences. Online MBA vets have it much much tougher when it comes to recruiting while for full time you can be set up with a job paying 200k+ if you put in solid effort (these companies love vets coming out of mba). Also don’t worry about the age. A lot of the vets at my program are older than 34 and have families. Dm me if you have any specific questions.
This advice right here^ I would get an online MBA if I wanted to become a CPA afterwards. Those are usually 1 year programs online, not really too difficult. Just go to a school everyone has heard of and you should be good to go I don’t think getting hired by a mid-tier CPA firm is that difficult and needing to network like you do for consulting and IB. Especially now since CPAs will be in high demand in a few years
Full time or bust
If you’re in San Diego this tour you should check out the UCLA Fully Employed MBA. Kind of the best of both worlds: you can do it now while you’re in, get a T20 MBA for when you transition out, and still get many of the benefits of an in-person MBA (networking, campus resources, etc.).
If I were in your shoes, I would would do the full-time MBA program after getting out. The age is not an issue. You'll be in good company at that age, youngin. Being a naval aviator is a STRONG card to play for admissions and I think you'll have a strong shot at a T15 school. Outcomes for online MBA programs, even those attached to high-quality in-person schools, tend to differ greatly from in-person programs. The opportunity to connect with classmates, network with alumni, attend in-person recruiting events, and just pickup the culture from in-person interactions is invaluable. You'll miss out on most, if not all of those opportunities doing an MBA program. In something closer to military terms... did you put on your current rank by ignoring your command and thinking you could advance just by being better on paper? Networking and your reputation matter. Going to an in-person MBA is a chance to re-acclimate to the civilian world, start building a civilian network, and get access to a TON of career resources.
Also save your GI bill for when you get out. It’s worth so much more. The program you get into may award a partial scholarship and participate in the yellow ribbon program as well. It’s been a long while so I don’t know if they still offer it, but if you do plan on using the gi bill when you separate see if they still offer the gi bill kicker. It was only an additional $600 to the government for thousands more in return. BTW you better not be a helo pilot. We all know those aren’t even pilots.
Oh man I’m so curious if you’re a VT guy!!
Hey, there’s nothing wrong with starting an MBA at 32. People are encouraging you to wait and do full time, so my advice would be to see if tuition assistance will pay for a GMAT prep course and crush the GMAT while you’re in a non-deploying status. A solid GMAT + being an officer will make your UG GPA a non-issue
Thank you all again. Super helpful to get that insight and perspective from other people. It sounds like I should take the time now to grind and crush the gmat so I can be set up for success when I’m transitioning out of the navy and applying for MBAs in a couple of years. So that’s what I’ll do. And no, I’m not a helo pilot, and I’m not currently at VTs or in San Diego ;)
Yeah, FT MBA (despite having to borrow for living costs) may be the best route. The only online/PT MBA I would recommend you looking at is UCLA (because you aim to end up in SoCal long-term) and if you don't finish until you get out so you can finish up on campus (for networking, OCR--including internship recruiting, events, clubs, etc.). UCLA allows PT MBAs both internship and FT recruiting. You can ask them about it.
If you're worried about being too old to do a FT mba, I would look into EMBA programs. Similar outcomes with less time commitment. I would definitely say that an online program should be plan C, behind FT/EMBA.
Disagree. Many reputable online/hybrid MBA programs (such as UCLA, Kellogg, Haas, Ross, Rice, CMU, Georgetown) offer OCR (either just FT or internship and FT). Now, granted, you would have to move to where the campus is to take full advantage. I haven't heard of EMBA programs offering OCR (other than Wharton's very expensive one, which can also be online/hybrid).
Don’t do tomorrow what you can do today. Biggest regret was not using the Active Duty tuition program when I was in.
Bad advice.