GSB Partners Club
Chris Hanlon
Issue date: 4/14/05 Section: Perspectives
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Recently there was a bit of a discussion about what sets partners of MBA students apart from those of other graduate schools. Sounds like a bad joke, I know (how many MBA partners does it take to screw in a light bulb...). You see, a friend of mine who already has her MBA told me that being the partner of an MBA student is probably one of the most bizarre worlds anyone could find herself (or himself) in. Each day I come to a little better understanding of this statement as my world becomes more and more curious.
Everyone told me that B wouldn't be around once school started. I nodded my head in agreement, trying to let those words (and what they meant) sink in. I should explain that for most of the last five years there has been very little time that B and I have been more than several hundred feet apart. We worked together. Then we lost our jobs together. Moved across the country together and now back again. In between we became even closer and even more united as a couple. It is what helped us survive the whole process - it's important when everyone says you are crazy to have one person in the world who believes and stands behind you no matter what.
So now we are here. Each off on our own. No longer spending every minute of every day together. This certainly isn't unique to the MBA partner. All grad school partners experience this on some level, along with all the other sacrifices made: moving away from friends and family, tightening belts, putting careers on hold, taking on even more responsibility on the home front, etc. Still there is something more in store for the MBA partner.
My first thought was that it was because we tend to be older, as most MBA programs require some work experience between undergrad and starting the MBA program. With age comes a certain understanding about the world. Let's just say it becomes more difficult to put up with certain nonsense. But really it is more than that.
Truly what it boils down to is the fact that from the time the program starts, it essentially becomes an 18-month-long job search. And probably one of the most important factors in reaching that goal is networking. There is a very social aspect to these programs, and it is not optional.
Everyone told me that B wouldn't be around once school started. I nodded my head in agreement, trying to let those words (and what they meant) sink in. I should explain that for most of the last five years there has been very little time that B and I have been more than several hundred feet apart. We worked together. Then we lost our jobs together. Moved across the country together and now back again. In between we became even closer and even more united as a couple. It is what helped us survive the whole process - it's important when everyone says you are crazy to have one person in the world who believes and stands behind you no matter what.
So now we are here. Each off on our own. No longer spending every minute of every day together. This certainly isn't unique to the MBA partner. All grad school partners experience this on some level, along with all the other sacrifices made: moving away from friends and family, tightening belts, putting careers on hold, taking on even more responsibility on the home front, etc. Still there is something more in store for the MBA partner.
My first thought was that it was because we tend to be older, as most MBA programs require some work experience between undergrad and starting the MBA program. With age comes a certain understanding about the world. Let's just say it becomes more difficult to put up with certain nonsense. But really it is more than that.
Truly what it boils down to is the fact that from the time the program starts, it essentially becomes an 18-month-long job search. And probably one of the most important factors in reaching that goal is networking. There is a very social aspect to these programs, and it is not optional.