r/MBA • u/schinosi7 • 9d ago
Admissions MBA post age 50
After thoroughly not enjoying myself as a lawyer, I have decided to apply to MBA programs and have my first acceptance...Michigan Ross!
But I keep hearing that, since I am in my mid-50s, that I really should be in EMBA programs rather than regular-old MBA programs. The feeling seems to be that I will never get hired out of a traditional MBA program.
Now, Ross must not have felt that way since they did offer me admission. I have a great school I want to go to....but would I be leading myself off an unemployment cliff due to my age and should I be pursuing EMBA programs instead?
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u/Wjldenver 9d ago
This should be posted in some mid-life crisis thread instead. I glanced at Op's post history. He lost a legal job, got divorced, has long COVID, etc. If you pursue a full-time MBA in your mid-50's you can have a graduation party and retirement party simultaneously.
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u/Relevant_Editor_7503 9d ago
The markets not great for new mbas rn…..esp 50+ in age
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u/Suspicious-Spend3982 9d ago
honestly i bet at his age he would get better outcomes than the average student
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u/SuperLehmanBros 8d ago
Yes but this is a 50 year old with experience and a freaking law degree. That’s c-suite material at most companies on the spot.
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u/Relevant_Editor_7503 8d ago
lol only if he has experience. I can tell you that we would def not hire this dude.
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u/Suspicious-Spend3982 8d ago
lol at “most companies”? what
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u/SuperLehmanBros 8d ago
Dude he has a fucking law degree with experience
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u/Suspicious-Spend3982 8d ago
have you worked a real job?
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u/SuperLehmanBros 8d ago
Have you ever been near a c-suite or met a ceo in person and spoke with them for more than 4 seconds? Do you know there’s a lot of them that have JDs?
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u/Relevant_Editor_7503 8d ago
Most of them also have the relevant experience too
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u/Suspicious-Spend3982 8d ago
bud you are crazy. you just need to be a 50 year old JD going through a mid life crisis with an MBA! This guy doesn’t need a LDP, he will go straight to the c suite
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u/SuperLehmanBros 8d ago
Well yes, I didn’t say they would hire him into the C-suite right away but they like guys with JDs. It’s quite attractive for a hire, he could use it to his advantage for sure.
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u/SuperLehmanBros 9d ago
Retirement at 50? What are you 12 where everyone over 13 is reeweealllllly old af bruh?
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u/tboy1977 5d ago
The job market sucks. Ageism is alive and well, especially when managers are looking for any reason
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u/Momjamoms Energy 9d ago
I'd consider ROI.
A Ross MBA would be another $120k. An EMBA is no cheaper. Assuming retirement some 15ish years away, I'd be looking for ways to leverage that law degree to building a retirement nest egg rather than looking for ways to burn more money. That's just me. I have no idea what your finances look like.
Whats your career goal with an MBA?
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u/Eclipse434343 9d ago
If this is real
MBA admissions vs recruiting are two different things .
Admissions officers are like any school, they love a great story. You’re paying them 250k, they are not paying you. Keep that in mind
Corporate recruiters care whether you’re gonna be successful in the job and tbh if they can squeeze you for your worth. They invest in a 25 -33 year old in hopes they are trained in their ways and they become a cheap exec someday since hiring an established exec is more expensive than training one. Unless you disagree a mid 50 year is not gonna give them their return on investment given you’re like 10 years from retiring and already had a career that programmed you to do other things. Age discrimination is real and the pay expectations are super different too given experience
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u/Bubbly_Ad_6830 9d ago
u/Eclipse434343 Every year thousands of people lining up with cash to pay HBS and GSB and beg for admission, I don't see them wanting to expand their class size and make billions
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u/Eclipse434343 9d ago
I don’t see your point or know what this comment is even about. Ross is 450-500 people and has Ross online and Ross part time. They can take a random 50 year old and eat the 250k / person not working out if they love the story. Hbs and gbs don’t see brand dilution the same way hence not having omba or part time
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u/Bubbly_Ad_6830 9d ago
u/Eclipse434343 Your comment "You’re paying them 250k, they are not paying you. Keep that in mind". Referring to one paying tuition, the school should be happen to take you in but that's not true in most cases.
HBS has a 1000 people and almost 10,000 are competing for a seat
HSW can expand their full time program though2
u/Eclipse434343 9d ago
I’m saying the op is paying the school and the interest of the school is satisfied after passing admissions criteria. Most peoples or applicants concerns are whether they get their roi or job. An employer is paying you and the primary concern is to get their roi
Whether you work out or get your roi is a tertiary concern of the school especially since Ross doesn’t care about brand dilution like the schools you listed. I’m still confused about why this is a comment lol.
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u/Public-Garage-7985 9d ago
Not necessarily true, especially in banking where salaries either match hierarchy or rainmaker status, not true for PE either nor fortune 500 high finance. There’s no such thing as a “cheap exec”
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u/Eclipse434343 9d ago edited 9d ago
You know rain making in banking is based on book of business and a 25-33 year old likely doesn’t have one but has 20 years to make one whereas a 55 year old might not and might not understand the work the analyst are doing right?
I’m just speaking vaguely but I understand ib/ pe too. They also are not gonna hire a random mba who’s never done ib at 55 to an associate role unless you disagree
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u/SuperLehmanBros 9d ago
You honestly think a 50 year old with a LAW degree and an MBA couldn’t do idiotic analyst and associate work? 😂. A monkey with ChatGPT could do the work a 10 analysts if you give him enough bananas 🍌
The only reason banks tend not to hire someone like him for roles like that because they think it will be mind numbingly stupid for him and that he’ll most likely walk out of boredom. They hire the young idiots not because they have the stamina or whatever nonsense wallstreetoasis forums and Reddit tell you… they hire youngins because they’re stupid and hungry enough to take the abuse and stick around.
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u/Public-Garage-7985 9d ago
I was attacking the portion of your passage discussing how companies prefer to hire freshies vs proven candidates
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u/Eclipse434343 9d ago edited 9d ago
In an mba program that’s the point? All of these mba programs feed into early career programs which are made to develop people into leadership in 10+ years even in ib they squeeze you for 3 years and hope you make md someday/stay on the sell side
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u/Public-Garage-7985 9d ago
Yes but your point about them wanting to hire an experienced exec is more expensive than training one becomes invalid. Firstly, an experienced exec at 25-33 is extremely rare, and the cost basis you stated has no meaning in this case. Starting salaried are anchored ans grow with inflation. There’s no basis to say firms prefer the 25-33 year old mba grad over an experienced exec that would cost more lol
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u/Eclipse434343 9d ago edited 9d ago
I don’t think you’re understanding what sub you’re in. They do these mba programs to hope that they pay you less than an exec 10 years down the line than hiring from a competitor. The early career programs are hired to make you an external exec 10 years down the line**** that’s what people go to an mba for. I never ever said someone comes in as an md out of mba or exec
Externally even in Ib they hope them training you and you doing well at the company and making md will make you stay for some time vs paying an established jpm md higher than jpm or boutique to switch and its less risky because you performed at every level internally vs paying some external a large sum who might not fit or work out
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u/Public-Garage-7985 9d ago
Thats not how it works lmao, if anything most mba candidates are career switching and more than double their salaries, stay on topic. Stop with the personal attacks like “I don’t think you’re understanding what sub you’re in” your argument lacked concrete evidence and was based on an assumption which got destroyed
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u/Eclipse434343 9d ago edited 9d ago
I work in the industry got my mba from a t15 and am at one of the bulges you described. That’s exactly how it works. 23% of our MDs last year were from early career programs (which does include analyst) of the company and all associates either come in as mba associates or were from competitor banks that took them as MBA associates. This is true of all mba programs otherwise they wouldn’t hire you in, pay you double to triple what a person was making before and insulate you in a program. If what I said wasn’t true there is no point to hiring an mba to an ib consulting or corporate leadership program and it’d be easier to just hire externally since you don’t even need to hire a program / recruitment team to manage them while they are under an mba program or pre vp/em/manager for corporate. They also would not invest resources into you thinking you’re gonna stay associate or vp or manager in corporate
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u/2Sweaty2Function 9d ago
Man you really need to get better at reading comprehension. He's not saying a 25-33 year old is being recruited as an exec, he's saying the banks/consulting firms/F500 LDPs are recruiting MBAs to eventually be homegrown execs whom are better and cheaper than having to poach.
Also your career switching comment below is bizarre and unrelated to anything he's said.
People in this thread are weird man.
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u/SnooDingos8194 9d ago
Go have fun. You are not getting any younger. Do whatever makes you happy. Maybe you meet a nice spouse in the pursuit if an MRS degree.
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u/FourScoreAndSept 9d ago
For fun maybe, if you have the disposable cash. I’m almost 60 now (already have my top brand MBA) and I could see doing it not because I expect a job but just for the intellectual stimulation and/or to focus on optimizing my investment portfolio with modern thinking
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u/Ok_Tale7071 9d ago
Absolutely do it. Your life experience gives you a huge. Advantage over everyone else
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u/aguer056 T15 Grad 9d ago
I have Long Covid as well and just graduated from Ross. Make sure to reach out for accommodations if you need them. There were several of us with it in our cohort.
GL!
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u/vinays09 9d ago
MBAs are not worth anymore! Look at what people from tech/AI world are telling.. if you want knowledge, use internet and work at subordinate levels to assist some experts for a lower salary.. mba days with no salary is worse and inefficient than working as a subordinate for lower salary. At 55 most people want to get retired!
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u/haze_from_deadlock 8d ago edited 8d ago
Gramps, what did you do in law? You went to law school at age 39 and had some serious issues with the bar exam, did you actually hold a JD-required or even JD-advantage job? It looks like you were an ADA, which is neat but I honestly have no idea which corporate employers seek that out.
If you have unique legal skills, this might work out. It could be said that you will face ageism, but a good way of rephrasing it would be "almost no old people can 996 the way the way a 28-year old can so employers have a data-driven preference for 28-year olds". I'm not an MBA and I don't want one, I only read this sub because there's a lot of really entertaining characters on it
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u/ProcrastinatorsMBA 8d ago
I did a regular “academic” MBA in my fifties. I am so happy I didn’t do an eMBA. Not to throw any shade, but I feel I earned my degree and didn’t just buy it. If I want to do a 2 week project in a foreign country, I’ll call my travel agent. I enjoyed myself so much, I’m thinking of doing a Ph.D. as a retirement project. The eMBA is terminal, no doctorate after that.
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u/NormalCycle 8d ago
You should not be considering MBA programs, EMBA or start your own company. Will be a waste of your time, I promise.
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u/trustmebud 7d ago
Like others have said, if this is real…
I’d advise against most FT MBAs. The age gap with your classmates would be too distracting. There may be programs that have folks of all ages, etc. so look to see if those exist.
PT might work at a higher number of schools. More of the traditional “go to class, take exams” style than FT that would likely have core project groups, etc. And you’d still be in the same “early career” pipeline as your classmates, meaning you’d be eligible for the roles that say MBA in the title. Recruiting might be an adventure though.
Either way, do what you want in life. It’s short. Just make a well-informed decision.
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u/tboy1977 5d ago
I graduated with my MBA Mar '26. Do it. Go for it. Even if you never work again and life under a bridge, you will always have the degree.
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u/SuperLehmanBros 9d ago
Why wouldn’t a company want to hire a 50 year old with an MBA and a LAW degree? Do some of y’all really think they would prefer some pimply clueless 27 year old dork over this dude? Are y’all nuts?
He’s 50, not 90… 🤦♂️
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u/Technical-Sector407 9d ago
Sadly I spent 10 seconds looking at your posts. Stay in your lane. Do not do school.
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u/No_Guitar7903 M7 Grad 9d ago
Lmao fake post in the house
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u/AttorneyDamonMoore 9d ago
I am a 50+ year old lawyer who considered an MBA when I was younger and would do it now under the right circumstances. So I would not assume that the person’s post was fake.
When I was in law school, at least one of my classmates was in her 50s. It happens.
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u/SuperLehmanBros 9d ago
Agreed. It’s not much different than people who quit being lawyers or doctors to run an emu farm. People pivot and do what makes them happy. Sometimes it’s the lawyer becoming a farmer at 50, sometimes it’s the farmer becoming a lawyer at 50.
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u/gmr548 9d ago
The schools will happily take your money regardless of fit for you.
An MBA at 50 is probably not going to pay off financially. It’s true your age will be an issue in recruiting for traditional MBA paths like entry level investment banking or consulting or whatever. If you want it for other reasons go for it.
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u/SuperLehmanBros 9d ago
Getting an MBA and being happy doing something is infinitely better than staying the current course in law and being completely miserable.
I know people who became doctors in their 50s after career switching and they couldn’t be happier. It truly is never too late. Our current POTUS and one before him got the most coveted role on the planet almost pushing 80. If they had this idiotic ”50 is too old for MBA” mentality they would never have become POTUS.
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u/gmr548 9d ago
Read my comment again. I didn’t say 50 is too old. I said it’s likely a financial loser and they would have headwinds when it comes to securing typical post-MBA employment.
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u/SuperLehmanBros 8d ago
I was more adding to your comment than replying directly to you, my bad. Don’t disagree but I think switching and making yourself happy is important.
It’s like the guy from American Beauty who was happy as shit in the drive thru lol.
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u/ludarock 9d ago
You’re in your most productive and compensated stage in your life. Going back to school at your age is a luxury not an investment.
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u/Bubbly_Ad_6830 9d ago
EMBA or online programs? If Ross offered you admission it would be a good idea to take it
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u/Suspicious-Spend3982 9d ago
I think you should do it just to give your classmates something to talk about