Question about Stanford’s MS&E program as prep for management consulting

The message below is from a reader whose story mirrors my own very closely…He was a Computer Science undergrad who moved on to a career as a Software Engineer, which he has been doing for five years. And, like me, he has lost his passion for that line of work and sees a transition to business as the way to achieve his goals. Unlike me, he seems reluctant to pursue an MBA and, instead, he is looking at Stanford’s Master’s program in Management Science and Engineering. In his message, he asks some questions about the program and, although I am far from an expert on it, I gave him my opinions based on what I know of it from friends who earned the degree. I’m not sure if my response got to him in time to be helpful, but I wanted to address his message anyway because it had a couple of good questions.

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HL wrote:

Hi Marquis,

I found your blog maybe like a month ago when I was browsing around for business related information. Being also a computer science graduate, I just get sucked into your blog right away and I ended up reading at least 95% of everything you have written in it, starting from the beginning in 2003. It’s amazing to see how you can still fit blog writing and answering emails to your crazy schedule. I know a lot of people have told you this but what you have done is really a blessing for everybody interested in going to business school, even more for people who are coming from a computer / engineering background and interested in going to management consulting.

I too feel that I don’t really want to be in this software engineer position for the rest of my life. I tried all the learning the latest and greatest, implementing best practices and going to “code camp”s but I just didn’t feel too excited. Especially lately, I’m even more excited reading all the business magazines and books.

That leads in to my question about Stanford’s Management Science and Engineering degree and other degrees of the same type. After a little bit of research, it seems to be the perfect transition for people coming from an engineering background. A friend of mine even go so far to say that it’s the MBA for engineers. It also doesn’t hurt that it takes less time to finish than an MBA (time and money that is). Was this ever an option for you? What do you think about it? If I want to go to management consulting, do you think this degree can help me? Or is MBA a must?

Another short question is, some people say you get an MBA mostly for the networking. But if I plan to go back to Asia (computer jobs not really a good choice in my country) and work there for the rest of my life, doesn’t that mean the value of a top school MBA is greatly reduced? What do you think?

Sorry if I have asked too many questions. It’s hard to suppress all these questions for you knowing the fact that you always have all the answers. =)

Thanks,
HL

PS: I don’t know if it matters or not but I’ll give you a quick preview of my profile. Graduated from University of California San Diego (B.S. Computer Science with 3.61 GPA). Have been working in a mobile marketing startup for almost 5 years as a Software Engineer.

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My video response:

Question about the Stanford MS&E program as preparation for Management Consulting from Marquis Parker on Vimeo.

Key points:
– I understand where he’s coming from with his frustration because I’ve been there and know that it can be a complete destroyer of motivation to be stuck in the wrong type of career path
— Transitioning into business was a life saver and a game changer for me

– I never looked too closely at Stanford’s MS&E program or others like it, so my knowledge of those programs is very high-level
— I already had an M.S. in IT Management when I applied to business school, so another tech-related graduate degree wouldn’t have made sense
— I knew that I wanted to pursue a full-on business career, so I thought it was worth the time and expense of earning an MBA
— When I was applying to business school, I thought an MBA was a MUST to have a shot at a business career

– In my opinion, the Stanford MS&E degree and others like it are fantastic options for people with tech backgrounds who want to gain business knowledge while becoming moe grounded in Engineering; Additional thoughts include:
— Referring to these degrees as “the MBA for engineers” is a stretch because engineers matriculate at B-schools all the time
— These degrees can be great pathways into Consulting, but, depending on prior work experience, candidates may end up having to start at the Analyst level
— MS&E type degrees can prepare graduates for a wide range of interesting roles and many companies recruit for candidates specifically from these programs because of the combination of business and technology

– I don’t think the value of an MBA from a top school can ever be reduced, regardless of where one works geographically after graduation; Key benefits include:
— World-class business education that can be applied in many industries and functions
— Brand recognition
— Global alumni network
— Two years worth of life changing experiences