When I announced that I’m returning home to Eastern Europe after completing my MBA in the States the decision raised a few eyebrows and got me some sympathetic smiles.

‘What’s the point of getting an MBA if you cannot stay in the US?’

‘What opportunities do you have back home?’

‘Weren’t you able to secure a good job at Google or Amazon?’

After graduating from a prestigious MBA program such as Northwestern’s, I had a real chance to get a high-paying job in the valley. Settle in one of the most sought after cities in the world. Pay off my loans and save for retirement. Sip free smoothies in my company’s cafeteria.

As David Perell of North Star Podcast noted: ‘The largest economic opportunities are in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The return to living in these cities is increasing — especially if you work in technology.’

Economic opportunity is everything. And there doesn’t seem to be much of it in Eastern Europe. In everybody’s mind I failed miserably.

Before I go any further I want to clear things up – if I stayed in the US I wouldn’t be much better off financially. Here’s why: 

  • My $120k tuition was almost entirely covered by a sponsoring organization conditional on me returning to my country for 3 years after graduation.
  • I received a job offer from a big tech company in the US, but it wasn’t a very generous one by MBA standards.
  • If I chose to stay in the US I would have to return the full tuition amount. Plus, incur a  much higher cost of living.

So, if you can’t tap into the opportunity to relocate to a first world country, does an MBA still make sense?

1. My MBA helped me switch careers. After six years of marketing experience things were getting stale. I wanted to try a career in product management, but didn’t know where to start. Not only did I need to learn a whole set of new skills, but also take a huge pay cut due to my lack of experience. I started wondering if there’s a better way to do it. 

I was not alone, according to TheMuse.com: ‘Approximately 1 in 3 prospective MBA students use their management education to pursue opportunities in new industries or job functions they have not worked in.’

Not only did I change my industry (from advertising to tech), but also my position (from account manager to product manager). People warned me that I shouldn’t do both at once – I won’t have the work experience in the new position to back it up. However, during my 2 years of MBA I got plenty of opportunities to develop and practice these skills:

  • Took 5 classes related to product management to develop those product skills
  • Participated in 2 competitions where we had to find the product-market fit for a new technology. I won one of them.
  • Participated in 2 entrepreneurial labs spanning 10 months, in which we created, sold to customers and pitched to investors our tech start-up. 
  • Finally, I interned as a product manager at Twitter to validate if this sort of job is for me

Now, I’m working in a great tech company in Ukraine called Readdle. I am managing a team of 10 people and deciding the future of the Scanner Pro application. It has millions of downloads and is highly profitable. I don’t think I would ever get this level of responsibility without having an MBA under the belt.

2. My MBA taught me to network. I am a naturally shy and reserved person, who keeps to herself and thinks twice before saying something. During my American MBA experience I was constantly in the hot seat – trying to survive the incredible amount of communication that was expected of me. 

Coffee chats, lunch and learns, club meetings, networking events, project presentations, mock interviews, competitions… But after a while creating connections or starting a conversation with a stranger felt easier. I was no longer assuming that the person I’m trying to talk to is not interested in me or doesn’t want to help.

When I returned to Ukraine, I started reaching out to unknown people on Linkedin inquiring if they had a vacancy in their company. My old self would find this terrifying, but my new self knew better. Some people were not looking to hire at that time, so they offered advice or referred me to their friends in other companies. Others were opened to having a discussion and after a dozen coffee chats and 3 interviews I finally got my job offer. 

I developed a strong professional network that I can tap into anytime to get access to better opportunities.

3. My MBA helped me earn more. In my case, I started earning twice as much as I did before my MBA. If I would stay in my old position for two years I would definitely get a couple of salary raises, but I honestly doubt they would bump my income that much.  

Part of that is because I switched industries, part of that is because I became a better professional and part of that is I started negotiating. Before MBA, the concept of negotiations was foreign to me. I knew it could be done, but I dare not do it. 

The most important thing about negotiating is to know how much you’re worth. After returning to Ukraine, I researched the market and was crystal clear about what my background would ‘cost’. Asking for that number got me a better salary, more benefits, and improved my self-confidence.

MBA is not for everybody, but for me it was a transformative experience. It taught me to be confident and resilient in achieving the things that I want in life. 

And this doesn’t change whether I live in the US or in the Ukraine.