Have the MBA degree but have never worked a job? What should I do? Thanks

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by dannyasingh, Nov 12, 2015.

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  1. dannyasingh

    dannyasingh New Member

    I am not sure how to best handle this situation. I am 22 years old and earned the MBA degree. I have 2 business bachelor's degrees. I have never worked a job so I have no work experience. I am currently doing entry level jobs that are paying me the minimum wage. Should I simply keep doing these jobs to build more experience? Some employers have given me a hard time due to the lack of experience. Some employers have told me that I am overqualified. I do not know everything so I will greatly appreciate any advice. Thank you.
     
  2. nyvrem

    nyvrem Active Member

    1) Find an area you wish to built your career on
    2) Find an internship, 6 months - 1 year
    3) Try joining a graduate management trainee-ship program
    4) Explore overseas, places like SE Asia and M.E for jobs
    5) Start your own business/start up
    6) Join an NGO and help there - built up your resume
    7) Check your Uni's career services office
    8) Move to other states that are looking for people (Texas comes to mind if you are a US Citizen)
    9) Worse case, use your BA/BS degree to get a job - leave out your MBA from your CV. after afew years, when you jump to a better job, include the MBA.
    10) Go to a recruitment agency
     
  3. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    What is your specialization?You may get better advice. Starting at the bottom is no big deal. You already know that you have a lack of experience, so no defeat being offered an entry level position. Your goal will be to impress your employer once your foot is in the door.
     
  4. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    The first thing I thought of was the sources of your degrees? Accredited?
    US/other? RA/NA?

    Yes, it makes a big difference!
     
  5. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    It sounds strange that you have 3 college degrees without any work experiences. If you are taking this path, you should continue to get your Ph.D in Business to become college professor. If you want to stay in non-academia workforce, you need experience. As other have mention, you have to start entry level. Keep your current job, but constantly looking for better opportunities. Also, maybe working on your certification such PMP would help finding mid level jobs.
     
  6. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    Saw this on the other forum. I'm interested to know where these degrees came from? No support from any of your schools?
     
  7. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Have you ever considered starting your own business? You're young enough to have the energy, especially since earning an MBA by 22 means you're not lazy. Just a thought....
     
  8. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    There are a few things you can do to start boosting your marketability, YMMV:

    1. Professional Certifications - If you want to become a project manager, get working on your PMP. You need work experience for the PMP but the CAPM designation only requires you to pass an exam. And the CAPM can absolutely help you land some entry level project management work which has some potential for upward mobility. If you want to work in HR, CEBS is a good designation (that doesn't require experience) to help get you in the door. Find the certification that will help further your goals and begin taking steps to get those certifications.

    2. Internships - Six months to one year. Some are paid. Others are unpaid. An internship in the right space can open many doors. Want to get into investment banking? Look at some smaller firms if the big ones aren't calling you back. We recently hired a gentleman who came to us straight from an internship at a boutique investment bank in Boston. He's now a financial analyst (junior professional but definitely on the right track). We aren't an investment bank but the experience, combined with his MBA, made him an attractive candidate.

    3. The Military - I have no idea if you are US based (or if this applies to you wherever you live). In the US you can apply to Officer Candidate School (typically) if you are a citizen, in decent shape and have a bachelors degree (other requirements but I'm generalizing here). A four year hitch in the military, particularly with some collar bling, is a solid base to build your career upon.

    4. Civil Service - New York has a Bank Examiner Trainee job that pays in the low 40's. There are specific accounting course requirements and your degrees need to be RA (or NYS registered). Living in/around NYC on $42k a year isn't an easy existence. But you get a decent pay bump when you convert to a full Bank Examiner. After a few years with the state you should be able to easily jump to the private sector in a compliance department and make more money (or stay with the state and enjoy the low cost health insurance and the solid pension plan). Similar opportunities exist with the IRS.

    5. Marry Rich - Jump on OKCupid and keep hunting until you find someone who is rich and lonely. Don't judge me. This is how dynasties were built!

    6. Insurance - Insurance offers some pretty clear pathways to a decent career (beyond sales). Locally, Progressive is always advertising for entry level claims adjusters. The pay is low but the potential is high. A guy I used to go to church with became an entry level adjuster after he earned his JD from Syracuse (at a whopping $32k per year starting salary). He said the turnover was high but he held on. After three years he applied for a manager job and got it. Today he's the director of Liability Claims (the law degree helped him land that job but was certainly not a requirement) and he makes a very good living for himself.

    Entry level jobs are a good place to start. And I, personally, don't believe very many jobs are truly "dead-end." That notion was killed for me when I was in high school and I found out that my manager at McDonalds was making almost double what the average teacher at my school was earning.

    Everyone else has offered solid advice. If you ignore everything any of us say, keep this little nugget: "Work every job with pride and do your best. Even if it seems like a throwaway job you'd be surprised what opportunities may arise from it. At a minimum, it will help you build a solid work ethic so you aren't changing jobs every 6 months to a year."
     
  9. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    At this point my split second thought was, "Surely if Rich has good advice he'll offer it without this!"
     
  10. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Listen, I'm not saying you can't accomplish things by half-assing, but if you want results you should aim high.
     
  11. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I'd be interested in knowing what industry the op is working in and what he considers to be an "entry level job."
     
  12. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Neuhaus is interested as well. Neuhaus, PHR doesn't particularly care.

    I've seen people in "dead-end" data entry jobs earn certifications in their spare time and parlay that "dead-end" experience into a career building data warehouses. I've seen people go from flipping burgers to managing multiple stores of a fast food restaurant with a six figure paycheck.

    So, I'm interested in the sense that I like to know a person's story and what motivates them. But the HR side of me says that no matter what you want to do, you need to look around and find pathways to that goal. That may come from pursuing another degree. That may come in the form of pursuing a certification. It also might just come from working a crappy job until you build up enough experience to apply for a slightly better job and work your way up the chain.

    And a lot of people change their mind about what they want as they are going. It's easy to say you want to work in "finance." But when you actually get into that world you might find it isn't for you and you need to begin looking for the next goal and the next way to leap to that goal.

    Don't have dreams. Have goals.
     
  13. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I'd SURE like to know how/where the OP got his MBA! Or his Bachelor's for that matter.

    Reason: Danny's been a "degree-hunter" here for quite a while; I've read his back posts. As of 3 months ago, he said he was 10 courses short of a Bachelor's at Kaplan (employer was paying) and asking us if Kaplan might let him start a master's before graduation.

    Here it is: http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/51186-b-s-business-administration-kaplan-please-help-thank-you.html

    WOW! 10 courses done - a Bachelor's and an MBA ... in 12 weeks? Remarkable progress in 3 months! Yes, I'd really like to know which school! :smile: :smile: :smile:

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 14, 2015
  14. scaredrain

    scaredrain Member

    Actually the original poster's situation isnt that uncommon, at least not here in NC. Here in NC high school students can attend early college high schools, where they graduate with a high school diploma and an associates degree at the same time. So they enter college at ages 17 to 18, then they spend 2 years at a 4 year college or university to earn their bachelor degrees. Then some go on to earn their MBA. At the university where I work we have some students who are 20 years old and are having to take MBA courses in order to remain eligible for their sports scholarships, because they were early college students.
     
  15. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Someone once told me that the only difference between a dream and a goal is that a goal has an attached plan. There's a lot to be said for actually taking the time to write it out, with steps or stages, tasks to accomplish and even structured timelines for these steps. Finally, I'd add that some goals are nearly impossible to attain in one's hometown (or wherever you're living). Relocating is sometimes necessary.
     
  16. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    These are all excellent points. I have a former classmate from high school who has been a bartender for the past few years (nothing wrong with that). His dream was to become an FBI agent. The only thing he had ever done to move toward that dream was earn a bachelors in CJ. The day after graduation he applied to the FBI, was rejected and began working menial jobs and periodically reapplying, getting rejected each time. Now, I'm not expert in getting hired by the FBI, but it seems to me that if the bachelors in CJ, by itself, isn't enough to get you hired you should probably build up your skills and experience to make yourself an attractive candidate (maybe apply to other agencies as well?). He very much wanted to be "done" with school when he graduated (not sure how he would have handled Quantico) and really didn't want to leave his hometown in northeastern PA. So, his "dream" of becoming an FBI agent really had very little opportunity to get off the ground.

    I left that same town because, though I was making a decent living as a recruiter, there were really very few opportunities for advancement locally. We had tons of one-person HR shops (and with all of the added responsibility they paid only slightly more than my recruiter job). Some people made the leap just to get the "manager" title even if you didn't actually manage anyone.

    Goals are good. They help you focus your efforts. But they also require more research, planning and commitment. Personally, I think it's worth it.
     
  17. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    So if a dream is a wish your heart makes, does that mean that a goal is a plan your brain makes?

    I'll see myself out.
     
  18. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    OK - I accept all the above - because it's true. BUT

    (A) Do the students you refer to earn an MBA in (apparently) less than 3 months?
    (B) Can they complete 10 courses in as many weeks for a bachelor's and somehow advance from zero to three degrees?

    In July 2014, the same poster was shopping various schools for Bachelor's and MBA. Nothing wrong with that. Here are some of the posts.

    http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/48778-upper-level-business-excelsior-credits.html
    http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/48763-2-degrees-thomas-edison-state-college.html
    http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/48764-patten-university-bachelors-degree.html

    Fast-forward to Aug. 2015. He told us Kaplan said he had 10 courses to go for a Bachelor's and wondered if he could work on MBA at Kaplan simultaneously. 10 weeks later, he's got 3 degrees including that MBA?

    I suppose I should really let it go, now. Nobody likes a degree-policeman anyway, although I'm quite used to not being liked...

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 14, 2015
  19. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Johann's degree mathematics are interesting but my first thought was based on this: I think most people would say that someone who has an MBA at age 22 has accelerated their studies. Perhaps a person who is accustomed to this kind of acceleration has unrealistic expectations for where he should be in regards to his employment position. It's possible that his idea of an "entry level job" in terms of description, salary, rung on the ladder, etc. is actually quite appropriate given his credentials and experience. Maybe he simply needs to work hard at being good at his job every day with the understanding that promotions, etc. will comein time. We may never know, however, seeing that he seems to have bowed out of this thread.
     
  20. cathgrl

    cathgrl New Member

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