The insider: Judge Business School

As the first term starts drawing to a close, my one year on the MBA is feeling both more precious and more fleeting than before. I spent the first term getting to know the other people going through this experience with me and trying to keep up with the material, concepts and techniques being thrown out daily by the lecturers. Now my attention is turning to what I’m going to do next. This, after all, is what doing an MBA is about: not the pleasure of academic study, but to help the transition to the next stage of my career.
I think that I’m in denial about actually making decisions about what I want to do next. Major global corporations arrive at Judge every week to explain why we should work for them. Closer to home, Cambridge is full of opportunities: it has more venture capital invested in new companies per head of population than anywhere else in Europe. The feeling of virtually limitless options is pleasant and quite enticing.
However, as I see those around me beginning to get job offers or getting short-listed for final rounds of interviews after only two months on the course, I’m wondering if I need to make my mind up.
My aim when I started the MBA was to remain in the high-tech cluster around Cambridge. I still have a strong desire to work in this area, but I’m now also considering other options. There are two traditional recruiters of MBA graduates – banks and management consultancies. Early on I ruled out the banks – I’m just not passionate about moving money around. I am, however, considering consultancy. My interest in this sector began while taking part in a competition run by a management consultancy. Teams from ten business schools in Europe and the United States were given a hypothetical business situation to analyse and then they had to present their recommendations to the partners of the firm. My team was selected to represent Judge at the European finals in London, where our recommendations will be judged against those of four other European schools. The winning European team will then compete against the winning US team in the global final. The competition is a great chance to get some insight into the world of consultancy. I’m hoping that the experience will help me to make my mind up. The prize money would be nice too.