Should I do MBA through my work or try to pay out of pocket?
Looking for advice on what to do with all these different things in play, whether someone has dealt with a similar situation or what they would do if they were in my situation. I am thinking about applying for MBA programs for the next cycle and was wondering what some other people would do if they are in my situation. I am currently in a FLDP and my work has a program where they will pay up to 90% of the cost, but I would have to stay for 3 years after graduation (if I left before that, would have to pay back everything). I am currently in the Midwest and have a T20 in my city that I would like to attend. Additionally has a T50 that I would consider as well. I have a lot of factors that are making me go back and forth on what I want to do.
For starters, I have a lot of student loans that I would need to pay off still. Currently not very happy with how much my company is willing to pay us, even after getting MBA and/or moving to higher level roles. My company is very experience-driven for roles as well, so would potentially be passed over for roles in favor of someone more senior who doesn’t have their MBA. T20 is private and would cost a lot even with generous financial aid I feel like, but does have large reach. T50 is public but feel like I wouldn’t really gain as much from the experience and would limit my options.
I am interested in moving to a different city as well (have a variety I am interested in). I would be open to potentially staying in the current city I am in post-MBA, but I feel like I would want to at least move on to a different company after graduating, which wouldn’t be great since I would have to do the payback or do it self-funded. For the cities I would like to move to, they have a higher cost of living so I feel like I would need to be making at minimum $100k base salary to be able to live comfortably, most likely would need more than that if I had to take out a substantial amount of loans again.
Also interested in potentially doing a career pivot to consulting or something with business analytics. T20 is very good for these areas for networking/exposure, T50 would be very regional if anything. Would be fine with staying in corporate finance but I feel like it’s just not as interesting to me right now.
Additionally, I would like to work while in school so I can keep chipping away at my loans. I’ve been thinking about potential internships to be able to try and pivot career fields which has lead me to another potential pitfall of if I wanted to leave for a summer internship after my first year, what would I do when I get back?
Anyways, with all these things in play for my situation, was wondering what others would do?