MBAs Return to Their Roots

More

The Wall Street Journal reports that MBAs, unable to find the lucrative jobs in consulting and finance that they paid big bucks to access, are going back to whatever it was they used to do. 



That's what happened to my class in 2001 -- though not to me, because I'd come from the one field, technology consulting, that was doing worse than finance or management consulting.  I did sniff around to see if there were any jobs available, but as one recruiter pointed out, my skills were two years old, and the market was glutted.  "Find a nice guy," he advised, "and have his babies."

But even those who can return to the mother ship are usually more than a little embittered by the experience.  Most people get an MBA because they want to switch fields.  Paying $80-$100,000 for a promotion is a pretty hard pill to swallow.

Jump to comments

Megan McArdle is a former writer and editor at The Atlantic.

Get Today's Top Stories in Your Inbox (preview)


Elsewhere on the web

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register. blog comments powered by Disqus

Video

Miami: The Next Big Start-Up City?

How the city became a center for innovation

Video

Video

A Brief History of Romantic Comedies

From The Atlantic's Chris Orr

Video

Life in 'the New Arctic'

A moving portrait of a fading landscape

Video

Video

The Rise of New York City

A fascinating look at Manhattan in the 1940s

Video

What Is Methane Hydrate?

"Flaming ice" is a vast natural energy source

Video

NASA's Time-Lapse of the Sun

Now with epic dubstep music

Video

Shaken Not Tuned: Cocktail Experiments

Can a tuning fork improve a cocktail?

Video

Video

Is He Cheating? A 1950s Guide

'That little blonde secretary from the office?’

Video

New Yorkers: Vintage Vacuum-Tube Amps

Risking electric shock to restore old amplifiers

Video

The DIY Piano-Bicycle

Everybody needs a hobby

Writers

Up
Down

More in Business

In Focus

Photos of Tornado Damage in Moore, Oklahoma

Just In