The Perfect Job (for me)

Now that my MBA application process is over, I find that I’m coming back to square one; asking: What career and lifestyle will make me happiest?

While this is a lifelong ever changing quest, I want to understand it as best as I can now so I don’t waste time and energy pursuing opportunities that are a poor match for me.

Management Consulting (MC) and Investment Banking (IB) are the two careers that I think will be most pragmatic for me to pursue immediately after graduation. These careers will prolong the rapid learning curve established during two years of school, should enable me to more comfortably repay my loans, and both match my pre-MBA experience and skill set well. To determine which I think would be a better fit for me, I have talked to many friends, read many industry articles, and most recently, I took a Live Career assessment test.

The results of the Basic Interest portion of the test point to my…

• Strong desire to lead/manage
• High interest in technical subjects
• Aptitude for persuading others, and
• Liking of being out and about

• Limited artistic abilities (really appreciate art though)
• Dislike of performing customer services
• Dislike of performing health services
• Dislike of performing clerical activities

The results of the Work Place Fit heavily point to…

• My liking of innovative and pensive work environments
• My liking of enterprising and dynamic work environments

After reviewing these results, I am once again leaning towards MC as it seems to better fit my basic interests and workplace likings. From what I know, IB is more sales/service oriented and the environment is more realistic/conventional (transactions). I also think that MC presents a broader range of career options down the line, which is important to consider given that I will likely want to completely change directions in ten years. From a lifestyle standpoint, I’d prefer to travel during the week and have most of my weekends free (MC) versus being frequently obliged to work in the office on weekends (IB). Many of my active pursuits are central to my overall wellbeing and having to forgo them on a regular basis would be difficult. Finally, the Live Career test makes me realize that I shouldn’t overlook opportunities at innovative companies, such as Google and Microsoft.