<p>If you are eligible for work study, and get a job at a law firm or something…some sort of job, after four years of working through your undergrad, can you use that as the work experience thats needed to apply to MBA programs? im aware that if u get a job at the library then it wouldnt be such a good idea, but if you got a job for a corporation or something, part time, would that count?</p>
<p>Well, obviously, it’s better than nothing. </p>
<p>But clearly it won’t be considered as valuable as full-time experience. The fact is, as a part-time worker, you won’t be exposed to a lot of the intricacies of the job, particularly the politics. One of the most complex problems of any career is handling office politics. As a workstudy student, you are not a serious political threat to anybody in the office, therefore you have little opportunity to prove that you can handle yourself politically. MBA programs want to know that you will be able to have a successful fulltime career, including handling the political aspects of a career.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, like I said, it’s still better than nothing. Just don’t expect miracles to happen if all you have is parttime workstudy.</p>
<p>What about working full time during the summers? I’ll have from early May till late August to work full time while I’m at Cal…add that with 4 years of part-time jobs, great GPA, and a high GMAT score- you don’t think I’d stand a chance at Harvard, Stanford, Sloane, Wharton MBA programs?</p>
<p>Look, you shouldn’t hold your breath in thinking that you will get into a top MBA program without several years of fulltime work experience.</p>
<p>The simple fact is that summer work, while perhaps being full-time in a technical sense, is not the same as a true fulltime job. Why? Because those summer jobs have a defined endpoint, and everybody knows it. Hence, if you’re a summer worker, everybody knows that you’re just there for the summer. Clearly you’re not going to be in line for any sort of promotion or have to engage in too many office politics, because everybody knows you’re a short-timer anyway, so you have nothing to gain from the office politics. Furthermore, the tasks that you will be assigned will obviously not be a ‘normal’ job at that company, but rather something that can actually be performed over the course of one summer. So you’re obviously not going to be given any long-term responsibilities, because they know you’re a short-timer. </p>
<p>So, again, I would emphasize that while summer work is obviously nothing, it is still not equivalent to actually holding down a true, full-time job. The real way to look at the situation is to compare yourself to the competition. Your competitors are going to be applying with multiple years of true full-time experience. Do you really think you are more qualified than they are? Keep in mind that GPA and GMAT are only minor factors when it comes to MBA admissions.</p>
<p>Besides, I don’t see what’s so terrible about going out and working after you graduate.</p>