Hi. Like to seek everyone's opinion. If I were to take up a MBA, I would be 36year-old by graduation. My current industry does not value MBA, i.e. I would need to switch industry. Am I too old for MBA? I graduated with FCH from local uni almost a decade ago.
Reason for taking MBA: Taking a break from work. Aiming to switch from engineering industry (hands on level aka doing dirty engineering work) to MNCs/Finance industry (management level aka paper warrior)
TIA.
Hello, speaking from experience. Let me give my two cents worth.
It is not easy to switch industry even with a MBA. A full-time MBA may have a little advantage but the employers still see you as someone with certain experience in an industry, they don see you as a fresh graduate. The reason why full-time student may have a little advantage because you have more opportunities to do internship in a different industry where they pay much lesser to hire you and let you try out the new role. Whereas, if you do part-time MBA, you don't have the flexibility to do internship unless you plan to quit your full time job after you got an internship. Furthermore, as a full-time student, you have more time to attend company visits, career talks, training sessions organised by schools and student clubs.
It is not too late for your age to take MBA. Many MBA students are around that age. though there are also quite a number of MBA students in their 20s. (PS: What's FCH?)
Instead of switching totally from one industry to another, I suggest that you can switch your function from hands-on engineering to management level engineering , then switch to another industry in the same management function as before.
Who knows? you may not even want to switch job but to do your own start up along the way in MBA. Taking MBA allows you to get in touch with many people and opportunities which allow you to explore new possibilities about yourself. It is important to choose your school wisely because culture of the school matters.
Do also note that you have to spend some time to study for GMAT and take the exam and get reference letters from your current or former employers.