I don’t wanna grow up, I wanna be an MBA kid.

I think the title says it all. I went to my first GMAT Sample Test class today at USD, which is basically just an hour-long overview of what their full 42-hour course offers. It was a good way to get me thinking about what I might get myself into. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what my future holds and what I want to do with myself. I’m happy with my life but nowhere near where I want to be, which is still rather cloudy. I feel that until you are completely satisfied with every bit of your life and who you’ve become, there are countless opportunities to grow and improve. So one of my goals this year is to complete the GMATs and apply to a business school and start tackling an MBA degree perhaps next year.

First off, why? Well, I’m 9 months out of college and while I do enjoy what I’m doing at work, it just doesn’t feel enough. I know I’ve always wanted to get a post-grad degree, just wasn’t sure if I wanted to go technical or business. I’ve always enjoyed learning the business aspect, so this seems to be a natural next step.

Secondly, I still am discovering what it is I want to do and where to plant myself in the world. Is it in a technical field? Is it in management? Something philanthropic? Something completely different from all of the above? I’m just not sure and I don’t think that working another few years at my current job will allow me to see enough diversity. I think getting an MBA will allow me to see other opportunities that I didn’t get to see as an undergrad, even after minoring in Entrepreneurship. And if I don’t, then it becomes another degree I have under my belt to sell my skills.

Lastly, (and one of the major reasons) my company will pay for it! Or at least a large portion depending on the school I pick or perhaps all of it if I decide to pursue my company’s engineering leadership program. With the way the economy is, I certainly don’t see myself jumping ship to another company any time soon. Who knows, maybe after a few years, I might find the perfect job in this very same company.

Anyone else getting the MBA itch? Or is going through it now? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

Color Me Blue

What a way to start a blog, eh?! Go ahead, call me a Debbie Downer – I’m allowed to be this week after surviving a heart-wrenching break-up, especially one that had nothing to do with feelings, but everything to do with circumstance. =/ But that’s life…and life’s good at jabbing you in the ribs from time to time to remind us all that we’re human. Thanks, life.

In other news, it’s been a noteworthy week after experiencing the mild panic of a steam pipe explosion just blocks away from work, seeing the best free concert ever (John Mayer & Eric Clapton), and being randomly reunited with a childhood friend (third reunion yet in NYC this summer!).

So with all these events, I finally mustered up the motivation to start this blog, not necessarily to vent about why my week was so shitty, but rather to add some insight hopefully to my own life and ponder the bigger picture.

This past Thursday, the JP Morgan Chase interns got the opportunity to have an engaging Q&A session with the bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimon. In regards to a woman stepping down from an executive level position to a less aggressive job for work/life/balance reasons (yes, we all love that buzz word, don’t we interns?) and receiving a pay cut, he quoted the following: “You can have it all, but you can’t have it all at once.” Later this week, the same idea pops back up after watching an episode of Sex and the City where Carrie states, “In New York, they say you’re always looking for a job, boyfriend, or an apartment. So let’s say you have 2 out of 3…why do we let the one thing we don’t have affect how we feel about all the things we do have?“

In applying this to my own situation, I wonder why it is that my relationship couldn’t withstand the external pressures of timing, distance, and family (not to say that I’m loving my job either, but more on that later). Is it true that you can’t ever have your cake and eat it too? Perhaps this great love I had was brief in order to open up doors that I would’ve nonetheless closed or ignored (I sense you nodding right now). But do you just simply let go of something you once believed in because it’s just too risky, even before getting a valid sense of what it’d be like?

With two quarters left at RIT, I’ve begun to think about post-graduation life. How do people decide where to go? Do you build your life around someone who you think you could potentially be with or do you pursue that career you’ve always wanted? And why can’t you do both?