Jake Evans (BA ’19, MBA ’26)
In this series, current BC MBA students share their motivations for pursuing an MBA, how they assessed factors like return on investment, and the steps they took towards starting their application process.
For our first post, we feature Jake Evans (BA ’19, MBA ’26), who previously worked as a consultant at TDC, an organization that provides consulting and research services to the nonprofit sector. Post-MBA, Jake hopes to work at a foundation, family office, or wealth management firm to help individuals accomplish their personal financial and philanthropic goals.
How long did it take you to decide on an MBA?
It took me about six months thinking about an MBA to truly decide to pursue this degree.
How did you calculate return on investment for your degree?
I sat down with a notebook on a Friday night. I put down everything I knew about my MBA options—tuition cost, moving expenses, transportation, and healthcare—to see how expensive each option was in terms of absolute cost. From there, I looked at schools’ median salaries upon graduation and asked myself how long it would take to pay myself back.
I considered the costs of an MBA plus the potential missed income over two years, and then, using the difference between my current salary and the potential salary I could receive upon exiting, I did a time-value-of-money calculation to see how long it would take to pay myself back, accounting for compound returns, and asked myself was it worth it?
What did you do to start your search and application process?
I outlined what I wanted and needed to further my career and life goals. I then asked myself if an MBA would help me accomplish these goals, and, if so, what do I value in my education and life. I then prioritized those factors in my search and application process.
Ultimately, I estimate I spent about 90-100 hours in my search, preparation, application, and decision-making process.
How did you know an MBA was the right degree for you?
I knew an MBA was the right degree when I determined what skills and experiences I needed to reach my professional goals. I saw that this degree would give me the depth of expertise and recognition I need to make a leap forward in pursuit of those goals.