What follows is an example from a former student.
Many MBA students claim they want to switch fields. Some will do so successfully and others will backtrack into their former fields because that’s the easier thing to do. One particular former student had a background in particle physics. He really, really couldn’t backtrack. Once you leave that PhD track, you aren’t going back. But he had no applicable experience to get into investment banking unless he was willing to start at the very bottom of the food chain – as though he had just graduated from college, not graduate school.
So, he looked outside the US. In other countries the investment banks were willing to give him credit for his many years of scientific toil so that he could start on par with his MBA peers. No bank in the US would. He took a pay cut to go overseas, but quickly made his mark professionally and was able to rejoin his US MBA peers 3 years later.
Once you’ve decided the next step, look for an employer who will value what you’ve done so far. It may mean looking beyond your current window.
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