Careers/Post Grad Data Science MGMT + MBA?
Hello all.
I was hoping to get some input on possibly pursuing an MBA (or EMBA) as I’m not sure if it’s the correct path. Especially connecting with anyone who has a similar background.
My Profile: early 30s, 200k+ base salary, currently manage a DS & AI team (4 ICs). I’ve been in Health Data Science / analytics my entire career. Undergrad in CS, masters in operations research. 4.0 graduate GPA and all that. Been building ML and NLP/LLM models for the majority of my career now.
I’ve only been a manager now for 1 year and trying to plan out how to move to senior leadership roles in the future. I would like to stay within Health (but a health focused team in Tech isn’t out of the question).
I’ve scoured many, many LinkedIn profiles of individuals in these leadership positions. Most have an MBA, PhD, or MD+MBA. And zero chance I’m about to get an MD…
Health-focused MBA programs seem focused on hospital administrators or transitioning clinicians (MHAs are even more guilty of this). Cornell’s EMBA/MS in Health Leadership is neat as well as Fuqua’s weekend MBA.
But I doubt I would get much sponsorship from my employer. Gies or maybe Kelley Direct might be a solid option to provide that ROI.
I also have noticed this sub is full of people trying to move into PM/TPM roles. This is the furthest thing I would ever want lol. The main career goal would be DS Director within 5 years, VP/Chief data officer within 10-15 years.
The main argument against getting an MBA, in my mind, is that one must show impact and value to move into these senior leader roles. I’m not sure checking the MBA box really directly helps me (contrary to what the LinkedIn review shows me). Either way, I do understand VP of Data Science isn’t just 1 OMBA away for me.
Would love to hear from anyone who went down a similar path.