The Two-Year Vacation"
"The MBA is like a two year vacation." That phrase is commonly uttered by aspiring MBAs everywhere. The vision is idyllic: get into a top MBA program, go to a few classes a week in which you learn what business is really about, party with newfound friends as often as you like, and pick your choice of internship and full-time career after school by simply accepting offers that are thrown at your feet. Life is easy, travel is frequent, and the time is simply lots of fun.
The Secret Truth
Now, for the secret truth: that vision is really only true during your second year, and, in most cases, during the second half of your second year. When you enter your first year, you are probably going to be stunned at how busy your life is. You will be consistently busy through at least the spring. Yes, this is true for even you bankers and private equity people who worked consistent 100+ hours/week prior to school. Without fail, every single person I have talked to has felt this same way during the first 75% of their first year.
How can this be? Well, think of the MBA this way: you are working in 3 part time, 10-25 hour/week jobs all at once:
Classes and homework
Professional and social clubs and groups – meetings, presentations and other work
Socializing/networking/partying
Finding a job: presentations, information sessions, dinners, and, ultimately, interviews
It is the diversity of activities that make the MBA so time-consuming initially. Most corporate jobs before business school, no matter how many hours they require, are pretty straightforward. You are expected to work on one or at most two deliverables at once. The MBA is different – you are working on four or more of these part-time jobs all at once, and only you are responsible for completing them.
Think about this busyness as it relates to your path to consulting. You will be incredibly busy with the MBA in general. If you are not ready, item 4 in that list above, "finding a job", will easily slip by the wayside.
