Hi Duncan and other Senior members,
I am IT professional with 8 years of work exp. I am looking for career change to Management consulting. Due to personal constraints, I cannot join a full time program.

Can a part time MBA help me in switching careers? I am targeting Kelley Business School, or Krannert Purdue as second choice.

Please advise.

Yes it can.

Thanks Duncan.

Do you think the employers view it differently if it someone is a part time student? Is it a drawback that I may not be able to do an internship?

Yes.

What is your background? Just a note that for older candidates, management consulting is a notoriously hard field to shift into. Why? A top consulting firm usually recruits younger employees, whom they can mold and who have less baggage than older ones. Plus, it's an ultra competitive field: you'll be competing for jobs with people who are 10 years your junior, and who will be able to work for less, etc.

Further hindering your chances are (1) that part-time programs take more time, meaning that you're not getting skin in the game for longer, and (2) that part-time programs will not have the same level of career support that full-time programs will offer, which you will need given your other disadvantages.

My advice to you would be to do a full-time MBA at a school with good relationships to consulting firms, sooner rather than later. Start here:

http://www.find-mba.com/specializations/56/consulting

In the US, Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Duke, Sloan, and Booth would be great choices.

Hi Mba hipster,

First of all, thanks for sharing your views. I have techinal background in IT service industry in pharmaceutical domain. I have led teams and projects in the past. I have 8 years of work exp and I am aged 29.

I thought work experience would come handy during job search. Yes, it will take minimum 2.5 to 3 years to complete the part time MBA. But being the only earner in the family, I can't go full time. Any advice?

I would agree with mba hipster -- consulting tends to be a difficult field to transition into without previous experience (even an internship in a consulting firm would be a bonus) or strong career support.

That said, I would assume that schools with good relationships with consulting firms who also offer part-time MBA programs might be a good place to start. NYU Stern would be a logical choice, for instance. Booth and Kellogg are also worth considering.

Thanks ezra. I am located in Indiana and was thinking to take the resident advantage in the fees and also avoid travel, otherwise Booth or Kellogg would have been the ideal choice.

Alright then, good luck!