Any INTJs here who have gone the MBA route?

[NoahAddle]

Hi,

I was wondering if any INTJ's here have ever pursued an MBA. *I'd like to start a thread discussing MBA's and careers from an INTJ perspective. *To kick the thread off, I'll share a little bit about my own circumstances. *I've been out of school for a couple of years working as a chemical engineer in an R&D department at a well established manufacturing company in Ohio. *The work can be interesting on some days, but I have discovered that the thought of a pure engineering career doesn't get me excited about waking up in the mornings. *I've always been interested in economics and doing thinking that involves being very strategic and big picture minded. *This is why I think that B-school could be a natural step for me. *My great hope is to be able to eventually land a job that is better aligned with my interests and strengths as an INTJ. *My plan is to apply in the next couple of months in order to start classes in the fall of '08. *Well, I think that about covers it for me. *Anybody with any thoughts they would like to share about experience with MBA as an INTJ?

[deicruxified]

not mba... i got a scholarship for ms clinical psychology but i was not able to push through with it due to family vs career reasons (parents want me to become a lawyer).. as of now, i'm still fighting for it... i never enrolled to law school either. the dean said they had me on hold so i'll just tell em when i'm studying. then later... i was thinking of studying ms physics abroad

i miss school... i love both courses... just thinking what to take first..

[mind_wander]

I am not an MBA major in business. But, you said something about economics; your favorite will be macroeconomics and microeconomics is like small potatoes. As a big picture thinker, macroeconomics the way to go. As for the microeconomics is pretty low, as for interest. Yeah, I was pretty bored taking it, but life has to go on.

[Max T]

I have an MBA from top 50 b-school (more emphasis on '50' than on 'top' ;D).

Advice on planning for 2008 intake:
Objective: get into best US school possible- brand is everything.
Top 1000 b-school is pretty much worthless. Really should be top 100- many US schools in that segment.

Entry plan (in sequence):
Get GMAT score >680.
Research schools and your specialisation preference .(e.g. Chicago/ Columbia for finance, Kellogg- marketing etc.)
Practice great application essays that fit their culture.
Prepare your contacts supplying your references.
Apply in December onwards.
Be realistic on where you apply- demand for top 10 b-school is v.high.

My INTJ experience:
Great fun- fascinating time with like-minded people. I'm sure most were NTs but evenly-balanced I and E. The Ps go onto do Phds and the Js plan how to make money. I suspect MBA's emphasis on analysis and decision making enhances your T and J.
With your research/ numerate background and INTJ-ness you'll rapidly comprehend the majority of the tools within each subject.
Crucially, the course should develop the soft skills necessary for good team work projects/ negotiating skills etc. So while it enhances T, it should build you a little F switch too.
The MBA will also highlight your weaknesses and how to address/ ameliorate them. In this respect it should make you more humble because no-one fails quicker than a newly-minted, arrogant MBA grad.

Post MBA experience:
Build and maintain the contacts post-MBA. This is critical and is largely unnatural for us.

After the MBA you're INTness will find that a lot of business is a crock of s***- M&As mainly destroy value, change is feared, Wall Street serves itself first and clients second, m.ment consultants often don't add value, most companies are busy imitating each other, complexity is valued over accuracy, many staff aren't truly useful to the co. and... (sorry guys) that macroeconomics aint worth a dime to the really smart business people like Peter Lynch (famed fund manager), Warren Buffett and other successful CEOs (why?- because there are too many unknowable variables in macro- it's your industry and you (the co.) that matter because you can influence them. Forget inflation, interest rates, GDP, long-range forecasts etc. etc.). (Note- my view is from business perspective only, macroecon is very valuable to other organisations- government, global orgs.).

Beware- an MBA combined with an INTJ's self-confidence can scare the living daylights out of some insecure work colleagues (one or two may even try to undermine you).
Similarly, MBA knowledge is like turbo fuel to our INTJ propensity to want to improve everything... and some people like things just the way they are (job preservation, fear of change, revel in the past that made them successful etc.).

Finally, develop your E side to switch on depending on circumstance. If you want the quiet life and you're heavily I, an Msc in economics may be a better choice than an MBA with econ. bias.
Talk with a work colleague who has the qualification.

[vulcan]

What about Management Consulting with an MBA... that sounds like fun getting hired to turn over the tables.