Recently I talked with career expert Alexandra Levit who talks about needing an MBA to move up the corporate ladder, using the skills you learn at one job to transition to another job, and using virtual assistants at your job.
I think a lot of times we tend to focus on Untemplating our life to start our own company or travel. We forget that many people value finding a corporate job that pays well, is comfortable, and allows you enough hours to yourself to spend with family, friends, and your hobbies.
Here’s a summary of our interview:
Do I need an MBA to move up the corporate ladder?
Completely depends on the career that you have.
There is one career that you MUST have an MBA to progress: Brand Management in the field of marketing
Before you get an MBA:
- Talk to people who have gotten an MBA to figure out the value that they received
- Talk to people in your similar career path who are above you to find out if they have an MBA
- Figure out the ROI: MBA’s take 2-3 years of your life and potentially $100,000 in tuition and salary opportunity cost
Are large companies hiring young 20 somethings to lead their social media efforts just because the individual has a marketing blog?
Companies are hiring people for positions such as Community Manager or Social Media Manager. You most likely will not be hired as the director of marketing for a large organization; however, you can be hired as a director of marketing for a small company or a startup company.
What is the average salary for a Community Manager?
Alexandra has seen some companies pay up to $75,000 in salary to a community manager
If I’m an accountant, have I locked myself in this one career path or can I easily transition into another industry or field?
The Big Four is one of the best places to get your start right after college. Take a job that is going to allow you to receive the greatest range of transferable skills:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Project Management
- Client Relations
- Finance
Recommended website: http://bls.gov/ooh
Is it possible to outsource part of your work to a virtual assistant without letting your managers know (a la Tim Ferriss)?
Alexandra has never seen outsourcing to a virtual assistant done within a corporate environment. She has seen entrepreneurs and freelancers use virtual assistants successfully.
Do not outsource work tasks to a virtual assistant that is not employed by your firm.
Have you seen professionals transition a 9-5 in-office job into a position where he or she can work on it from anywhere in the world?
75% of the companies that Alexandra works with are open to a flexible, out-of-office work arrangement.
50% of the professionals Alexandra knows works from home at least one day a week.
Look around your department to see if anyone else is doing it or if there is a policy that is already in place for working out of the office. If there isn’t a policy, you can definitely start one. Put together a proposal that shows the company why you working from home one day a week is beneficial to the company.
Are there any plans to provide transcripts of the interviews? This old machine doesn’t handle web-based video all that well, and, frankly, I can read a lot faster than I can listen.
Good suggestion. We’ll look into doing this for future interviews.
Great interview, my wife is actually getting her MBA right now, but she’ll be helping to track down terrorist once she gets it. Personally I’ll stick with the library.
Social Media Manager… That’s a real job title now, huh? I dig it. 🙂 That is totally the sort of job I could see myself doing… (Any excuse to learn how to more effectively use it, right?) In fact, I’ve always wondered *how* to get into that sort of job…. Exactly what qualifies one as proficient in social media these days?
Social Media Manager:
1. Have an influential blog
2. People should be following your Tweets
3. Know what Four Square is
Bonus: Write “social media expert” all over your bios 😛
But in all seriousness, just check out this link for all the positions available: http://jobs.mashable.com/a/jbb/find-jobs
Always a great interview Jun and glad I was introduced to Alexandra.
One thing that stood out to me was the end… The hobby/work balance.
I am a musician and I started playing 4 shows a week all around the midwest and working a day job. Weddings were rolling in and it was kicking ass! Then it just hit me… I was losing my love for music. I was playing music that others enjoyed, not myself. I was focusing on how much money I could make in 5 hours at a wedding. It sucked. I stopped. Now I play weddings, bars, new music that I write, I enjoy, and as a hobby. The money still is there but not at all the focus…
Result: Shows are a blast, I actually have a niche, more people are following the work I do, and I am not afraid to tell the story of how it all went down.
Your interview was awesome and hit the nail on the head with about every tip… As far as the Virtual Assistants… I still need to learn how to delegate more…
Thanks,
Shane Mac
Love this topic. My thesis on what people will say here:
1) Those who don’t have an MBA, will say an MBA is not necessary.
2) Those who do have an MBA, will praise the benefits the degree gave them.
3) Very few will argue the other way around.
If you want to make 6-figures, it’s pretty obvious after looking at every single MBA ranking publication out there that you can, if you go to a Top 25 school. The average income for a 28-29 yr old grad out of The Top 10 is $140,000 (USNWR, FT, Economist, ETC).
Nobody needs anything. You only need what you want.
Jun, c u at 111 Minna St. tonight. Will try and drop by around 7:30pm.
Best,
Sam
Thank you for this interview Alexandra, very good stuff.