by Craig Howie, for AOL Find a Job
Mia Hillsman and Meghan Friesen loved their MBA course setup at the University of Chicago Booth Business School, but they felt something was missing...
by Craig Howie, for AOL Find a Job
Mia Hillsman and Meghan Friesen loved their MBA course setup at the University of Chicago Booth Business School, but they felt something was missing. They knew their highly-rated program and its network of support groups catered to the cream of their undergraduate class, wannabe corporate executives and businesspeople returning to school, but figured that there was one distinctly unrepresented demographic: Mothers undertaking their MBAs.
So Hillsman and Friesen set up support group, Mothers at Booth, which provides support and advice for moms attending the 21-month course. It's one of a number of programs springing up nationwide that aims to lessen the burden on the increasing number of mothers broadening their education and employability by studying full-time while looking after children.
Hillsman, 30, who started her full-time MBA program in marketing when her child Ethan was nine months old, says the school offered "a phenomenal program" that offered flexibility in the way these candidates could structure their coursework to best fit their needs. Her classes took up a couple of days of her week and "felt like a perfect fit for my schedule. There were certain requirements but lots of flexibility, the group work and coursework was fairly easy to manage."
Hillsman says her schedule "peaks" when she's busy interviewing for jobs or during midterms or finals, and says often her husband will take Ethan to his parents, which is a big help. Often, she studies after 7.30 p.m., when Ethan goes to bed. It's a situation faced by many of the about 1100 students in Mia's school, about 35 percent of which she says are women.
She says that any mother looking to enter a similar program will "have to set up a childcare network, a parent or someone that comes with them. Some use nannies and daycare; I use daycare three days a week [and my] parents two days a week. You really have to plan ahead of time for infant care in particular: my husband is late working [or] you might not come home until 10 p.m. Some spouses may not live in the state."
She says Mothers at Booth, which started last year and hosted about 30 people at its first meeting, is open "to any women interested in learning, people who have kids or a lot of questions about work-life balance," adding: "Sometimes there can be a lack of information, but at our first event five women talked about how they manage their careers, [it's] very helpful to bring that information."
Friesen, 28, a former Yahoo strategist who had her son Braeden during the first year of her MBA, says it "made sense" to have a baby during business school, as she could rely on a more flexible schedule to accommodate her busy home life.
"Being one of the first and only students in business school with kids, I had a lot of questions. How do I approach being eight months pregnant when recruiting? How do I affirm I'm serious about my career and even make a formal network even for people who don't have kids but want them?"
She says her group works with industry leaders including investment bankers and company VPs, and helps answer MBA candidates' questions on issues important to women. "I'd argue that moms are the busiest people at business school, from internships to a job offer ongoing into major financial services firms, we get it done."
Meanwhile, further east at Georgetown University, Beth Engel, 33, says her second daughter Clare was born in between her first and second year of studying for her general management MBA, about a year after the birth of her first, Martha, who turns 3 this year. She joined the school's Women in Business group after enrolling in the school's two-year MBA program and says the organization has been invaluable in helping her balance her work and home life.
"It's hard to balance everything, but I have a supportive partner. I studied full-time in my first year and got a lot of support from the school."
Engel says she succeeded by "loading" her courses toward spring courses, which left her a reduced load in fall, when she knew she would be caring for a newborn. She says the school's Woman in Business program helped her from the start. "Right away, I was able to hook up with women and mothers and get tips. For example, to take tutorials or research instead of attending classes." She says about four of the more than 100 women in her class are mothers pursuing an MBA.
Engel had been working at home for a year in management consultancy before her husband took a government job in Washington D.C., and she says her experiences helped her prepare for a new job in the U.S. Justice Department.
Women make up 30 percent of MBA program admissions, according to the Executive MBA Council, which sites an incompatibility between work and home life as one reason keeping more women from studying for an MBA. But in a tough economy, schools including Yale and Wharton, are reporting an increasing number of women studying for their MBAs. The average age of MBA students nationwide is 36, although Engel says the average age of her class is about 28, with women making up about a third.
Brooke Ybarra, 27, an MBA candidate at Georgetown studying a two-year program in strategy and finance and a member of Women in Business, says she sees the group as a social and professional networking outlet that helped her interact with other women, which she says make up about 30 percent of her about 260-strong class.
"It's great, we work with Georgetown University's Women's Leadership Initiative, sponsor research projects on gender in workplace, network with employers at major firms and discuss important skills like negotiation in a non-threatening environment."
It's never too late to increase your opportunities
Learn more at University of Phoenix
Next: Single Moms Go Back to School -- Online >>
- 15 Comments
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
connieclear said...
I was a manager of a Circuit City store. I was making over $70K a year but they let me go right after Christmas. In retrospect they did me a favor. I got a couple of months severance pay and used the time I had to find something new and different. I had read many books by Robert Allen and decided to check out a program that he had available. It was a way to develop multiple streams of income, http://tr.im/RobertAllenIncomeStreams . I have to say that he knows his stuff and has excellent ideas and training. I am now making a little more money than I was before and see that my businesses should continue to grow. Best of all, I'm working 20 less hours a week, when I was putting in close to 60 before. I'm able to play ball, have a hobby, and best of all, spend so much more time with my children.
ReplyCliff said...
I've been in the glass business for 30 years. Now that construction stopped, so did my career because of corporations that the government is bailing out. There are a lot us out there who lost our careers and I haven't seen any programs that would bail us out. They bail the crooks out and let the victims bleed. What I'm going to tell you though isn't a sales pitch, it's actually something for free. This is so cool, but it won't be available until Saturday 8/1 after 5:00 p.m. est. Like I said it's free and there are no sales pitches invovled. I was looking at the demo this morning and I can't wait to get it. It'll make your coputer life a whole lot better and much easier. Ill leave the link with you, but it won't be active till after 5:00. --- http://e-bookssite.com/GetFreeHomePage
Mary said...
The rules have changed. If you're looking for a great job, with a great company, with great benefits, that you will have your entire life, until you retire, stop looking. That was then this is now. That job doesn't exist anymore for 99% of us. Unless you have unique and remarkable skills you better figure out what will work best for you and your family. I am a former executive who left the corporate world to help people adjust to the new realities. My suggestion to most is to do what millions of people are doing now, find a good home business or home based job. That won't work for everyone but if you find one that you can get into for virtually no investment and learn the right skills, you should do well.
ReplyThere are two opportunities that my clients have had the most success with. One is an amazing opportunity to profit from Ebay and there are well over 720,000 people making a full time living with them. http://cli.gs/HomeBizSuccessSystem That's a huge company to work with. The other great opportunity is getting a home based job through this incredible home based job recruiting company http://TheBestJobOfYourLife.com . They will hook you up with high paying jobs with major corporations.
So many of my clients tell me that they are loving working for themselves, making more money than before, in less time, and enjoy the extra time they have to spend with their families
Chris said...
Women just think everything is harder for them and they always need support. I wish I could go back and get my MBA with the help of a working spouse! Try being a single man with a full-time career you hate and no way to get out of it! Try having NO support from family or spouses. Try doing it on your own without all the breaks given to women and mothers. Women are so self-centered.
ReplyJennifer said...
Since you are single you do not need a working spouse to help you out, you did not say you were a single father. It is harder for women to break the glass ceiling, but we work just as hard. Do not blame women because of your lack of initiative and creativity to get additional education.
joni said...
you, really need to open up your eyes and relize you are not the only1 thats stuck in the job you have, and not all women have that kind of support, i have 2 children hardly any help at all finacial or otherwise from the father. My mother works almost as much as I do so she can't help even if she wanted to my father just doesn't & I work 6-7 days a week every week to support my children. yes it sucks yes most of us would like the opprotunity to get a MBA, but feeling sorry for yourself and critisizing other people because they do have more support, is a waste of your time and energy not to metion exterely negative which isn't going to do anything to make your possition any better
Nomoneytopay said...
Flexible time for classes is one thing but paying for it is never talked about in these articles espeically when for some reason or another you are told you don't qualify for any government loans or grants.
ReplyI have been told "there always lonas/grants to get by some who say they have friends who work in such areas and could guarantee I could get something.
Then when I went to them they said "No not for you, you are the exception".
Nomoneytopay said...
These articles never talk about how you can pay for the expensive degree.
ReplySome people fall through the cracks of government loans and grants.
Even when I was told on more then on occasion "I have a friend who works for te government getting loans and grants and GUARANTEE you can get something".
After going to the person I have always been told "No not for you, you are the 1 in 1,000,000 exception".
Barb B said...
I hope this article motivates more moms to go back to school and get their MBA. All the subject areas that are studied, writing and presentation skills gained from this experience is priceless. It makes you an overall better individual. Your level of productivity and quality of work just continues to excel to levels that you may have never thought possible. Moms, remember all things are possible you just have to plan and make sure you have a strong support system in place. Be blessed, Barb B , www.koolvideoemails.com and www.barbsfreesoftware.com (download FREE software to compare prices on everything). You will SAVE a ton of money (AS Seen on CNN download the FREE genie).
ReplyJamesK said...
So many times we see websites or get information via email with offers about making money. They always seem too good to be true. I just wanted to let you guys know that I don't regret making the small investment that has allowed so many other doors to open for me. Before I signed up with 123cashsurveys ( http://cli.gs/123cashsurveys ) I felt like my life was so routine - but now it's filled with so many interesting, fun and financially rewarding things to do. I mean, who would have thought you could get paid to give your opinion. WOW!! I do have one regret ... that I didn't find http://cli.gs/123cashsurveys earlier.
ReplyJennifer said...
I'm a single mother with three kids, and I was not pulling in enough income to support us. Now all that has changed. I am now making more money than I have ever dreamed. I've seen articles from other companies promising success in internet businesses before, and I tried some of them because I had nothing to lose. But, they never came close to the success Google ( http://cli.gs/MakeMoneyOnGoogle ) have given me. It took me from a $24,000 yearly income job to making over $50,000 within 9 months. Money is coming in my google account everyday and I am loving it.
ReplyRick said...
My stay at home wife can't even get the fu**** wash done!!
Replyjohn said...
I've been in the glass business for 30 years. Now that construction stopped, so did my career because of corporations that the government is bailing out. There are a lot us out there who lost our careers and I haven't seen any programs that would bail us out. They bail the crooks out and let the victims bleed. What I'm going to tell you though isn't a sales pitch, it's actually something for free. This is so cool, but it won't be available until Saturday 8/1 after 5:00 p.m. est. Like I said it's free and there are no sales pitches invovled. I was looking at the demo this morning and I can't wait to get it. It'll make your coputer life a whole lot better and much easier. Ill leave the link with you, but it won't be active till after 5:00. ---- http://e-bookssite.com/GetFreeHomePage
Replyphil said...
what about white, middle aged men, single parenting two kids and working full time? How bout a program for us? I went back to school cus I could use a better job, but, when I went for the grant I was turned down, I figured I'm the kind of guy supporting this free for all system and if I collect from it, it goes in the tank. Illegal aliens get help easier than my type.
ReplyDianagb@mac.com said...
I am an MBA graduate, NYU Stern School of Business, Mother of 9 month old twin girls. I recently launched Top MBA Mom (www.TopMBAMom.com), an exclusive, membership based, professional and social community for high profile women applying to Top MBA programs, currently pursuing it, or already graduated from it; and are already moms or are planning on it.
ReplyTop MBA Mom connects MBA women (applicants, students and graduates), and allows them to share their experiences, to build social and professional relationships, to improve their career, to get advice on how to balance motherhood and an MBA...
If you are applying to an MBA program, are currently pursuing it, or already graduated; and have children or will have them in the future... Join us!
www.TopMBAMom.com
and become a Fan on Facebook www.Facebook.com/TopMBAMom