I got an MBA from a top school six years ago. Was it worth it?

Or is it just an expensive seal of approval?

Why an MBA?

In 2014, I felt stuck. I had been in the same “good” job since graduating from college, but I wasn’t excited about what I was doing. I felt unmotivated, like the thing I spend most of waking hours doing is quite pointless.

And so, I made myself a resolution. I was either going to move to New York with my job (maybe a change of scenery would change how I feel?) or I would get my MBA like I had always loosely planned (I had taken my GMAT the year after college, and the score was about the expire).

The thing is, the plan to get an MBA was never a plan, per se. It was an idea of something I was supposed to do as part of the proper Asian American dream path. I didn’t think about why I wanted an MBA, or what I would do with it. I thought having an MBA in itself would solve my problems.

And, the truth is, I had no idea how to find a different job. I got my first job during collect through a standardized on campus recruiting process. I hadn’t interviewed in over five years, and what’s more, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

So the MBA was more an escape than anything. An expensive escape.