Best Advice for MBAs Aspiring to Tech Careers

By Francesca Di Updated Nov 13, 2019

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Introduction
Selina Bannweg
Laura McCracken
Caitlin Attal

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Find out where the future of business is going

Tech careers are the stuff of legend among MBAs at top business schools. In a short span of time, technology companies began ranking right up there with investment banks and consulting firms when competing for MBA hires from the world’s top business schools.

In fact, technology topped the list of industries entered by the Class of 2018 at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Although consulting was still number one with MBA graduates from the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Class of 2018, technology came in second place and Amazon was the top employer after hiring 27 grads.

The lure about startups taking off and taking over the universe is appealing. More importantly, the future of work seems locked into the advancement of tech, such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, machine learning, and other digital transformations. Recently, QS CEO Nunzio Quacquarelli spoke with leaders in the tech industry to get their advice for aspiring and newly minted MBAs trying to break into the industry. Discover what they had to say:

Selina Bannweg

Amazon MBA recruiting program

Amazon has a global team, and Selina Bannweg works on recruiting MBAs for the European Union division that focuses on Launch, a three-year rotational program. MBAs hired into Launch experience two rotations – one assigned to them and one of their choosing. There are five teams onto which they could be placed:

Amazon consumer
Amazon devices
Advertising
Prime Video
AWS

In this video, Bannweg shares what the company looks for in an MBA hire and provides some advice about staying honest throughout the recruiting process.

Laura McCracken

Wirecard, Global EVP, Financial Institutions and Fintech

A graduate of the London Business School and Columbia Business School joint Global Executive MBA program, McCracken shares the story of her career to motivate others. “Never get off that learning curve,” she says. Practicing what she preaches, McCracken – who will be turning 50 – just completed the Oxford University fintech online program.

Previously, McCracken has worked for KPMG, American Express, Amazon, and Facebook. She tried being an auditor and investment banker before settling into roles in the tech sector. Her story is relatable, and you can glean advice from her experiences.

In addition, she sings the praises of the MBA degree at a time when it is facing criticism. Find out why she thinks you can still gain value from advanced education and what it takes to get into the burgeoning field of fintech.

Caitlin Attal

Google, Revenue Solutions Account Manager

Of all the interviews conducted recently, this one might most resonate with aspiring MBAs the most, as, after all, Attal is one of them.

She only recently graduated from the MBA program at London Business School, gaining her position at Google through a successful summer internship program. Meaning she landed a position at a top tech company straight out of her MBA program.

Attal finds that she uses strategic thinking and management skills most in her day-to-day work. More importantly, she found the MBA boosted her personally and professionally.

“The MBA propelled me into the position to be more confident,” she says. “The letters mean something. But they mean more to me in terms of my own confidence to really push myself. I can actually do this, and I’m worthy of this position and here’s why…”

Learn more about what value Attal sees in the MBA, how to decide whether the degree is right for you, and what Google is looking for in new MBA hires in her interview.

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Written by

Francesca Di

Francesca Di Meglio has written about higher education for two decades. She covered business schools and all aspects of management education for what became Bloomberg Businessweek from May 2004 to December 2013. Di Meglio was the consultant editor for the book Admitted: An Interactive Workbook for Getting into a Top MBA Program (85 Broads Publishing, 2011), which was written by admissions consultant Betsy Massar. In addition, she is a family travel and parenting blogger at the Italian Mamma website.