Hi All - Looking for some career advice... I have 1st Class degree in Computer Science and have worked for Accenture for the past 4 years in Systems Integration. I'm starting to get a little bored and want some direction in my career which I believe consulting cannot provide. To achieve this I am considering leaving ACN to do an MBA before moving into industry i.e. Oil & Gas company, Pharma, Consumer Goods firm etc. (all of which I have experience of).My first question is, is this a common route that people follow... leaving a consulting firm to do an MBA in order to join a firm in industry at a fairly good managerial level?Secondly, as I am not necessarily wanting to join a strategy consulting firm, would an MBA from Imperial Tanaka, CASS etc. be sufficient or should I still aim for LBS and the like?Thirdly, as I will be self-financed is there any financial assistance available to me?Lastly, considering the current economic climate would it be silly to leave a secure job?Thanks.

Dude,A first class degree in CompSci and you don't know not to keep hitting refresh on a forum?EC

I apologize Evil Knievel... maybe I should hand my degree back at the absolute shame of pressing the refresh button one too many times! I like the irrelevance of your response though... made me chuckle!

Ignore silly Evil...The reality is that as much as MBA you learn something but is more about brand name, regardless of where you want to end up after that and believe me is not every HBS or... that ends up in a strategy firm.So aim for the top MBA programmes, you will end up with the strong brand name, good knowledge, strong network and....Good luck with it

I'm not sure that an MBA would make the most sense if you want to move into an industry role; better to look at what you are doing at ACN (ZB will probably make a contribution on that...) and map that across to functions within target organisations. Industry tracks are far less linear that consultancy because you are not being sold on your specific expertise, so you could join Shell or Masterfoods for example in an IT role and would still have opportunities to move across into business areas if you wanted to do so.

Mars,What if you want to work in corp development in industry coming from this type fo background. Surely the MBA would really be necessary?

Moving to corp dev yes an MBA would be useful, and relevant - although not as relevant as an accountancy qualification and/or deep industy knowledge. MBA or no MBA coming from systems integration there would be no clear route into corp dev; moving into a central strategy or business analyst role would be a better move, and then in to corp dev.

Mars,coming from a systems integration background and currently doing an MBA, do you think that two or three years at MBBB would be helpful for a move into corp dev?Thanks.PS: For all those that now wanna say that it is impossible to move with my background into a top strat firm: I am interviewing with MB_B

Don't know why anyone would say you cannot move to MBB from SI via an MBA - it's an accepted and well trodden route.Any experience in corp finance projects, be it with MBB, industry wherever will be useful to transition into corp dev; my point being that you don't need an MBA to make this move in industry, but it certainly helps if you want to get there via MBB. MBB projects in any corp finance, transactions, or market focused area will help position your CV towards corp dev - M&A is obvious, but market entry, competitor sizing, segmentation, even product development or innovations/propositions development can be very useful and highly applicable to corp dev these days.The real value of an MBA, aside of the tools and theories of course, is that is provides a distinct point in your career to change direction by breaking the natural progression employers look for, and employers recognise this. For a move into corp dev, an MSc in Finance from a good uni would be just as useful in place of an accounting qual.

"MSc in Finance from a good uni would be just as useful in place of an accounting qual".I am currently doing CIMA quals and am looking to move from SI&T into a financial analyst role. Is this an accepted route?didn't do Finance masters as I believed the CIMA carries more weight in industry?

"I am currently doing CIMA quals and am looking to move from SI&T into a financial analyst role. Is this an accepted route?"Yes.

Ad,Can I ask where you are doing your MBA? I am an aspiring MBA applicant coming from Acn.

Sure, Cambridge.

Does anybody know of any Consulting firms that sponsor their employees to do an MBA? Are they still sponsoring in the current climate? And would they sponsor a new joiner to do an MBA upon joining or would one need to have completed a certain amount of time with them before they would entertain the idea?

All firms that did have programmes in Europe, required a commitment, usually two years prior work and two years post-MBA work, as a condition for funding.I use the past tense here because most programmes were cancelled in the last slump and the few remaining programmes I am aware of have either been suspended or closed to new entrants.Sponsorship has always been discretionary, but the last five to ten years have seen the approval rate for applications tumble on both sides of the Atlantic as the employee deal shifted towards other benefits (pension, flexible working, etc.).