Summing up my MBA experience in a blog post was surprisingly not as easy as I had envisaged, and every attempt to write this post was met with writer’s block. I reckon it is because my personal experience during the programme has not exactly been typical, from the decision to pursue an MBA to the entire application process and the experience of studying at Frankfurt school.
I had known I would at one point do an MBA, but one random Saturday morning in 2020, I woke up and decided to look for good business schools in Germany, and by Monday, I had put in my application to Frankfurt School for the Part-Time MBA. It could also be because the entire experience needed to mean more than just clinching that additional degree so I could move up the rungs of the corporate ladder. I was at a stage where I wanted all my career choices to have a long-term impact, and an MBA seemed like an excellent way to gain the additional skills I needed. However, as the journey winds to an end, the pieces finally fall into place, and the experience has been nothing short of transformational. I can categorically say that I am not the same person who began the programme in October 2020!
My takeaway from the programme goes beyond the topical learnings on management and administration, and it honestly seems banal to only describe that. An attempt to explain how the MBA programme has helped me as a process engineer would not do justice to the entire experience.
It has been more of a journey of growth, acceptance, and courage. Growth in the sense that knowledge has been gained. I now know more about different fields than I did before, be it Finance, Business ethics or Artificial intelligence. Acceptance, because I am more accepting of who I am and what I can or want to achieve. Fun fact, the journey of acceptance began with the professor who interviewed me for the MBA programme calling me a rebel. As my thoughts and ambitions seemed to challenge status quos and go against mainstream thinking, I remember leaving the interview and finally deciding to accept that label. Also, courage because it was during the programme that I decided to grab life by the jugular and take steps to finally start projects I had been putting off for a long time. Partly because I was now better armed with information. But also because of a light bulb moment I had during one of the classes, it hit me that those extraordinary dreams and all the impressive feats we celebrate all started from baby steps which the initiators were confident enough to take at the beginning and consistently putting one foot in front of the other.
From a practical perspective, combining the programme with a full-time job was initially challenging as I needed to find a routine which worked but with time it got better. I came up with a system of sticking to defined study schedules spread across the week, which alongside reduced procrastination, helped a lot. Looking forward, I am grateful I took the plunge and decided to do the MBA at Frankfurt School, as it turned out to be a valuable experience. I had initially gone in to learn the rudiments of management and better understand concepts like entrepreneurship and leadership in times like these where digitalisation and technology have revamped and revolutionised the way businesses are being set up and managed. However, it turned out to be a life-changing experience where I met and learned from so many new people. Also, at the risk of sounding cliché, I have learned and further proven to myself that I can literally commit to anything and everything is indeed possible. This is my biggest takeaway from the MBA programme.
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