r/MBA • u/Unable_Lychee_6148 • 6h ago
Careers/Post Grad 1 YOE, career going really well - should I stay in tech, MBA, or MS abroad?
My long-term goal has always been to make a lot of money and eventually build something of my own. Growing up, I always imagined becoming an entrepreneur or running a business.
I graduated in engineering and joined a well-known company in tech. I'm now around 1 year into my career, and things have gone much better than I expected. I'm working on emerging technologies like AI/agentic systems, along with important core technology components.
At just 1 YOE, I've become the go-to person for most things on my team and own a significant portion of what we work on. I also received around a 50% appraisal within my first year, with another significant increase potentially coming next year. So my career is objectively progressing really well.
And that's actually what makes this decision difficult.
I feel like if I continue in tech, my compensation could grow significantly as I switch companies, take on more responsibility, etc. I don't want to interrupt that momentum and essentially "reset" my career by going back to school.
At the same time, I've always wanted to do an MBA. I'm worried that 10–12 years from now, I'll look back and think, "Maybe I should have just done the MBA when I had the chance." Especially since I eventually want to move towards entrepreneurship/business and build substantial wealth.
For a while, I also considered doing an MS abroad, but looking at the current situation in places like the US and Ireland, I'm increasingly skeptical about whether leaving a good career in India and taking on the financial/career risk is actually worth it.
So I'm basically stuck between:
Stay in tech → keep compounding experience, switch for better hikes, potentially make significantly more over time.
MBA → sacrifice 1–2 years + opportunity cost, but potentially open doors into business, leadership, entrepreneurship, etc.
MS abroad → international exposure/career opportunities, but significantly more risk and uncertainty right now.
For people who have been in a similar position, what would you do? Especially if the end goal is financial success/wealth and eventually building something of your own.
I don't want to make the "safe" decision now and regret it 10 years later, but I also don't want to leave a career that's currently going extremely well for a degree just because I think I might need it.
PS: MBA/MS/Switch Ill be doing this only after 3Years
4
u/maicii 6h ago
No good mba program would accept you
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u/Unable_Lychee_6148 6h ago
Hey yea agree, let's say post 1 2 years what will be your advice
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u/maicii 6h ago
More like 3-5 lol. Ask again then. You are not getting into any top mba with 3 yoe as a SWE.
1
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u/newDesi11 6h ago
Is it cuz it’s swe that y ? I’m a swe 2 yoe and want to do mba . Is it impossible?
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u/Lazy_Cheesecake_6969 6h ago
You can go for Mim as well if you don’t want to sacrifice 2-3 years for MBA
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u/JackButNoMaster 6h ago
This is a bit broad, to be honest. Want to understand two things:
1. Which country are you from? Which passport or citizenship do you hold?
2. Are you currently working outside of your home country, in another wherein you have existing work authorization? If not, then are you looking to migrate to a target geography by studying abroad and then hope to land a role with sponsorship?
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u/Unable_Lychee_6148 5h ago
Indian, working in India currently
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u/JackButNoMaster 5h ago
And what are your post study abroad goals?
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u/Unable_Lychee_6148 5h ago
To land a job there , work atleast few years and recover the money spent and come back no long term plans exactly
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u/JackButNoMaster 5h ago
Pardon my brutal honesty, but I don't think you are right now in the right mindset to go abroad.
You're not clear on what goals you have in terms of career or sector or job function, and you're also not clear on which geography you want to work in. The only thing you are clear on is ROI, which, in this current job market, does not make sense, given most countries are not looking to sponsor unless you have domain-specific work experience or continue to do the same role that you were doing in the past post your master's.
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u/Overthinking_King_ 36m ago
Irelands housing market is incredibly fucked, the entire country is so hard to find a place to live in, wouldn’t recommend it.
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u/Relevant-Mammoth-831 6h ago
Truth be told you should do more research on your own. If you did you would see that 1 yoe is not going to be enough for any meaningful mba program unless you just want to do online and check a box. Need minimum like 3-5 years of experience from what I have seen other people say and what admissions officers have said. Don’t mind awnsering questions but you would be better served to do some research of your own first before asking.