B minor

the road less traveled vs. the road to happiness

One of my recurring reads on the web is geekmba360.com… It’s a well-written blog about post-mba observations from the business & technology world. Recently a post appeared on the site entitled “Five alternative careers for MBAs.” Through it, the author shines a light on places MBAs don’t often surface (non-profits and public education, for example), but would likely benefit from the injection of managerial expertise/potential. (Please hold your “MBAs are responsible for the global financial collapse” comments for another time.)

This got me thinking, and comparing the notes of the author with those of my own, both from recent experience and recent conversation.

The author implies a respect for people who chose “alternative” career paths. At the end, s/he posits that soon, jobs in the federal government are not “alternative” any more because more and more MBAs are taking them. It is perhaps a tongue and cheek sentiment (there’s a smiley face at the end of it), but it’s worth tapping on this point.

My feeling is that pursuit of alternative career paths for the sake of being alternative is foolish. People should pursue things that they *want* to, hopefully because they are paths which are likely to lead them to roles of greatest influence – not merely because there aren’t many others that do.

One of the most positive outcomes of the current financial crisis is that many of my classmates ended up in jobs they might not have tried otherwise this summer. This was partially a function of there being fewer traditional jobs available (banking, consulting, etc.) but also a function of what I think was a re-evaluation of priorities that many people did when examining summer prospects.

It’s been my experience so far this summer that most of the people who are in banking and consulting are on a scale of unhappy to miserable, while those in other fields range from nonplussed to completely enthused by their jobs. This crisis has forced some people to take risks that might lead them to careers of more personal enjoyment and meaningful external impact than otherwise would have been possible.

And if that ultimately means that all 900 people in my class end up “herding” toward jobs in the federal government. Well – I could think of worse outcomes… for them and for the country.

  • GeekMBA360

    This is GeekMBA360. :-) Just want to drop you a quick note. Thanks for mentioning my blog.

    Re: “most of the people who are in banking and consulting are on a scale of unhappy to miserable” — I wish more aspiring and present MBA students read this line. When I was an undergrad, a good friend of mine wanted to get a prestigious banking job badly. Eventually he got it and worked for Morgan Stanley for one year. It was the most miserable year in his life. He quited one year later. No more prestigious banking job. No more career path. He was lost, wandered around, unemployed for a year. Eventually he figured it out.

    Today, his carer is thriving because he simply chose to work on something he is genuinely interested in and has a talent for.