As you can see, it's been a while since my last post. The reason for that will be easily understood by my classmates: when school is in session, there's not a lot of free time to be found. There are several days a week where it's non-stop from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed, between workloads on the job and for school. A note for those of you beginning your application process: Be prepared to cut out some of your hobbies for a while and have less time with your loved ones...! If you've got a significant other in your life, you'll be looking for new ways to spend time together. If you've got a dog, now may be the time to hire that dog walker...
Amidst this insanity, one thing I'm realizing is that the education of an MBA is as much about learning while you're learning as what you're learning. Regardless of where MBA students want to end up after graduating, every one of them will have to take classes that have little or no material relevance to that end state. Yet there is always learning going on.
For one, you're learning how to operate under serious time constraints. I'm only halfway through my first quarter and already I'm thinking that no crunch time at work will ever feel like a crunch after finishing this program. Secondly, you're learning how to operate under multiple people's serious time constraints. Our program is cohort-based, which means working in teams and handling several schedules. (Luckily, our program kicked off with a weekend crash course on working in teams and personal leadership - two skills that, unlike accounting or economics, are guaranteed to be required for success in any job any of us is aiming for.) Thirdly, because of all these time constraints, you're learning to make trade-offs given the best information you have - something highly likely to occur time and time again at work post-graduation.
This is part of that whole "grades don't matter" thing I'm also learning to getting used to. All these assignments, tests, and cases are opportunities to practice self-awareness, empathy and motivation under very stressful circumstances. Anyhow, steady on!
