2008年3月11日 星期二

[Career Explorer]一個我人生未來的問題 (v)

Q:
我一直都準備要去美國讀大學。我的計畫是在大學讀會計系,然後出來工作,再來可能就讀MBA或是會計研究所。 
但是最近我媽有一個朋友他是牙醫師,提議說跟他兒子一起去捷克唸牙醫系。 
我評估下來,這樣也不錯。 所以我有點混亂:我到底現在要走商還是走牙醫。 
因為捷克真的好漂亮,而且讀完五年的牙醫系,就可以再歐盟任何一個國家開業。 
薪資來講,我可以在三十歲前就可以開始規劃人生,但是走商可能到三十三才有個定位。
我比較害怕數學,我比較不害怕生物。 
但是我從小夢想就是堅定的走商業,而且我從來沒有想過醫學院。 好煩惱阿。

A:
捷克幾乎完全不講英文。即使是觀光聖地布拉格,也只有相當少數的人會講很基本的英文。我在那念了兩個月的書,巷口義大利餐廳的辣妹服務生,連個hot or cool都聽不懂。
我舊家巷口有兩家牙醫,一家大爆滿,預約都要前兩個禮拜,另一家完全沒人。
原因很簡單,也很搞笑~ 爆滿那間都笑笑的,很細心也很有人情味,台大牙醫第一名畢業,技術很好,都不會痛,三兩下就搞定了。 
沒人的那間只有牙醫自己一個人。以前還有媽媽站櫃檯,現在也沒有了。
牙醫技術不好,人不錯,但是很明顯沒熱情。幫人看牙連他自己都很痛苦。一顆小蛀牙搞的他焦頭爛額,弄得很痛,又一直聽他念念有詞"這顆很難搞......" 
痛過一、兩次,就不敢再去了。

我的長輩有一個朋友在LA,三個女兒都是牙醫。
其中一個女兒嫁老外,也是牙醫。
她自己日薪五百美金,算少的。亞裔老公日薪一千一美金。
兩個人加起來一天可以賺五萬台幣,房子越換越大,沒幾個月就換一間。 
不過話說回來,人家賺的到,不代表你賺的到。
生涯三元素:熱情、性格、能力,你有幾項跟想要的工作符合?也要等工作過了才知道。
 
學生頂多搞搞社團、打打工,有做過事,才會曉得該走什麼路。
跟什麼薪資或定向都沒關係。
天下沒有白吃的午餐。簡單出去找個工來打,就知道錢有多難賺。
沒有找出熱情在哪,是不可能成功的。

[Career Explorer]EMBA for a career change?

http://forums.businessweek.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=74323.9&webtag=bw-bschools
Q:
Also from NYC area I am 37 with 13 years experience in IT Consulting and Services. I have owned my own company for the last 8 years and have employed up to 6 consultants and have managed up to 45 people during projects my company has engaged in. Most of my projects are with investment banks and hedge funds. Will have masters in Software Engineering from Brandeis University in early 2009.Looking to move from IT consulting to management consulting or IB?

The few information sessions I have attended showcased former students that were all career changers. It’s seems to me that it would be a great move if the career services are there. I think a lot of companies would appreciate the experience we both have in conjunction with the MBA. In the end, I think the MBA only gives you the basic skills and opens doors (to what degree depends on program) after that it’s up to you. I am just concerned about the salary as I already am in the 180-200+ range. I am wondering if it is worth it or if I need a top program if I already have the IB and hedge fund contacts needed to make the move.

What Schools are you looking at?My thoughts on our local options
The NYU part time program looks to have issues with its students fully capitalizing on the NYU nameWharton, Columbia and Cornell (Palisades) programs are close to NYC but expensive (130K +).Baruch, Fordham are lower tier but good reps in NY from what I hear.-->-->
-->-->Indiana--> -->University-->--> has an Online program dual MBA/MS in Finance for 54K but I am reading that IU is more of a regional school and not well known in NY in terms of Alumni.
--> -->
UMASS-Amherst - went here for undergrad – they have very cheap 25K Online MBA

A:

I believe there're some critical trigger points to push you on career switching. There're several dimensions need to be considered separately. First, MBA or EMBA? I believe you need one of them, but is the career switching necessary to you? it depends hugely on your passion. IT consulting is more like a service consultant + sales, while you made big $ on that as a king. MC is more like a corporate doctor that you need to diagnose the enterprise problems and provide solutions based on models and financial tools; on the other hand, IB is like a industrial analyst + fund strategist to allocate your clients' $. You'll lose your power in either MC or IB, make about 60% of your current compensation, and work your ass off, probably 12~16 hrs a day in average. Both of these jobs are more suitable for early 30s since they don't need to sleep and are available to fly around the world.
It's never too late to switch career, but where are you going and why.
For other minor considerations, your GMAT scores, family, locations, needed curriculum, and still, MBA or EMBA. if for MC or IB, probably MBA can offer you a more solid training on finance and consulting fundamentals. You're still in very decent age for MBA, while EMBA might be for older executives.
But EMBA might be a great platform to let you share your business amplitude with other executives and hook up with bigger scope in management challenges.
The most important thing is to find out what drives your passion. Then find out where's your next career challenge. What's the gap between your destination and current situation, then the needed part of business training will emerge by itself.
GMAT is the first step for selecting schools. EMBA tends to have lower requirements. But I believe with your abundant entrepreneurial experience, only those very top schools can make up what you lack for.