Hi, I am an electrical engineer with 8 years of experience, worked in power distribution, sustainability and renewable energy. I am planning on doing my MBA next year, it seems like a big commitment and wanted to see what others out there think. I am an energy guy, want to spend my life working in the energy field and specifically renewables “Solar, Wind and energy storage”. Currently thinking of applying to Booth for an MBA since I live in Chicago and Booth is, well , booth. My main concerns are the following.

1- Is it worth it for someone like me with energy interest to do his MBA at schools that focus on finance or marketing?
2- I plan to do this part time over 3-4 years. everyone tells me to do full time MBA , however if I got full time I can only afford to go to Urbana. Which route should I take?
3- Is there one year degrees out there in energy management that basically are MBA’s for people interested only in energy business.

My problem is that my end goal is to open my own business in 10 years, but I feel spending 150K now will make it harder to do that in the future. I have been a technical engineer till this moment, and I believe I can make a much bigger impact if I move into business. Any input is appreciated

Hi, I understand that you are based in US so US is your first preference. But since you are interested in renewable energy and also wish to save hard earned dollars, you might as well consider Germany. It will help you save money as well as German universities offer gr8 management programs in the field of renewable energy. You could explore MBA IMRE at Freiberg.

[Edited by Mamit on Oct 24, 2015]

I don't know if an MBA from Germany is the best option for this candidate, as it sounds like he wants to stay in the US after graduation, and I don't know how valuable an MBA from Germany would be in helping to create a network in the US.

There are energy-focused MBAs, but these tend to focus on traditional energy businesses, like oil and gas.

http://find-mba.com/lists/top-business-school-by-speciality/top-business-schools-for-energy-and-natural-resources

McCombs might offer the most well-rounded MBA in energy, though. They certainly have more clean energy curriculum than all the other Texas programs.

Another option is to do an MBA with strong placements in the solar/wind fields. In recent years, this has meant Haas or Stanford, because of their proximity to the Valley and all the clean energy startups that have emerged recently.