Hi all,

Here's my profile for your consideration:

PERSONAL
Male, 30 years, Australian of East Asian descent

GMAT
760 (Q50 V44)
1 attempt only

UNDERGRAD
2003, Bachelor of Computer Science from a local university (ranked in the 200s by topuniversities.com)
Terrible GPA - not sure how it converts to the US system, but, expressed as a percentage, around 65%

WORK HISTORY
Total 6-7 years in government, specialising in web and online service delivery, with consistent promotions, culminating in appointments as the Principal Information Strategist for one government agency, and then as the Development Manager for Whole-of-Government e-commerce solutions. Government career has had two interruptions, listed below:
- 1 year as the owner/manager of a retail chain (4 locations) of which I had previously been a silent partner
- 1 year as an army officer in a HQ role

EXTRACURRICULAR
- 6 years active in a major political party, including campaign work, volunteer staff work for a senator and various appointments including chairman of my local branch
- 6 years as an army reserve officer, including graduation from Royal Military College, various Troop Commander appointments, guest instructor at foreign academy and a year with the regular army (see work history)
- Property investment enthusiast, reached 7 figure net worth in 2008, and branched out into ownership of small businesses (including one that I managed for a year - see work history)
- Rock climber, scuba diver etc.

LONG TERM GOAL
Grand innovation in the delivery of public services (from both government and non-government providers). May be achieved as a senior member of a consultancy, public corporation, think tank or civil service. Ideally, I'd like to devise and implement the sort of innovations that are then emulated in neighbouring jurisdictions.

SHORT TERM GOAL
Undertake MBA and convert career to management consulting, to accelerate exposure and experience, and broaden context of career to include businesses and governments worldwide.

So the questions are: What tier of school would I be eligible for? I aspire to top schools like London Business School, INSEAD, Harvard etc. My interest is more in Europe/Asia than USA, but I'd gladly study in USA if it was the right school. Also, does my short term goal logically support my long term goal? Are both adequately supported by my experience to date?

Cheers,
CC

Well, the hurdle is getting into the sort of MC firm that does that kind of work. MBA entry sounds straightforward but your background means that most of the M3B big strategy consulting firms will not touch you. That said I think a two year programme will be better for you. The big four and smaller MC firms might be interested in you.

Why are you not looking at masters in public policy programmes like Harvard, Tufts, Johns Hopkins, or the dual degree options between the Columbia/LSE/IEP/Hertie/NUS partners?

Thanks JK Duncan. I'm more interested in an MBA than a government-specific degree because I'm specifically interested in those parts of government that can be run/managed like a business. Plus, I'd like to get some private-sector cred to round out my CV.

When you say that M3B big firms won't touch me with my background, do you mean the fact that I've been in government my whole life?

Normally for some route in investment banking and management consulting you gotta go to Ivy League colleges, doing the analyst training and then MBA then associate.

If you fall out of that route it is difficult to break into the circle later.

Also the prime age to do MBA is before 28 and not over 30. Else you will find that your boss is younger than you etc. and it will be difficult

No, I mean your undergraduate record, and especially your GPA. They are generally pretty snobbish with their MBA hires. Most of their MBA hires worldwide are alumni of just ten schools.

My interest is more in Europe/Asia than USA, but I'd gladly study in USA if it was the right school.