We said we were going to keep this blog alive but obviously we're struggling. Many things have happened in the last few months. Probably the one that is making the harder impact in our lives is the credit crunch, financial crisis, economic slowdown, recession or however you want to call it.
This crisis -that probably some MBA colleagues have contributed to create- has frustrated the expectations of many of my friends, my hopes too, and I guess is worrying some of the readers of this blog, people taking an MBA in Cambridge or somewhere else and MBA candidates around the world.
But the MBA is not the problem, the crisis is the problem, and without an MBA things will probably be even harder. Of course we all should lower our salary expectations, should forget about some companies -expecially about the ones that went bust-, but I believe I am better prepared to do any job after the MBA and if you are humble enough to take a job that you can do better than anyone else you'll be fine, you'll be promoted soon, you'll get a real MBA job soon.
Why do I say this? Well, I'm a live example of this. I had a low GMAT, not a quantitave background, little management experience, but was very much into entrepreneurship, diversity, internationalisation, marketing and communication, and about management. And somehow I managed to be admitted in Cambridge and that changed my life for life. I hope for the better.
I have a new job since the 1st of January. The 1st of September I returned to my previous employer in a sligthly different role, but first the mere fact of having a Cambridge University degree and second that, of course ;-) I'm a better manager, took me to a senior management position within three month and now I'm the youngest guy in that position ever. I'm still working in the same sector, almost the same employer, but in a compleletely different role and with plenty of opportunities ahead.
But I have to warn you about the upsides too. I have a better job, I got a 50% salary increase, but I work longer hours and as a consequence my quality of life is much worse. I like my job, I enjoy what I do, but I have to handle lots of pressure, fire people, say no, work long hours, and that affects your personal life, specially your family life. We are ok. Miriam is happy, I'm happy. I try to make the most of the time I spend with my kids. But to be honest I hardly can see them at all from monday to thursday. This is something to think about.
More news. I had a foot injury -a stress fracture in the second metatarsal head of my right foot- last december. Now I'm back but I'm out of shape and with the new job I hardly can train on weekdays.
Miriam is very well, working part time and spending time with the kids. Diego has switched to Spanish but can speak and understand English too. Leonardo is starting to say his first words.
This weekend Miriam and I went on holiday with friends for the first time without the kids. It's being fun. We are in the hills in Huelva -Sierra de Aracena- eating great food, drinking beer, wine and rhum, playing table games, playstation, karaoke, basketball and football. Tomorrow everyone awake at 9:30 to watch Nadal-Federer in Australia.
This crisis -that probably some MBA colleagues have contributed to create- has frustrated the expectations of many of my friends, my hopes too, and I guess is worrying some of the readers of this blog, people taking an MBA in Cambridge or somewhere else and MBA candidates around the world.
But the MBA is not the problem, the crisis is the problem, and without an MBA things will probably be even harder. Of course we all should lower our salary expectations, should forget about some companies -expecially about the ones that went bust-, but I believe I am better prepared to do any job after the MBA and if you are humble enough to take a job that you can do better than anyone else you'll be fine, you'll be promoted soon, you'll get a real MBA job soon.
Why do I say this? Well, I'm a live example of this. I had a low GMAT, not a quantitave background, little management experience, but was very much into entrepreneurship, diversity, internationalisation, marketing and communication, and about management. And somehow I managed to be admitted in Cambridge and that changed my life for life. I hope for the better.
I have a new job since the 1st of January. The 1st of September I returned to my previous employer in a sligthly different role, but first the mere fact of having a Cambridge University degree and second that, of course ;-) I'm a better manager, took me to a senior management position within three month and now I'm the youngest guy in that position ever. I'm still working in the same sector, almost the same employer, but in a compleletely different role and with plenty of opportunities ahead.
But I have to warn you about the upsides too. I have a better job, I got a 50% salary increase, but I work longer hours and as a consequence my quality of life is much worse. I like my job, I enjoy what I do, but I have to handle lots of pressure, fire people, say no, work long hours, and that affects your personal life, specially your family life. We are ok. Miriam is happy, I'm happy. I try to make the most of the time I spend with my kids. But to be honest I hardly can see them at all from monday to thursday. This is something to think about.
More news. I had a foot injury -a stress fracture in the second metatarsal head of my right foot- last december. Now I'm back but I'm out of shape and with the new job I hardly can train on weekdays.
Miriam is very well, working part time and spending time with the kids. Diego has switched to Spanish but can speak and understand English too. Leonardo is starting to say his first words.
This weekend Miriam and I went on holiday with friends for the first time without the kids. It's being fun. We are in the hills in Huelva -Sierra de Aracena- eating great food, drinking beer, wine and rhum, playing table games, playstation, karaoke, basketball and football. Tomorrow everyone awake at 9:30 to watch Nadal-Federer in Australia.
