MBA
I attended high school in the 1980s. High school is when we are largely unaware of our own ignorance. Back then, the landscape for women was changing significantly— most girls would pursue careers, a relatively new expectation, and new career paths had opened to girls, especially in previously inaccessible fields, such as science.
Although I had little interest in physics, I enjoyed Chemistry and Biology. Chemistry was my preference until I learned that chemists often have shorter life spans, which led me to pursue Biology instead. Though I never loved Biology, I found it manageable and decided to earn a BSc. as those around me strongly influenced me to go the science route.
After graduation, I faced the daunting question: what next? Becoming a doctor seemed too demanding, requiring much more schooling, and a brief stint in research made it clear that I didn’t have the disposition for it. I was at a loss for direction. I did well at various things, making it difficult to choose a single path. Also, aside from the leisure time I valued, something my friend Ed jokingly pointed out was my only real passion, I had little sense of what truly interested me.
Ultimately, I let money guide my decision. I chose to pursue accounting, reasoning that accountants are always in demand. However, this required taking a new set of undergraduate courses, a prospect that didn’t appeal to me. So, I found an alternative: I decided to pursue an MBA. The “core” courses in an MBA program would satisfy the prerequisites for an accounting designation, and they weren’t undergraduate courses. Plus, at the time, I could take additional undergraduate courses for free as part of my MBA, so I met all the prerequisites for just $900 per term—a real bargain.
I completed my MBA solely to become an accountant, without genuine interest in the degree. In hindsight, I don’t think the two additional years of graduate-level courses were worth it. I didn’t maintain connections with my MBA cohort and never included the degree on my resume.
For years, I didn’t mention my MBA to anyone—it seemed irrelevant, given that I had no desire to pursue work typically associated with the degree. I viewed my MBA years as something of a wasteland.
Yet, those years taught me a valuable lesson: the importance of considering the journey toward a goal. How will I get there?
Today, I include “MBA” among my credentials, recognizing that the experience, while not what I envisioned, was part of my journey.
