After two and a half years of evening classes while working full time, I just graduated from Seattle University's Albers School of Business and Economics with my MBA. When something has been such a constant part of your life for that long, it takes a minute to process when it's finally over. Now that I have some space to breathe, I wanted to reflect on the experience and put some thoughts down while it's still fresh.

About three years ago, I started thinking about the next steps in my career. I had recently onboarded into my product management role and was settling into what felt like a stable place to grow. After bouncing around earlier in my career, having that stability was a relief. It also gave me the mental space to start asking bigger questions about where I wanted to go. I kept coming back to the same thought: what would help me continue advancing, not just in the next year or two, but over the long haul?

As a career changer who transitioned into product management unexpectedly, I was still new to the field and still figuring things out. I had earned a Product certificate from the Pragmatic Institute, which helped establish foundational PM knowledge and gave me more confidence in my day to day work. I wanted something with more lasting impact though, something that would pay dividends for years to come. I had also discovered along the way that I loved product work. It clicked for me in a way that previous roles hadn't, and I knew I wanted to stay in the field long-term. At the same time, I was aware that I didn't have the traditional background that many PMs have, and I never wanted that to become a ceiling for me. Whether fair or not, credentials matter, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't limiting myself.

After researching what successful PMs tend to have in their backgrounds, I learned that many come from either engineering or business. Both paths made sense to me. I've always been interested in the technical side of things, so part of me was drawn toward engineering. The more I thought about it though, the more I felt like an MBA would give me something more valuable for my goals: a well-rounded understanding of the entire business landscape I work within every day. Product management sits at the intersection of so many functions, and having depth in areas like finance, marketing, operations, and strategy felt like it would make me better at the job.

When I started researching programs, Seattle University's Albers School of Business stood out. The program had a strong reputation, the curriculum looked solid, and the location couldn't have been better since it was within walking distance from my home. The cost was also a major factor. Compared to other programs in the Seattle area, it was significantly more affordable, which made the decision easier. After a few months of deliberation and talking it over with people in my life, I applied in early 2023 and was accepted to start that fall. It felt like the right move, even though I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into.

Going in, I didn't know what to expect. I had heard mixed things about MBA programs, with some people saying they were transformative and others saying they were mostly about networking and not much else. My main goal was straightforward: develop a much better understanding of how businesses operate and use that knowledge to inform how I approach product development. I figured that even if the program wasn't perfect, having that foundation would make me a more effective PM and open up more options down the road.

After two years and one quarter of year-round classes, I graduated with a 3.7 GPA. Looking back, I'm glad I made the decision to start when I did. The timing worked out well. The evening program fit into my life in a way that was sustainable, and I was able to continue working full-time while attending two classes per week most quarters. It wasn't always easy, and there were stretches where I was burned out juggling work and school. The structure of the program made it manageable though, and having a clear end date helped me push through the tougher quarters.

Overall, I was satisfied with the education the program provided. The curriculum was split into what they call the Analytical Core and the Behavioral Core. The analytical side covered accounting, finance, economics, and statistics, which gave me a much stronger foundation in the numbers side of business than I had before. The behavioral side focused on management, ethics, and leadership, which ended up being where I found the most personal value. I also took courses in marketing, business strategy, negotiations, and others. My favorite classes were the ones focused on management and leadership. One class on emotional intelligence stands out as particularly impactful. It changed how I think about working with people and managing relationships at work, and I still think about concepts from that class regularly.

On the downside, I had to take some courses that felt like filler. Because of limited availability each quarter, I sometimes had to take classes that weren't aligned with my interests just to keep making progress toward graduation. That said, I tried to approach every class with an open mind, and I found something valuable in each one, even the ones I wasn't excited about going in. Sometimes the unexpected classes ended up teaching me things I didn't know I needed to learn.

The cohort experience was mixed for me. Early on, I had a solid group of people I went through the core classes with, and those relationships were valuable. As the program progressed though, people started moving through at different paces and the cohort dispersed. I would have liked to maintain a more consistent cohort throughout because those deeper relationships made the experience richer. One thing I did really appreciate was that the program had a large group of international students, and their perspectives added a lot to the experience. Hearing how people from different countries and business cultures approached the same problems broadened how I think about things.

As for how the MBA has impacted my work, the biggest shift is that I now consider the broader business landscape more carefully with every decision I make. I think more about how each choice will ripple out and affect different aspects of the organization. For the past few years, I've been working on a software development project from the ground up at my company. It's been like running a startup within a larger organization, and as the sole PM I've touched nearly every aspect of the business: product strategy, go-to-market, operations, stakeholder management, financials, and more. Having that broad foundation from the program has helped me take on challenges I wouldn't have felt confident tackling before. I'm not an expert in every area, but I have enough understanding to ask the right questions and make more informed decisions.

Now that I'm finished, I'm excited to get back to self-directed learning. One of the unexpected benefits of the program was discovering a great selection of books on business, management, and leadership that I probably never would have found on my own. I also discovered podcasts and other resources along the way that have become regular parts of how I continue developing. The program gave me a framework for thinking about my own development that I'll carry forward, and also dramatically increased my interest and curiosity about the field of business as a whole.

As for next steps, I'm currently working on filling in some gaps that the MBA didn't cover. I'm taking the Google Data Analytics Certificate on Coursera to build a stronger foundation in working with data, and I've started learning Python and general software development principles. I've found that I enjoy the technical aspects of my job and working closely with developers, and I want to deepen that knowledge so I can have better conversations and make better decisions. It feels like a natural next step.

Would I recommend an MBA to others? It depends on your situation. It's a significant investment of time and money, and it's not the right move for everyone. If you're looking for a broad, foundational understanding of how business works across multiple functions though, I'm not sure there's a better way to get it. For me, it was worth it.

To anyone considering a similar path: take the time to figure out what you want from the experience, find a program that fits your life and your budget, and commit to getting the most out of every class, even the ones that don't seem immediately relevant. It's been a meaningful investment in my career, and I'm grateful I made it when I did!