MBlog

[Anne] Heading out of Boston soon!

Well….my last real week in Boston is here. I will leave town to go back to Virginia for the summer after the MLOG Re-connect Day, but I am planning on returning for graduation in a few weeks. Truth to tell, I feel quite strange now that everything has been turned in. I have been working “full steam ahead” for so many weeks now finishing up my thesis and executive summary that it hasn’t quite sunk in yet that it’s all over and done with.

Now that I actually have a few moments to process some of the past year, I will leave you with some of my final thoughts that I would have liked someone to have told me when I came to Boston last summer.

1. Is it a lot of work?
Yes, but you can do it! I had a rather chaotic summer last year due to events outside my control, so by the time I came to Boston I was already rather stressed out. I remember Rida telling me during orientation that I worried too much and that everything would work out okay. It seemed hard to believe at the time, but sure enough, she was absolutely right.

2. Set some of your priorities early on when you get here.
You will find that some people will spend hours practicing case interviews in September, others will start their thesis in August, some will take more classes than you’d even believe if I told you, and some will broaden their horizons by attending courses at other colleges such as Harvard Business School . There’s no “one right answer” here for this one. People have different priorities as to what they want to do in the long-run. The main thing is that before you get here, I’d encourage you to think about what you really want to get out of the experience. Then…go for it!

3. Take advantage of what MIT has to offer.
I attended some really interesting lectures this year about topics from disaster relief to RFID…but not as many as I could have in hindsight. The community of learning at MIT is something really to be cherished while you’re here, so check out the calendar of events periodically on the MIT website and let your brain rest from your classes while you learn about something completely different for an hour!

4. Thank your family and friends in advance for supporting you throughout this program.
I knew a one-year Master’s degree at MIT would be an intense experience going into it, but I didn’t know until later how much I would come to depend on my family and friends to make it successfully through the program. Even when you feel busiest, take the time to enjoy yourself during your breaks from school. It sounds trite, but you really do need it.

5. Go to a Red Sox game! Other than the weather (which is unpleasant most of the time), Boston has a ton to offer.
One of my favorite experiences was taking in a Red Sox game with my fiancé on a weekend visit…even if you’re not a huge baseball fan, it’s such a great cultural experience! Other Boston/New England favorites of mine…the restaurants of the North End, a car ride to Cape Cod, or an afternoon train ride to a random seaport town like Rockport.

Okay, that should be enough of my ranting for a while J Last thoughts…if you’re nervous about the speed and intensity of the program, as I was when I started…I am here to tell you that yes, it goes by incredibly fast, and yes, it is intense. So plan ahead, work hard, and then enjoy the ride.

[Tony] Off Campus Housing

Since I live off campus I thought I'd give a little advice about living off campus.  First, I'll say that I had no intention of living on campus.  After living in my own place for six years, and having no roomate for any of the last three, I wasn't too interested in any housing that meant sharing my place.  I also had a car and an apartment full of furniture, and it just seemed easier to find an apartment and bring all my stuff with me.  With that being said, the on campus housing is much better than I thought it would be.  After seeing some of the places my classmates live it is definitely a far cry from the dorm I lived in as a freshman in undergrad.  So you should definitely consider the on campus options.

Now, on to my advice for off campus living.

Neighborhoods:
My advice is to live within walking distance of the East edge of campus or in Central, Harvard, Porter, or Davis Square.  These are all neighborhoods in Cambridge, and they are easily accessible to campus by the red line of the T .  In fact, most of your classes will be on the edge of campus right by the Kendall Square stop on the T, which makes it pretty convenient.  You'll pay more to live in Central or Harvard, but they have a better collection of shops, restaurants, and bars.  I live in Porter, and I like it.  There's a lot conveniences, like a big grocery store, and enough bars and restaurants to keep me happy.  Davis Square is kind of a quirky little neighborhood and it's not too far from the Tufts campus, so there's definitely a student population.

You could also choose to live across the river in the Beacon Hill or Back Bay areas of Boston.  A friend that lives in Boston told me I should live there if I wanted the real Boston experience.  It's a bit more expensive than Cambridge, but it's a nice area with lots of young professionals.  Other than that I'm not familiar enough with other neighborhoods to comment.  You'll want a place with easy access to campus, either via the red line or maybe the bus down Mass Ave.

Finding a place:
The Boston aparment market is pretty tight will all the students.  Most leases start on Sep 1st, and since you'll need to be in town in August that is both a blessing and a curse.  You'll be beating the big rush if you sign a lease on Aug 1st, and you might be able to get a slightly better deal since landlords would prefer to get it rented a month earlier.  The bad news is that when you are looking at apartments the majority of them will be for September.

Because the market is tight you might have to pay a finders fee.  A full fee is equal to one month's rent, and will be due up front.  Some places will be half fee, and others will be no fee or the owner will pay the fee.  You may be able to negotiate down from full to half, or half to none, so give it a try.

There are a couple ways to find a place.  The most common is to go through craigslist .  There will be apartment listings by landlords and realtors on there.  You can also find rooms for rent or people looking for roomates.  The realtors, or apartment rental agencies, will have lots of apartments to show.  Let them know what you are looking for and they will likely have several that meet your criteria.  The downside is that you'll likely pay a fee if you go through a realtor, though sometimes the landlord pays half or all.  Realtors are a good way to see several places and save yourself the time of sorting through all the listings.  Just explain what exactly you are looking for and don't let them show you something you don't want.  There won't be as many listings from landlords, but they won't have fees.

Another way to find apartments is through MIT's housing department .  They have listings of apartments that are available as well as people looking for roomates.  MIT owns some housing, and this is often below market rate.

Advantages of living off campus:
These are just my opinions, so your mileage may vary.  I like living off campus because it feels like I have a life outside of MIT.  I get to come to campus for class, hang around in the lab, but at the end of the day I leave campus behind and can go home.  I also feel like it's more of a Boston experience (or Somerville experience in my case).  I take the T, I eat at different restaurants, and just in general feel like I'm getting a better feel for the city.  I also have my own place, with my stuff, and don't have to share.   Finally, I think I have a lot more  space than somebody living in say the Warehouse, so it feels like I'm not cooped up in my apartment, the way I think I might if I lived in something smaller.

Disadvantages:
The biggest for me is that most of your classmates will live on campus, so you might not see as much of them.  This could be considered an advantage, but I happen to like my classmates.  It's also going to cost more to live off campus.  Rents typically run about $1000/month for a studio, and $1200+ for a 1 bedroom.  For 9 months and the promise of a good job after graduation I was willing to pay extra.  Of course now I'm staying for a PhD and might want that cash back, but I sitll don't think I'll move on campus.  Finally, as other bloggers have mentioned there are activities going on centered around the on campus living communities, and you'll miss out on the chance to meet more of your fellow MIT grad students.

I hope this gives anyone considering an off campus apartment an idea of what is involved.  If I missed anything you have questions about just leave a comment and I'll try to address it.

[Rida] Jobs and General FAQ

I understand that alot of you are interested in the career outlook. Here I am composing some general FAQs. This is just my personal opinion. My classmates may have other perspectives. (Hey guys, feel free to put in your 2 cents as well)

1) Is there enough time in the MLOG program to participate in extracurricular activities or networking while this is an intensive 1 year program?

The answer is: It all depends on how much you want to accomplish and how motivated you are. If you are class of '07 you have been personally handpicked and clearly you have the capacity and potential to succeed. So it is really up to you to steer your own course. Some of my classmates are taking many many units while still taking the time to participate in social events.

2) Could you comment on how recruiters and the business world view MBA versus MLOG? Is one of them more reputable than the other?

While the nature of the MLOG program is not the same as MBA, recruiters view MLOG students as focused supply chain professionals. This is not to say that the degree only confines you to pursue supply chain careers. In fact, this year our classmates are getting job offers as project managers, healthcare consultants, management consultants, supply chain analysts & managers, military leaders, startup founders, directors in various large industries.  There is an advantage to distinguish yourself from being an MBA. More recruiters are starting to know about MLOG now because of the strong alumni network and its reputation.

3) What is it really like for MLOG recruiting compared to MBA?

Chris brings in over 30 companies over the course of the year.   Quite a few offers was  made as a result of this exclusive MLOG recruiting.  Nonetheless, the choices might be limited so it is best that you take charge of your career hunt in the area that you really want.  Sloan students probably might have more choices when it comes to the breadth of jobs. However, there is an advantage of being MLOG over MBA. For one thing, many people from top MBA programs are competing for a limited number of highly demanded jobs such as management consulting.  MIT is well-known for engineering and MLOG is an engineering degree. In that sense you are able to "brand" yourself apart. In general, the trend is that there are many MBAs from many schools out there right now. Think about supply and demand in the long run.

4) What other venues are there to look for jobs?

There is MIT monterstrak that alot of students use. This is a good tool but not all the jobs might be fitting as some of these jobs are looking for graduates without experience. There are quite a few recruiting presentations among MIT ESD  that you might be able to find opportunities. I would have to repeat the cliche that the best way to get good jobs is build your trust among your networks  :)

5) What are my chances of getting into top management consulting firms like BCG, McKinsey, Bain, etc?

Every year in the MLOG program there are several people who chooses to join these companies. While I myself did not pursue this route, I should probably defer better advice to my classmates. In any case, I still believe that a smart way to go about this is to prepare and practice.. practice... practice your case study during this summer. Yes, I said this summer! You will not have time once school starts. Consulting recruiting starts Sep/ Oct :)

IMHO the key to landing these jobs is
a) make your cover letter/resume attractive to capture the recruiters attention
b) how good and confident you can answer the case questions during interviews
c) how fast you can think on your feet (Refer to my blog on improvisation)
d) can you present and communicate in a coherent way and structured way?

At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide what you want to get out of the program. Classes, company presentations and various resources are abundant here at MIT so it's really your choice how to make the most out of it. You can take things as ambitious as you like. Enroll in classes in Harvard or join clubs. Or like me, while I have a general idea of what I want for my career, I prefer to take the time to truly enjoy the experiences and let that  guide me to wherever it might be.

[Anne] A word about housing...

One of the big things I was curious to learn about when I applied to the MLOG program was where I should live in Boston. I decided to go the "on-campus" route, after I found out how much one-bedroom apartments cost around here. A lot of MLOGers have had a very different experience than I have living off campus, so maybe at some point they will be kind enough to share their perspective (hint, hint, Tony...)

As for me, I decided to live in the Warehouse Apartments. I highly recommend it, and although you will find it more expensive than many of the on-campus options, from my experience it has definitely been worth the extra money. It is about a 15-20 minute walk from E40, and there is a shuttle that comes every 20 minutes (although it is often late or early, so don't always count on it!) Each apartment in the Warehouse has its own bathroom and kitchen area. I love living alone, so this was a must for me. The Warehouse is about a 10 minute walk from the grocery store, and about a 15 minute walk from Central Square. The best part about the Warehouse, though, is that since it's a fairly small residence hall (200 rooms maybe??) there are socials at least once a week and I thought it was easy to make friends here. The socials almost always involve free food, too, which you learn to cherish as a graduate student. Anyway, for me it's been a great way to meet other people at MIT and make some friends outside the MLOG program. Oh...one other thing...all the people in the Warehouse are all first-year grad students (mostly Sloan MBA students), so it was really nice moving in and knowing that everybody else was just as new to MIT as I was.

Another option is Sidney-Pacific, which is right down the street. Several MLOG students have lived there this year, too. When I was putting down my choices for housing last year I couldn't tell much of a difference between Sid-Pac and the Warehouse, because they are both very new dorms, so the facilities are nice. They're also in the same part of campus on the northwest side. Just so you know, Sid-Pac is HUGE and the atmosphere is a lot different than the Warehouse because it's so much bigger. Anyway, my point is that they both cost about the same, but if you can get into the Warehouse, I think it's definitely worth it.

I agree with Tony now that the light is at the end of the tunnel. I just got my thesis signed yesterday, and I can't even say how happy I am. I practically skipped all the way home from the lab yesterday! It was the best feeling of accomplishment knowing that you finished something that was started 9 months ago! So I think that  light is getting bigger all the time!

[Tony] The Light at the End of the Tunnel

It's hard to believe that the school year is coming to an end, but it is.  Nine months goes by in a hurry when there's so much to do.  The last few weeks have been the most hectic of the year for me as I try to get my thesis finished, and I'm sure many of my classmates feel the same way.  It's too bad that it works that way--the nice weather and acceptances of job offers make this the perfect time for celebration.

One of the things I've liked best about MLOG is how quickly your classmates go from being strangers to friends.  I was originally concerned about the small class size and one year length of the program being detrimental to establishing a network  of career contacts, but I don't feel that way any more.  As one of my classmates pointed out the focused nature of the program means that while you might only have 30 people in your cohort they are all likely headed towards supply chain related careers.  It's doubtful you'll get to know that many contacts  focused on supply chain management so well in a more general program such as an MBA.  And though there are no 2nd year MLOGs to connect with the alumni of the program do a great job reaching out to current students when they are back for career fairs and recruiting.  I'm sure the MLOG class of '06 will do the same great job supporting next year's students.

[Rida] Improvisation

Recently I am self-studying the subject of "improvisation". I found that the skills can be applied not only to Jazz music and theaters, but also to real-life challenges in the workplace.

In general MIT students are well-known for the quantitative and analytical skills but we may benefit from more interpersonal and leadership skills. As much as MIT students might be excellent with our technical ability, if we don’t communicate and translate it in an eloquent way, then we cannot fully maximize our potential success.

When we graduate from MIT, there will be alot of expectation from our future employers. Let's say that we have decided to accept consulting jobs and we are faced with clients who are awaiting for answers for their problems. Here we need to think on our feet and come up with feasible solutions quickly so as to create the right perception for our clients.

There are 4 Main principles of improvisation for practices in business organization:

1) Using "Yes, and" instead of "Yes, but" - This is referring to acceptance of a new idea or approach. When people say "yes, but" this may tend to stop further exploration of new ideas.

2) Practice deep listening skills. Reframing situations to explore creative possibilities. Shifting perspective, focus, position.

3) Thinking on the fly.

4) A willingness to step out of our comfort zone and to not be afraid of appearing foolish.

I believe that improv is a great skill to have as an effective leader because it teaches us to be more flexible, to listen deeply to others, to be creative, to react with calmness while under pressure and to “act” as an expert to carry through difficult situations.

At times we tend to let our emotions get into the way of thinking clearly. Sometimes the frustration and anger cloud us from making sound judgment. If we put ourselves back into the objective scenario and let emotions stay out of the way we would be able to make better decisions and hence become great leaders.

When we don’t know how to act during crisis, we can step back and project ourselves to be somebody who is in control. At the same time, improvisation allows us to avoid being control freaks while staying focus on the main course. Finally, improvisation trains us to take risks and step out of the comfort zone to be successful leaders in organizations.

For those of you in 'MLOG 07' there is a course offered in the Spring of 2007 from Sloan 15.969 Dynamic Leadership: Using Improvisation in Business that I wished I could have taken but it wasn't offered this year. However, I did meet with Prof. Lakshmi Balachandra who is now teaching at Harvard and thought that she was excellent.

[Tai] Classy class of 2006: Part I

It’s my pleasure to introduce you the MLOG class of 2006. Our class is pretty small (27 people) but believe it or not, we are from 13 different countries! Despite the average working experience of 7 years and the median GMAT of 715 (I’m on the left side of both curves! :p), we are a fun and cool group of people. Let’s get to know us a little better.

Anup: Recently, Louis has awarded this guy the most enthusiastic person of the year. I also award him and his wife Andy, the coolest couple of the year. He has a special talent of modeling anything in the world using system dynamics. I mean ANYTHING...  You name it.

Yimin: Yimin is from China though he had worked in many countries all around the world. If you don’t find him with Sam or Yi Fang, you can find him in New York.

Dimitri: Dimitri is the first member of the Greek mafia who never stepped into ESD260 class before 8:05AM. He is a professional salsa dancer, but none of us has seen him dance before. I hope we will get a chance to see him dance before we graduate.

Louis: Louis is a French Canadian with more than 12 years of experience. He has special talent of speaking in class which makes him every professors’ favorite student. He has done a lot for our class including driving to Costco every few months to buy soda for all of us. Thanks!

Rida: Rida is one of the bloggers here so you may have already known her. She is talented in many areas including singing which we just found out when we went karaoke together. She’s going to consulting, but still scared of staying at hotel alone at night.

Tony: Tony is also a blogger here. He doesn’t speak a lot but whenever he speaks you know you will hear something great and insightful.

Anne: It's hard to believe that this super sweet girl  used to be an auditor! As you might have known, she is getting married right after graduation. I’m very happy for her. Congratulations Anne!

Petros: He's the second member of greek mafia gang. You can find him at E40 loading dock, in front ot E51, or in front of warehouse dorm. His plan is to get another MBA degree next year (eh, or a PhD?). Best of luck!

Yi: You have to be very lucky to hear this guy speaks. Yi is a very good student. He reads a lot of textbooks, many of which are not required for class. This is impressive because in some busy weeks I can't even finish the mandatory reading!

Well… it might take me a while to introduce all 27 of us. So let me stop here for today… Rida, Anne, Tony: you are welcome to take over this list. Otherwise, I’ll come back and write the rest when I am done with my thesis.  :)