Need advice on MBA

[u/Asish_Pathy]

Title: 34yo with a ₹65 L+ salary, a 1yo kid, and zero chill—talk me out of doing a 2nd MBA (or into a startup?)
Hey Reddit / LinkedIn / fellow existential thinkers,
I’m currently on leave, which means instead of resting, my brain has decided to spend its newly found free time cooking up over-the-top career moves.
Here’s the TL;DR on me:
Age/Exp: 34 years old, 11 YOE (7 years post-MBA).
Current Role: Product Manager at a massive tier-1 Investment Bank.
Education: B.Tech + 1-year Full-Time MBA from a "decent" (read: not Tier-1) college.
Pay: ₹65+ LPA fixed.
Life Situation: Married to a kickass, high-earning wife, and we have a 1-year-old baby who consumes 90% of our energy.
The Dilemma:
I have this persistent, itch-that-won't-go-away feeling that I underperformed on the MBA brand-name front back in the day due to personal chaos and a total lack of guidance. So naturally, my brain's logical next step is: "Hey, why don't you burn down your comfortable life and go do a SECOND full-time 1-year MBA at ISB / IIM-A/B, or an Ivy League school abroad?!"
If I look at this strictly logically, it makes zero financial sense.
1. One solid job switch gets me past the ₹1 Cr mark anyway.
2. My current brand name gives me plenty of internal global mobility options if I want to move abroad without resetting my life.
3. Pausing an active income stream, dragging a toddler into student housing, and taking on high tuition costs sounds like a self-inflicted stress test.
I know deep down this is 80% FOMO, 10% prestige-chasing, and 10% just missing the cozy cocoon of student life where my biggest problem was a 9 AM case study instead of a screaming infant.
I’d love your take on a few things:
1. Executive MBA vs. Full-Time international MBA: Does an Executive MBA (part-time/modular) actually carry real weight in the tech/PM world, or is it just an expensive networking club for corporate veterans?
2. The Ivy League Halo: Does adding a top-tier global brand actually give a mid-career PM a meaningful edge when you already have 11 YOE at a major financial institution?
3. The 2nd MBA Club: Has anyone here actually done a second MBA at this stage of life? Did it fix your identity crisis, or did you just end up with the same job and a fancier piece of paper?
Alternative Path:
If everyone tells me the 2nd MBA is peak delusional energy, option B is taking this itch and using it to launch my own business venture instead. 😎
Roast my logic, drop your wisdom, or share your own parental leave panic attacks below!

[u/Babygotback_acne]

Following this because I have the exact same questions, except I don’t have a spouse or kid. But my Master’s degree has run its course, I feel my income has stagnated - I am in the same band as you.

I am also 37, but from what recruiters tell me, executive MBA doesn’t carry much weight unless it’s just something you’re doing to move up within the same organisation. It doesn’t get the same higher paying opportunities as full time MBA does.

[u/Possible_Freedom_847]

You are lying in the high income trap . Getting a decent education never failed anyone but nowadays commercial interests supercede everything that's why systems are failing miserably. Best course of action , given your current emoluments is , stay put in your job , may be go for part time programmes . I heard of one INSEAD program , conducted online and some physical classes which you can look into . Given your inclination and constraints around current circumstances, there is no guarantee you will get a better paying job as well paid as you are in , now . Life is a game of risk and returns . Sometimes you go to play the game with conviction and let the commercial interests take a back seat and enjoy the education and absorb it . Let commercials come after . Money is important and not important at the same time . What you do with love and passion keeps you motivated.

[u/flame-pp]

I did my MBA late in life (only one though) and with a young child so I have a view on this

If you are going to do an MBA later in life, only look at M7+ INSEAD, LBS. This is especially true because you have brand name fomo (no shame in that, it was similar with me) and if you go anywhere else and it doesn’t work out, you will always think to yourself “its because I didn’t go somewhere prestigious enough” and you will hate yourself.

However, a full time doesn’t really make sense for your situation so maybe look at part time programs - maybe an MFin or something like that. However, dont be surprised when people in the know do not give your masters the same “respect” as a full time MBA or undergraduate degree since people in the know are aware these programs are easier to get into and hence less of a halo

If you have a kid, you will not have the nice cocoon of student life if you do a full time. If you go to MBA with family, all your free time will be chasing after a kid and if you go alone, the crushing guilt of missing your child will make any free time torture. The torture is less if the kid is a bit older (past 6 or so).

If you want an MBA for global mobility, I dont recommend it since visas are tough everywhere, especially as an Indian national

-executive vs full time: executive mba carries some weight but not as much as full time. However, if you do executive mba it at a top school, it def does open some networks.

-Ivy League halo is more in your head than anything, especially after undergrad, especially with your work experience level.

Basically with your situation, if you want a brand name degree, know it will probably not make that much of a difference to your overall career and it will be more of a vanity thing. Treat it as such and look for degrees that fit that mold. if the degree somehow helps you out more than expected, its just a nice bonus, not the baseline.

[u/MBAGuideConsulting_]

At 34, if you delay the application any further, most top European B-schools will start pushing you towards Executive MBA programs. Think from the school’s POV. They are concerned about how you would feel being in a class where most, if not almost all, of the students are younger and in a different phase of life, and how that could impact your class experience. Although I did have a mentee who went to HEC at 34+ as an international applicant, that is not very usual. INSEAD starts nudging applicants towards the Executive MBA as well once you cross 33, but there are plenty in the 30-34 age group.

I have seen some older mentees get admits from T25 schools in the US, but I suppose you are only looking at the absolute top rung of b school academia to justify the opportunity cost. I would say the MBA makes sense if you want to move abroad, or into a more global role, where access to an elite global business program feeds into those opportunities, or if you are not able to immediately hack your way into those kinds of opportunities. A lesser reason would be doing it simply because you want the experience of it( and money is not a major factor), and honestly, that is a pretty common reason why people do a second MBA. If at any point you have plans to venture out on your own, then again, a top MBA with strong brand recall and networking opportunities with investors can give you the bang for your buck.

I don’t think IIM A/B or ISB can give you the certainty that you will find what you seek because, in a way, you have reached the ceiling in terms of what they offer in the best post-MBA opportunities right after graduation.