2 HBS graduates on what having a Harvard MBA does for your career

It goes without saying that an MBA from Harvard can expand one’s horizons indefinitely. Just the letters HBS on a resume will cause recruiters to take a second look, and between the innovation labs, clubs, and the above-average networking opportunities, the program itself is an educational gold mine.

Brian Goffman, Harvard Business School alumnus and Associate Partner at McKinsey, credits his MBA with the elevation of his career. As former VP of Product at Samsung, Venture Partner at TCV, and VP of Global Business Marketing at Linkedin, Goffman has been everywhere from Silicon Valley to venture capital firms. And he has HBS to credit for his continued upward mobility in the business world.

“All the major companies I’ve worked for have included HBS people,” Goffman explains, “A lot of people end up really senior. That’s a great network.”

But earning an MBA at Harvard isn’t a walk in the park, and in addition to a rigorous admissions process, with only 11% of applicants accepted into the program, the beginning of one’s MBA journey is demanding.

“The first semester is very, very intense,” Goffman says. “I compare it in a lot of ways to a very intense business experience. You just have a huge amount of work.” But the latter part of one’s HBS experience is focused mainly on the future. “Once you get into the second semester and the second year, most of your time is spent looking for jobs.”

Kristen Fitzpatrick, the Managing Director of Career and Professional Development at Harvard Business School, and an MBA alumnus herself couldn’t agree more.

“At HBS, you need to be comfortable with shades of gray. Having your thoughts challenged, and challenging others takes your ability to contribute to a discussion to the next level.” While you’ll do a lot of reading to learn the material, “it’s fun to banter with your classmates as you form opinions on how to solve the cases.”

Along with a focus on one’s elective curriculum, companies would come to campus and do presentations. Students would also have opportunities to take classes at other prestigious business schools or study abroad.

As for one of the greatest benefits of HBS, gaining an enormous network filled with those who have similar aspirations to your own.

“You gain a lot from getting to know your classmates,” Goffman explains. Not just in the classroom, either. His networking, like many others, involved getting drinks with his cohort, playing basketball, joining clubs, or taking HBS class trips. “I was just trying to make the most of the whole experience – most people are there to learn something, meet people, find the next opportunity.”

Fitzpatrick adds that the immersive experience, having professionals and experts around to guide your studies, is also a huge benefit.

“The faculty teaching the material often researched and wrote the cases themselves,” Fitzpatrick notes, and “the classmates around you and the protagonists brought in to talk through the case give a deeper level of insight than you would typically get just learning it out of a book.”

Goffman’s classmates range from CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to technology experts; “one guy is a screenwriter,” he adds. “It’s a diverse group. Like I can go to just about any industry in any geography and find some HBS people, and I can at least have one phone call.”

This is substantiated by everything from business news websites to blog posts on HBS’ website.

“You have a certain level of credibility,” Goffman says, “if you went there, and they went there.”

Goffman continues that his Harvard MBA experience not only helped build his network but also provided the foundation necessary to find roles and pivot in his career.

“It helped. In most jobs I got, outside of my first two roles, every job I got was through people I had already worked with before or someone I knew. Personally, I would say the odds are way higher if you know the people involved.”

“I don’t think I would be in this job without the HBS MBA, having gone through the program I am better able to help our students and alumni achieve their goals,” Fitzpatrick adds. “The HBS MBA broadens your horizons in unanticipated ways, that’s part of the magic.”

As for choosing HBS, timing is everything.

“I don’t think the MBA helps you right out of school,” Goffman explains. “It helps you a little bit if you’re trying to make a career change. It gives you a lot of time to do things that aren’t work requirements.”

Additionally, the National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that the “average starting salary for MBA grads is $20,000 a year more than those with an undergraduate business degree.”

Forbes reports that in 2018, the average first-year income for an HBS MBA graduate was around $160,000 – those in hedge funds earned around $211,000, while consultants have a total median compensation of $175,000. The median income ten years after graduation was $204,000 as of 2018; higher than any other business school.

Ultimately though, Goffman continues, “people get the benefit of it when they’re in their late thirties.” This is primarily because one doesn’t learn things that are “immediately relevant for the job they’re going to get right out of school.”

Instead, the program is more future-oriented, and students tend to “learn things that are relevant for a director, or VP, or CEO,” giving them a boost later in their careers.

“You could argue that if you work for two years,” Goffman continues, “you could end up in the exact same place you got hired out of business school. But the acceleration is where it pays off. Five years later, the people who have the MBA are ahead – some of it’s the network, some of it’s what they learned.”

“Having the courage to go out on your own and start a new business,” Fitzpatrick mentions, is one of the dozens of paths she’s seen students take after graduation. Her experience has seen alumni along trails like “joining a firm and using the MBA to come in at a higher level to jump-start your career, or taking it to a non-profit and challenging the organization to think differently and achieve more.”

“With over 900 students graduating in each class they really do take 900 different paths,” she adds. “The HBS MBA gives you the freedom to take risks and stretch yourself.”

If you aspire to great heights, Goffman argues a Harvard MBA is worth pursuing. But the all-in, expensive and sometimes grueling nature of the degree isn’t for the faint of heart or those comfortable settling below an executive-level position. “If you think you have a ceiling, don’t go. It’s not worth it.”