The MBA was something that I was considering for a while. I can imagine there are many people like me out there – 10+ years in the work force and not sure what you want to do in 10 years time. Feeling like you have no options other than stay doing what you are doing so you apply for a couple of jobs, ‘just to see like’ you tell yourself. I my case I did not even get an interview!
Realising that I am not attractive to other employers I thought to myself ‘what will I do if something goes wrong with what I am doing now’. I had better do something. Exploring my options Smurfit was the obvious choice and the MBA part-time was the way to go. Smurfit put on a couple of typical MBA lectures for potential students. Before rushing into anything I attended two of these and I was hooked immediately. If anyone is serious about doing an MBA I’d advise attending these. You quickly realise it is not the boring old classroom lectures and I left the Michael Smurfit Business School after attending the lectures with the buzz of learning – it had been a long time since I had that feeling.
Now that I knew I wanted do the Executive MBA I started reading everything I could about the course. Did you know that there are several scholarships and bursaries offered by the Business School and their partners? Before reading I didn’t. Having my heart set on doing the EMBA I set out to get awarded one of these. The obvious one is the GMAT merit based scholarship. If you can break 700 points (out of a possible 800) the you are in with a chance to win a scholarship. It is not easy, but constant persistence and you will get there.
As I write this I am 4 weeks into the EMBA at Smurfit. It is certainly not disappointing. When you are doing something you enjoy it does not feel like work. I’m chatting with the careers team and realise I made the correct decision to attend Smurfit. The careers team here are the real deal and I know my future is in safe hands!
Matthew McAllister ~ Executive MBA Year 1