I know, I know, I abandoned this blog a year ago with a ‘wish me luck’ post.. but all I can say is that I did need the luck.. and I can’t believe I survived the past year.. it was crazy, but not in the way I imagined it at all. I changed course multiple times, questioned my decisions a lot, but now at the end I have an overwhelming feeling that I did the right thing.
The prerequisite action after abandoning one’s blog is to re-read old blog posts to figure out what was said, the tone etc... I can’t re-read my old blog posts.. I just can’t.. it feels odd.. So, I ‘m just going to dive in.
So, let’s start at the beginning. I didn’t graduate last year. I’m graduating this year...actually in one week today, on June 8th I will be donning cape and gown and my name will be announced along with 350+ MBA Rotman grads...
So why did I postpone graduation.. well last January, I got a new portfolio (in addition to my current job) and I decided the opportunity to learn about a new business was just too good, so I put off graduation. It was a torturous few weeks, trying to decide what to do. I dropped two courses, and tried to hold onto the three courses, while doing 1.5 jobs .. (that’s how I describe my job last year). Over the year, I had to decide whether I took the summer off school and then decided to drag out the remaining two courses that I had. I took Marketing strategy in the fall and Real Estate Investment this past spring. I’m glad I didn’t rush it. The courses I took were the ones I really wanted to take..
Am I glad that I did the MBA? I guess that the $65K question.. I’ve asked my classmates about it and some seem to have mixed feelings, not everyone is convinced the money is well spent, but most feel that the experience was worth it.. but wished it was cheaper... Some were successful in changing jobs, others (like me) were grateful they had a job to hold on to. The current market environment made everyone question what they really wanted to do.. those lucrative finance and consulting jobs didn’t seem all that lucrative..A few people contemplated switching careers, but then realized that their best prospects lay in their current field.
My opinion? I am I glad I did it. I feel different. I’m more confident in my abilities. It seems silly to say I paid for my confidence.. but it’s more than that.. It’s that my thinking has changed. Graduating from one of the top business schools in the country makes the difference. Do I know what I want to do? Have I found my dream job. I realized that there is no dream job for me.. I’m not someone who lives for work, however I do like making money and I think the MBA has refined my money making skills.
I did get a promotion within the company post MBA. The timing couldn’t have been better. Two weeks after graduation I will start my new job. The decision to postpone graduation a year later was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I was unsure of it at the time. A classmate asked me what the rush was especially in last year’s economy. Sometimes I think I would never have gotten my current job had I not pursued the opportunity at work.
My unsolicited advice- Experience the MBA.. take your time, soak it all in, don’t be overwhelmed by the people around you or the information they try to throw at you. You’ll have the naysayers who think an MBA is an overpriced, inflated ego driven degree, but as long as you know why you are doing it, then that’s all that matter.. Above all stay open to life, experiences, and opportunities.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Friday, November 21, 2008
Procrastinating....
Have been buried under a ton of work for the last couple weeks. I have so much to relay too... This post is going to be a muddle of thoughts..
Anon, Yes, I am in the full time program, however I still have a full time job. I’m not actually sure how I’m going to achieve graduating in 2009, but somehow I’m going to manage it... This semester, I only loaded up on 1 extra course, however next semester I will have three extra courses. I will be taking a day off every week for 3 months. I think it will give me some sanity.
London: I had the opportunity in October to go to a Rotman networking event in London. Rotman was having a credit crunch seminar that my Options prof was giving. Funnily enough, I met a couple people who worked/still work at my present employer! It was a blast, although the timing couldn’t have been worse. We didn’t have too many meetings set up, however the highlight of the meeting was going to Canada House in Trafalgar Square and meeting with the finance counsellor. That’s a nice piece of prime real estate that the Canadian govt has. I felt so energized by that city. I still have London on my mind...
Ops Mgmt – We have an exam in this course, and I barely understand what I have to know for the final exam. I still have to buy the textbook. We had to do a Ops Mgmt simulation game, and that was a lot of fun!! We were addicted to Littlefield for a while.
Managing Customer Value (aka – Marketing) – One of the most fun courses. Being an ad junkie, I loved the commercials he showed in class. We have a 10 page single spaced (yes, single space) brand audit report due on Tuesday. This is going to be one of the toughest papers to write, as it requires a lot of THINKING.
Options & Futures – This also requires a lot of thinking... surprisingly. My average in this course is very bad compared to the majority of Masters of Fin Economics students that are in the class. They aren’t helpful and I’ve had to fend for myself in this course. Note: You need friends in electives. I tried to make some..I really did. However, I think they realized that I wasn’t going to be of any use to them...I found a better plan. I went straight to the prof, and requested help. Fingers crossed I do well in the last assignment and in the final.
Your bonus is your job. That’s a line I read in an article recently, and I couldn’t agree more. At this point, not quitting my job seems like I had foresight. Really, I didn’t. I was just trying to avoid a manic money anxiety attack.. Y’know the one I’m talking about. The one where the debt keeps piling up, and there isn’t any money coming in.. Yea, that. I got lucky.
Anon, Yes, I am in the full time program, however I still have a full time job. I’m not actually sure how I’m going to achieve graduating in 2009, but somehow I’m going to manage it... This semester, I only loaded up on 1 extra course, however next semester I will have three extra courses. I will be taking a day off every week for 3 months. I think it will give me some sanity.
London: I had the opportunity in October to go to a Rotman networking event in London. Rotman was having a credit crunch seminar that my Options prof was giving. Funnily enough, I met a couple people who worked/still work at my present employer! It was a blast, although the timing couldn’t have been worse. We didn’t have too many meetings set up, however the highlight of the meeting was going to Canada House in Trafalgar Square and meeting with the finance counsellor. That’s a nice piece of prime real estate that the Canadian govt has. I felt so energized by that city. I still have London on my mind...
Ops Mgmt – We have an exam in this course, and I barely understand what I have to know for the final exam. I still have to buy the textbook. We had to do a Ops Mgmt simulation game, and that was a lot of fun!! We were addicted to Littlefield for a while.
Managing Customer Value (aka – Marketing) – One of the most fun courses. Being an ad junkie, I loved the commercials he showed in class. We have a 10 page single spaced (yes, single space) brand audit report due on Tuesday. This is going to be one of the toughest papers to write, as it requires a lot of THINKING.
Options & Futures – This also requires a lot of thinking... surprisingly. My average in this course is very bad compared to the majority of Masters of Fin Economics students that are in the class. They aren’t helpful and I’ve had to fend for myself in this course. Note: You need friends in electives. I tried to make some..I really did. However, I think they realized that I wasn’t going to be of any use to them...I found a better plan. I went straight to the prof, and requested help. Fingers crossed I do well in the last assignment and in the final.
Your bonus is your job. That’s a line I read in an article recently, and I couldn’t agree more. At this point, not quitting my job seems like I had foresight. Really, I didn’t. I was just trying to avoid a manic money anxiety attack.. Y’know the one I’m talking about. The one where the debt keeps piling up, and there isn’t any money coming in.. Yea, that. I got lucky.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Saturation
I am sitting here trying to work on my Options & Futures assignment when I realize I can’t actually remember how to calculate continuous compounding without looking at the text, although the prof has been talking about it for 6 weeks now. I think it might be important.
I’m starting to wonder if any concepts, theories and models are sinking in or just visiting my brain for brief interludes between classes and exam writing. This year has been flying by so quickly that I can’t even seem to remember what we learned from one semester to the next. I know I always say that a lot of the first year of mba school has been review, but there have been a ton of things I have learned along the way.
The other day I was sitting in the pub talking with my group about our marketing project (which involves a pub) and they asked me about the Foundations of Integrative Thinking course, and I was amazed that I remembered some of the core concepts in that class. I have to say it pleased me a bit, as of late, I have been wondering if the decision to fast track has been a smart choice. Not because of the job market, more because of the fact that everything is happening so fast, and retention and sanity are just two of my many worries. Our marketing prof makes us recap our insights every class. I think it’s a smart idea. It reinforces core concepts, and forces you to pay attention. I better go and look up that continuous compounding formula now.
I’m starting to wonder if any concepts, theories and models are sinking in or just visiting my brain for brief interludes between classes and exam writing. This year has been flying by so quickly that I can’t even seem to remember what we learned from one semester to the next. I know I always say that a lot of the first year of mba school has been review, but there have been a ton of things I have learned along the way.
The other day I was sitting in the pub talking with my group about our marketing project (which involves a pub) and they asked me about the Foundations of Integrative Thinking course, and I was amazed that I remembered some of the core concepts in that class. I have to say it pleased me a bit, as of late, I have been wondering if the decision to fast track has been a smart choice. Not because of the job market, more because of the fact that everything is happening so fast, and retention and sanity are just two of my many worries. Our marketing prof makes us recap our insights every class. I think it’s a smart idea. It reinforces core concepts, and forces you to pay attention. I better go and look up that continuous compounding formula now.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Crazy Week
Things have been happening at lightning speed that everything in this past week seems to be a blur. I had classes 3 times this week, and on Sat I spent the last day of summer in a hotel basement conference room learning the requirements to be a CMA marker. Oh and yes, and there was a little bit of market mayhem...
I have been addicted to the news for most of the week. The Toronto financial sector has played the spectator part. None of our financial companies seem to have any significant exposure, however, I think it is more of a wait and see approach. This past week has changed my plans, or rather they seem to be delayed. In some cases, it’s made my game plan non-existent. Any of the networking on job leads that I was hoping to do in the next month have been shifted to the back burner. Contacting anyone now would be senseless and would show a lack of sensitivity. I think I am just going to have to adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach too.
Moving on.. Being in class when a crisis is occurring makes the topic even more interesting. Our Options professor decided to spend the first half of our class giving us an overview of the crisis. It was great! He outlined what credit default swaps were, how the crisis unfolded, and why the US government needed to step in. We had our first Marketing course, and the prof is quite good so far. He really makes you think! At the end of our class he asked us to jot down a few points as to what we learned that evening. We learned about branding, and how successful brands focus on the customer experience rather than just a good product. He did say that he was going to be cold calling, and warm calling. Umm. What is Warm calling? A quick google search produced the following result :
Warm call: A softer version of the cold call where the professors gives a particular student advance warning that he will be asked to comment on a case later in the session or the next day.
Uh-oh.. this did not work for me in Strategy. I seem to embody the proverbial deer caught in the headlights when called upon. The whole idea of cold/warm calling is to think on your feet fast right? Well, this is what they are training you for. I really dislike this method. Everyone learns differently, and there is no one path for business success. I firmly believe that MBA training should allow students to be individualistic rather than conformists.
Alright I will get off my hobby horse. We have a globalization quiz on Tuesday. I haven’t the foggiest idea as to what she has taught us, as the class has been quite boring. All I remember from that class is that she told us about how there was an outcry in China when Kung Fu panda came out. Some Chinese people thought the movie should be boycotted as the movie’s main character was also China’s national treasure. I can’t remember why she brought it up... but, I am pretty sure there won’t be a question on that.
I have been addicted to the news for most of the week. The Toronto financial sector has played the spectator part. None of our financial companies seem to have any significant exposure, however, I think it is more of a wait and see approach. This past week has changed my plans, or rather they seem to be delayed. In some cases, it’s made my game plan non-existent. Any of the networking on job leads that I was hoping to do in the next month have been shifted to the back burner. Contacting anyone now would be senseless and would show a lack of sensitivity. I think I am just going to have to adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach too.
Moving on.. Being in class when a crisis is occurring makes the topic even more interesting. Our Options professor decided to spend the first half of our class giving us an overview of the crisis. It was great! He outlined what credit default swaps were, how the crisis unfolded, and why the US government needed to step in. We had our first Marketing course, and the prof is quite good so far. He really makes you think! At the end of our class he asked us to jot down a few points as to what we learned that evening. We learned about branding, and how successful brands focus on the customer experience rather than just a good product. He did say that he was going to be cold calling, and warm calling. Umm. What is Warm calling? A quick google search produced the following result :
Warm call: A softer version of the cold call where the professors gives a particular student advance warning that he will be asked to comment on a case later in the session or the next day.
Uh-oh.. this did not work for me in Strategy. I seem to embody the proverbial deer caught in the headlights when called upon. The whole idea of cold/warm calling is to think on your feet fast right? Well, this is what they are training you for. I really dislike this method. Everyone learns differently, and there is no one path for business success. I firmly believe that MBA training should allow students to be individualistic rather than conformists.
Alright I will get off my hobby horse. We have a globalization quiz on Tuesday. I haven’t the foggiest idea as to what she has taught us, as the class has been quite boring. All I remember from that class is that she told us about how there was an outcry in China when Kung Fu panda came out. Some Chinese people thought the movie should be boycotted as the movie’s main character was also China’s national treasure. I can’t remember why she brought it up... but, I am pretty sure there won’t be a question on that.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Year 2
I’ve been a lazy blogger for the last few months. Things have really been happening so fast, that there doesn’t seem to be enough time to process the changes, let alone put all my thoughts together. So here goes my attempt:
I left off at my disappointment in the Strategy class. Well, since then we complained, and they listened. They apologized to us about our Skype sessions, and as a result, we got a formal verbal apology and makeup Strategy sessions. We then had our Finance final exam, which was so bad, that the entire class booed the professor when he walked into the bar later that night. Having written zillions of finance exams, I can say hands down, it was the worst Finance exams I have ever written in my life. He said he designed it with the intent that no one would finish. Professional Designation exams are designed like that. You have to be quick enough that you know the answer without thinking more than 1 sec. You know this before hand, and you study with that in mind. An introductory Finance exam shouldn’t be designed like that. He said he realized his mistake, and would bell curve it. We then got our grades, and he still managed to fail two people, and have half the class get a B. So, we complained again, and they listened. And the class average is now a B+ . Moral of the story: Be vocal in B school.
Moving along: This semester we are taking Global Perspectives, Customer Value, and Operations Mgmt. We had our Global Perspectives class on Thursday night. I was sort of excited about this class, but our first lecture focussed on Comparative and Absolute Advantage, and we had to watch an hour documentary on Wal-Mart. Yawn. How many times have we learned about comp and absolute advantage, and how many times have we learned about Wal-Mart. There is significant overlap here, and I wish they would realize this when programming courses. In addition, I am taking the Options and Futures elective.
Year 2 feels different. A handful of us 2010 evening students have switched to full time status. The change has definitely put me in a different frame of mind: I’m more focussed and disciplined. The pressure is on. I only have 8 months left to maximize the MBA education and experience, and find myself that dream job, and oh figure out what this dream job is. I plan on keeping my day job in the process. It’s definitely going to be tough, but I found out that another classmate is doing the same. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
I left off at my disappointment in the Strategy class. Well, since then we complained, and they listened. They apologized to us about our Skype sessions, and as a result, we got a formal verbal apology and makeup Strategy sessions. We then had our Finance final exam, which was so bad, that the entire class booed the professor when he walked into the bar later that night. Having written zillions of finance exams, I can say hands down, it was the worst Finance exams I have ever written in my life. He said he designed it with the intent that no one would finish. Professional Designation exams are designed like that. You have to be quick enough that you know the answer without thinking more than 1 sec. You know this before hand, and you study with that in mind. An introductory Finance exam shouldn’t be designed like that. He said he realized his mistake, and would bell curve it. We then got our grades, and he still managed to fail two people, and have half the class get a B. So, we complained again, and they listened. And the class average is now a B+ . Moral of the story: Be vocal in B school.
Moving along: This semester we are taking Global Perspectives, Customer Value, and Operations Mgmt. We had our Global Perspectives class on Thursday night. I was sort of excited about this class, but our first lecture focussed on Comparative and Absolute Advantage, and we had to watch an hour documentary on Wal-Mart. Yawn. How many times have we learned about comp and absolute advantage, and how many times have we learned about Wal-Mart. There is significant overlap here, and I wish they would realize this when programming courses. In addition, I am taking the Options and Futures elective.
Year 2 feels different. A handful of us 2010 evening students have switched to full time status. The change has definitely put me in a different frame of mind: I’m more focussed and disciplined. The pressure is on. I only have 8 months left to maximize the MBA education and experience, and find myself that dream job, and oh figure out what this dream job is. I plan on keeping my day job in the process. It’s definitely going to be tough, but I found out that another classmate is doing the same. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
The Last 2 weeks...
We had our Strategy Final last week. Given the fact that you can’t really study for Strategy, and it was open book, I was fairly laid back about it. Our professor ‘checked out’ on us a couple weeks ago as well, and as a result, none of us really felt the impetus to work hard. We delivered our presentation to our peers, and she was with us over skype. She did the same thing for the final. I really was disappointed in the Strategy class. Strategy is supposed to be fun! She taught us concepts, but I feel that I don’t have a framework for strategy. Her course was just a hodge-podge of concepts lumped together (VRIO framework, Porter’s 5 forces). For our final exam, she made us do a stakeholder analysis on swimsuit design rules....I still don't think I get 'strategic groups'. Oh well, luckily I am not going into consulting.
Anywho, we have one more weekend of school, one Finance assignment and one Finance final left. It’s been really hard to focus on school this semester. I think it is a combination of summer and lack of motivation. I can’t wait for August 7th, because that’s Freedom Day.
Anywho, we have one more weekend of school, one Finance assignment and one Finance final left. It’s been really hard to focus on school this semester. I think it is a combination of summer and lack of motivation. I can’t wait for August 7th, because that’s Freedom Day.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Things not to do on a long weekend...
I can think of lots of things to do on a long holiday weekend.. writing an 8 page paper on Integrative Thinking is not one of them. I've been trying to write this Reflection paper for most of today, and it's been a painful process. I haven't been able to focus, and I am not even close to being done. I am blaming it on the long weekend. I have no motivation to study.
This lack of motivation brings up two salient points: (I wish I could count use of Integrative Thinking vocabulary towards my paper!)
Am I in a virtuous cycle? I am trying to finish up early, and have started overloading on courses. Do I lack motivation because I am overloading or am I overloading the courses because I see my motivation levels rapidly declining in the future months?
Second Salient point: I noticed the newbies.. the 3YR11 students. Their faces are so fresh and eager... They seem to embody me last summer.. all full of excitement and possibility. There are times that I wish for last summer back, and there are times that I am so exhausted that I can't wait for all of it to be over. I still feel excitement but it is more about the opportunities post MBA, rather than getting into grad school.
I want to freeze frame some of these moments, replay some of them, and fast forward the bad ones(Stats class!). Because for all my complaining, it is all happening too fast...
Back to the paper...so what's my motivation? Going out for the rest of the weekend..
This lack of motivation brings up two salient points: (I wish I could count use of Integrative Thinking vocabulary towards my paper!)
Am I in a virtuous cycle? I am trying to finish up early, and have started overloading on courses. Do I lack motivation because I am overloading or am I overloading the courses because I see my motivation levels rapidly declining in the future months?
Second Salient point: I noticed the newbies.. the 3YR11 students. Their faces are so fresh and eager... They seem to embody me last summer.. all full of excitement and possibility. There are times that I wish for last summer back, and there are times that I am so exhausted that I can't wait for all of it to be over. I still feel excitement but it is more about the opportunities post MBA, rather than getting into grad school.
I want to freeze frame some of these moments, replay some of them, and fast forward the bad ones(Stats class!). Because for all my complaining, it is all happening too fast...
Back to the paper...so what's my motivation? Going out for the rest of the weekend..
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