Ullas Pathak (Carlson, ‘22) worked in the energy industry as a consultant for six years before deciding to build his business acumen through an MBA degree. Ullas selected the University of Minnesota Carlson MBA program, where he is finishing his first year. During our conversation, Ullas spoke about his decision to pursue an MBA, and what he believes makes Carlson unique.
MBASchooled: What did you do before business school, and why did you choose to apply to business school?
Prior to business school, I was working as an energy consultant for 6 years with experience in operations, strategy and business development. I thought it was the right time for me to pivot into a different role focused on building corporate strategies. I wanted to build a backbone in finance to make more informed decisions and so decided to pursue my MBA.
MBASchooled: What were the most important criteria to you when selecting MBA Programs to apply for?
The three most important criteria for me were, location, the perceived ROI, and the relationships between the school and corporate partners.
MBASchooled: Based on your own specific career aspirations, what programs, resources or experiences at Carlson were most important to you?
The mandatory courses as Strategic Management, Financial Management and Supply Chain & Operations in the first semester provided a platform to better understand the electives and pathways for upcoming semesters. The enterprise programs in the second and third semester were instrumental in using our academic experience and applying them to real world problems.
MBASchooled: Think back to the MBA application process. What’s something you know now, that you wish you knew then?
I think that the essays and interviews are really important, and something that you shouldn’t procrastinate or wait on. To do this well, it takes a deep understanding of why you want to go to business school, and how it will help you achieve your career goals. Taking the time to answer those questions will set an applicant up for success.
MBASchooled: Why did you choose to attend Carlson?
Carlson is a school that has a relatively smaller class size than other top MBA programs which is something I appreciated. While the program is smaller, that doesn’t hinder its ability to attract top companies to campus to recruit. For example, there are over 15 Fortune 500 companies that are headquartered in Minneapolis. Finally, after looking at the inputs and outputs, it was clear to me that the ROI of the degree was high.
MBASchooled: Now that you’ve been at Carlson for a semester, what’s been your favorite experience, and why?
The Carlson Consulting Enterprise where students in a group of 4-6 students led by an enterprise Director work on a real-time project with corporate clients. It has been my favorite as I got to work on a corporate strategy project interacting with executives, discussing ideas and implementation techniques.
MBASchooled: Oftentimes, the word “culture” gets thrown around when talking about MBA programs. Can you characterize the culture at Carlson?, and share an example of an experience that you think personifies this?
The culture at Carlson is contributing and learning from experiences. When applying for an internship I was able to approach Alumni, peers, other students, and staff with queries. These helped me not to broaden my perspective but understand the giving back culture that is instilled with an MBA from Carlson.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have, for students who are considering applying or applying to MBA programs right now?
Having a clearer perspective and vision of why to pursue an MBA is important and leads to better experience. Networking is key and reaching out to broaden your network is always useful.