by Kevin
Deciding to obtain a graduate degree is a difficult decision, especially after you have started a successful and meaningful career right out of college. However, this is exactly the decision a young professional named Brian Davidoff had to make.
I met Brian through a work relationship a few years ago. I will tell you that it has been extremely enjoyable to observe his steps toward career success. After graduating from Dartmouth, Brian began a career in finance with a reputable bank. However, as Brian will describe it, he felt something was missing...
Brian will discuss his reasons for transitioning to graduate school, as well as the uncertainty and the required determination along the way. I hope that his journey will be motivating to anyone who is wondering if their current job is fulfilling their life purpose and if—perhaps—graduate school is the necessary step to capture the next phase of their career. Brian utilized his resources and grit to achieve success with graduate school, and I believe you can too.
Brian is currently an Associate in the Chicago office of Hines Interests, a global real estate investment, development and management firm with a presence in 225 cities across 25 countries. Brian focuses on new developments and acquisitions of commercial real estate in the Midwest United States. Prior to joining Hines, Brian completed his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, concentrating in Finance. Prior to Booth, Brian was an Analyst then Associate within the investment bank at JPMorgan Chase in Chicago. Brian graduated from Dartmouth College in 2014 with a major in Economics.
by Brian Davidoff
In February 2018, I was promoted to an Associate position at a bulge bracket investment bank in Chicago. As a single 26-year-old, I was making enough money to not want for anything, and my working hours were reasonable enough that I could actually enjoy this relative wealth. Just six months later, however, I abandoned that career and started the two-year, full-time MBA program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. So what happened?
The promotion to associate spurred self-reflection and more thoughtful consideration of what I wanted to achieve in and get out of my career. Around this time I started working with Kevin, who helped guide this reflection and planning. My work in investment banking was well compensated, intellectually rigorous, and perceived to be a “good job” by my family and friends, but I was not happy on a day-to-day basis and could not see myself making a long-term career in the industry. Once I came to this conclusion, it was time to make a change. But how?
My family has always placed high importance on education, so graduate school had been on my radar. Now, as I looked to make a career change, pursuing an MBA became the means to that end. With the education, network, and career resources of a top tier MBA program, I was confident that I could both identify a career that would excite me and be able to get my foot into the door of a new industry. But first, I needed to gain admission into one of these programs, which required a stellar GMAT score, supportive letters of reference, compelling essays, a sharp interview, and meaningful work experience.
The summer of 2018 became dominated by applying to business school. While my friends enjoyed the summer weather—boating on Lake Michigan or watching the Cubs at Wrigley—I was face down in my GMAT prep book. Already long work weeks became longer as I would get up early to complete practice problems before heading into the office. When test day came around, I was confident I would get the score I needed to get into a top school. But then I didn’t. The instantly-scored grade flashed on the computer screen, and my stomach sank. The good news was that I could take the test again. The bad news was that it meant three weeks of more studying and ever-higher pressure to do well the second time around. Fortunately, I did.
Still, a strong GMAT score was no guarantee of admission. Plenty of deserving candidates would achieve the same. So, I applied to a handful of schools, including Tuck Business School at my undergraduate alma mater. As an alum of the college and given my strong application, I thought I was a shoe-in. Once again, I was mistaken. It was bad enough to be rejected, but worse because it was the first school I heard back from, causing me to seriously stress whether I would get in elsewhere.
Having worked in Chicago for the prior four years, my preference was to stay in the city, and Booth was my top choice for where to go. The day before Booth officially released admissions decisions, I received a call on my cellphone while I was at work from an unknown 312 number. I stepped away from my desk and answered. On the other end was an admissions officer from Booth. As soon as she spoke the word “congratulations”, I was euphoric. Six months of soul searching, sacrifice, determination, and hard work had paid off. I was extended a spot in Booth’s Class of 2020.