MBlog07

[Chris] October 29th

So mid-terms are over and the final six weeks of the semester are coming up. Although I think I finally adjusted to being back in school, I think the following couple of months are going to be even busier. Last week almost everyone in the class was assigned a thesis project to begin working on with a partner company. Although I was excited to begin the project, I know that the hardest part of the program (atleast in my opinion), is going to begin. To complicate things even more, the second half semester classes are set to begin….back to the transition period.

Mid-Terms

This week is Mid-term exam week for MLog students. They were not nearly as scary as I imagined. MIT is tough- especially our program- but it is comforting to know that the majority of the professors do not want students to fail (my perception is professors are more concerned with learning than grades). Another comfort is the comradery among the MLog students, instead of competition, which I hear is typical of  top-rated MBA programs. In my opinion, the small size of the MLog class makes us feel both elite and close-nit.

October 15th

Since everyone else has been writing about what classes and the job search is like, I figured I woud write about what living in Cambridge is like. Since I came from Detroit (go Tigers!!), I think Cambridge is a pretty cool city to live in. There aren't a lot of restaurants near MIT, but there are quite a few in Harvard Square which is only one T stop away. Boston is only a short walk away too, and it is as fun as any other city I've ever been to. There are hundreds of retaurants, bars, and everything else other major cities offer. Even though we don't have much time to get out, I think the best place to spend it is downtown Boston. Well, I'm off to finish the rest of my 260 (Logistics Systems) homework. Its due in a couple of hours, and I still have a few things to do. See everyone next week.

Career

Career Fair '06 took place in the third week of September, and like the rest of the MIT student community, the MLOGGERs participated in a number of company presentations and "office hours" in between classes.  You're probably thinking, 'these guys just started school, and they are already talking about getting jobs!'  Well, the fact of matter is that most companies are competing against one another for talent, and students in turn are competiting for a finite number of opportunities. 

BTW, if you are interested in consulting at all, be advised that most consulting firms conduct interviews in October and November.  And yes, case interviews comprise a big portion of the selection process.  Since case interviews are totally different from behavioral interviews, whose format is more familiar to most of us, we MLOGGERs have found ourselves adding case interview prep to what is already a long list of academic and professional pursuits.   

I know many of you might find this discussion rather premature, but it's your career we are talking about.  It's never too early to position yourself to exploit the many opportunities that the MIT brand offers.  I invite my fellow bloggers to weigh in.  Guys?

[Gautam]: Classes, Classes and more Classes

As we started the MLOG program, I remember wanting to take as many classes as possible, in order to make the most of being at MIT. During the first few weeks I had a chance to experiment with various classes offered across the different programs at MIT. However, as the semester started to kick in, I realized that there are only so many hours in a day and I finally managed to reduce my course load to what I think is a more manageable level (assuming I can optimally use the 24 hrs in a day). Though, Chris has warned me that it is still “high” according to MIT standards.

I must say that what has really made me overcome the challenges of this demanding course load is the value I am getting out of each and every course. There have been days when I have survived only on four hours of sleep, and yet it hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm I feel while sitting in a lecture that completely transforms the way I think. Most of our professors bring in a real-world flavor into their lectures. While discussing a case in my Manfacturing Strategy class, the professor video conferenced in a MIT alum who was at that company when the key decisions were made. It was amazing to hear his perspective on what actually happened. Our Logistics Systems class has also had different professors / researchers from the CTL department come in and deliver a lecture in an area that they have been involved in either from a research perspective or in their past experiences.

During the course of the year, there are also numerous opportunities to listen to speeches by many of the top industry leaders and executives that MIT hosts. For example, I had a chance to attend a speech on Leadership in the Automotive Industry by G. Richard Wagoner (Chairman and CEO, General Motors).

But there has been more to just classes. The weekends have provided a great opportunity to explore Cambridge and Boston with many of my fellow MLOGgers. I plan to cover more on “Life outside of MLOG” in my next post.

Full Speed Ahead

October 10

We are just coming off of a four day weekend, which I took advantage of by going home to Indiana.  Taking your mind off of classes can be dangerous on most weekends, as the MLOG program is quite intense.  However, teachers seem to be understanding that MIT students get two days to honor Columbus (or they realize that by the beginning of October we really need it!).
Don't get me wrong. I love the fast pace of the MLOG program. It is designed so that we can get the maximum benefit from being at MIT in a short amount of time. Coming from a consulting background, I am used to working long hours on projects and frankly, I enjoy the challenge. The great thing about this program is that the work is very focused and practical on a subject that I enjoy (i.e. supply chains). My consulting projects didn't always meet this criteria.

I've really been amazed at how much I have already learned in such a short amount of time. For example, I've already learned to do basic demand forecasting. A month ago, I wouldn't have known where to start and now I could walk into many small companies and really help them to improve the accuracy of their forecasts. I may be fooling myself in this instance, but the point is that I really feel like the degree has been living up to its reputation.

[Debbie] Intro to Classes

September 20

Amazing.  I never expected to learn anything from a writing class.  However, I both enjoyed and benefitted from a lecture by Bill Haas.  He put clips of many students' papers up on the board, and had us critique each other's work.  It was fantastic, practical, and eye-opening.  I realized the hard way that humor is a no-no in the academic world.  I had a talk with a friend who's a professional academic, and he says that the only way to tastefully add humor is with understatement.  I thought I did that well, but apparently my last homework assignment lacked taste.  At least it gave the class something to laugh about.

October 1

Found a new motivation - I need to succeed so I can come back and join the Sloan Fellows program.  They have the most fantastic seminars, with Jack Welch and Dr. Axe, the guy who may have invented Operational Strategy.  With what grace, wit, and projection these masters of science speak!  A few mloggers snuck into the first sessions, to get a taste of everything that MIT has to offer.  This was a fantastic experience, even if there isn't space for us during the rest of the semester.  There also wasn't space for me in Sloan's Negotiations class, but that didn't stop me from sneaking into the first session.  It was an absolute riot - business students sitting on top of one another in the aisles.  I soon found out why.  One of the exercises was arm wrestling!  In another exercise, we broke into teams and communicated with other teams using numbers over the internet.  I was picked to be a delegate of my team, since I was not going to stay in the class, and had few(er) qualms about lying to the other team about our pricing strategy!  The other students had to be more cautious, as they had reputations to uphold within their business network.  What a riot.  I suprised myself by being a shrewd negotiator, and somehow had the upper hand by sticking to an unfavorable position, until the other team gave fantastic concessions.  It felt great to be patted on the back by second-year MBA students.

Fortunately there's another negotiations class offered later in the semester, and that is more theory-oriented.  Also, there's plenty of space for us in the Sloan Ops Management club.  Hearing Jeff Bezos of Amazon speak was thrilling - here's a guy who laughed his way around a million obstacles to become one of the century's greatest tycoons.

[Debbie] The first month

Sept 2

Orientation couldn't have been more fun and relaxing.  We walk in the first day and we have these huge binders that tell us everything we need to know about classes, getting a job, picking a thesis, and navigating the campus.  Dave tells us companies are paying $35k and up for a chance to give us a thesis topic.  John tells us that the average starting salary of last year's class was $97k.  It's virtually impossible for us to fall behind, cause the program is counting on us to succeed and spread goodwill for future classes.

Orientation has a party atmosphere from the beginning.  Either we're having beers at one of the three pubs on campus (R&D, Muddy, and Thirsty,) or we're being wined and dined courtesy of the Grad Student Council.  I can't believe the sense of community here.  Everyone's automatically in the in-crowd, a member of the student council, part of the engineering systems division, and an
affiliate of all the other scientists in the room.  Future braintrust central feels great.  I feel like I've arrived.  The only thing missing is ice cream, so I'm taking a break to enjoy my personal stash.

Sept 5

Orientation is getting wild.  The mock classes totally kicked my butt.  It took me a while to get everything set up on my machine, but at least the IT guys were friendly, thorough, and happy to help.  I realized I know absolutely nothing about Excel, not having used it since I got my bachelors.  But now I know how to make charts like a pro again.  Necessity breeds invention.  I might even master pivot tables and access queries by the time I graduate.

I've lived here six years and I've never gotten off a ferry to explore any of the Harbor Islands.  The Outward Bound leadership training day was fantastic, for that experience alone.  But it also forced me to hug quite a few people.  I'm happy to report that all my classmates (so far) use deodorant. 

Look at how amused I am!  ===>

Sept 10

I walk in the first day of classes to get a cup of coffee from the lab kitchen.   A fellow classmate (hi, Anindya) asks, "Have you done your homework?" and I almost drop the pot. I must have looked horrified, because he and a few others burst out laughing.

Sept 15

Today was resume submission day.  Somehow word got out that I was a decent editor.  With a flair for buzzwords.  Suddenly there was a queue of five guys waiting for critiques.  There went the afternoon.  But editing is its own reward. I'm a dork and love grammar, at least more than most engineers.  So I
moved a few commas, and got to write red ink all over the most amazing resumes ever.

This guy generated millions of dollars of sales in Russia!  This guy kept a billion bucks worth of trains running!  This guy made cool computers and rearranged the product's supply chain already!  Why isn't he teaching our class?

Yeah, well, at least I'm still a rocket scientist.