Kelly McCready - MBA Student From The USA
Yana Immis
“Thanks to Germany, I found out that an MBA gives you a competitive advantage, especially MBA from abroad.” Read Kelly’s story here!
| Place of Birth | Denver, USA |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Where did you live? | Colorado, Florida, Pennsylvania (USA) |
| Education Level Prior to Relocation | Bachelor Degree |
| Reason of moving to Germany | Adventures, MBA |
| When did you move? | 2012 |
| How old were you? | 25 |
| Are you still in Germany? | No |
| What is your future goal? | I will be CEO |
| Where would you like to live? | Pittsburgh, my home! |
Chapter 1: Bachelor
I was born in Denver, Colorado. My mother is originally from Pittsburgh hence when I was 3 years old we moved back to Pittsburgh. Up until now, I have nearly been everywhere in the USA! Our country is so big and rich in things to see that I could keep on discovering it all my life.
As a teenager, I was an above-average high school student and dreamt of going to Ivy League school. I was very active in sports: soccer, cross-country tracking & horseback riding. I did pretty well in college, but I was more focused on work and life and did not focus on grades. I did not make it to the Ivy League but anyway I wanted to leave Pittsburgh and experience something different, so I got admission at the University of Colorado which actually I loved at the end!
My first job was not what I wanted to do. I finished college in 2008 and it started to go into recession in the USA and I panicked last minute and tried to convince parents to stay longer in the college for 1 year. They persuaded me to graduate. All my friends had jobs and I did not focus on that. Luckily I got an internship with the university. I did not like the cold calling from the donations but some things I did enjoy.
I decided to take the job because it was the least amount of change. I could be on campus, instead of class I was going to work to the same comfort zone. This way I extended my stay in the college.
I left a year later to work in Florida. I did not enjoy living there but I got the job I enjoyed. The first job after university, I wouldn’t know what to apply for so I had to take what was available. I wanted to do events for non-profit companies I would love that. I was also working on the side of a restaurant job. Through connections, I got to know a medical device company and that’s how I landed in my dream job.
Unluckily, with the full recession in the USA, not many opportunities to find jobs were available and it felt like the right time to go out of the country and experience something new.
Chapter 2: MBA
I am from the USA. Why did I decide to move? Because I never studied abroad when I did my undergrad and there is so much of the world I haven’t seen yet, I was 25 and I didn’t want to waste any more time and I thought I would move to Germany.
I wanted to learn and to speak another language. It was the best way. Luckily I learnt it in school so I would have the base.
My family and friends in the USA do not travel abroad much. I would advise future generations to do so.
I thought it was important to experience different cultures in business and in life to be successful in business and life consequently.
My first impression? I arrived a day before Oktoberfest. It was amazing. It felt like a relaxed culture, I made great friends quickly and it was a festival season so it was great.
After a couple of weeks I decided to take a GMAT, I studied for 1 month but unfortunately didn’t score well. I am not a good test taker. I applied to schools that do not require GMAT and I found a place at a private business school in Munich and I got in for my MBA. Interesting how the thought of doing an MBA never came across my mind back in the USA. That’s what happens when you travel – you get inspired!
I loved:
· That we had students from all parts of the world with the perspectives on the way the business is running in the different parts of the world and the way how our education is different.
· To have a thesis, which we did not have in the USA for my Bachelor's. I wrote my MBA thesis about the Ritz Carlton and the effects it has on the economy (where they decide to build hotels). Some sectors and income go up or not. In conclusion, I realized that real estate prices go up with the rest of the points remaining at constant. If you would like to read my thesis, hit me up!
· Sales class. I didn’t expect that. I haven’t worked directly in sales. I liked the professor I thought he was smart and his perspective was very interesting. I loved it! That course made total sense.
· The international marketing class.
· That my school was small with the people I could meet daily, recognize, know names of and become friends with.
· That the administration was accessible.
My MBA program was 1 year, I wasn’t really invested in a longer-term program, I wanted to come back for my career.
I travelled a lot! To Spain, to the Czech Republic and around Germany! I wanted to see the world and I got a lot of confidence doing MBA and paying for it myself. Every country has its own flavor and I found Germany to be very livable. But all good things come to an end and when my year in Germany was over I came back to the USA.
I realized pretty quickly as much as I was enjoying the experience I missed America.
Refrigerators being big enough, having a car and driving everywhere, peanut butter! My mom was sending me rice crispies and mac’n’cheese.
It wasn’t so much that, one of the things in the USA that I really value is that our world in the USA is big. We are still American 2000 miles away. In Europe, everything is so close. You cross Germany within 20 hours drive. In the USA in 20 hours you get not that far. If you calculate where I have been in the USA it is so much bigger than all of Europe. In one country we have all cultures and nationalities.
Thanks to Germany, I found out that an MBA gives you a competitive advantage, especially MBA from abroad. I did not know how my MBA would influence my applications but I realized it was easier to get a job with it.
As a female too, but my MBA contributed to me getting more call backs and a higher salary (by a lot).
In the Interviews I was curiously asked about Germany, Europe, MBA abroad, my interviewers were very curious. In a way a competitive advantage. People want to ask questions. It is good to stand out. I think education from Europe helped my CV stand out and arouse curiosity
Now I am in Pittsburgh now I am home. I feel good here. Would I move? Probably not. But everything still has a price, if the CEO position is offered at any part of the world with a big wage gap to my current standing, I’d move.
Chapter 3: CEO
Work never seemed to be a burden to me. I like to work, I like the satisfaction I get from working.
My career is very important to me.
Yes, there are hard days but then it doesn’t usually seem so hard to me.
I started working early and the reason for that was my passion.
To be able to afford horseback riding you have to spend a ton of money and time.
My parents asked me to pay at least half of my expenses for keeping a horse.
This is my way to becoming a CEO. What is yours?
I got my first job when I was 14
As soon as I could drive I got a job at a mall.
When I was in middle school I had business as a clown
I would go to churches and do tricks with animals and balloons.
I did university jobs, fundraising jobs for non-for-profit organizations and I worked on a side in the restaurant until I secured my first dream job in Florida
My first full-time job was there I was doing medical device sales. It is then when I started developing my passion for a certain job type and industry. I travelled a lot between 6 labs in the country. I was looking into the markets where we could develop. It was rather marketing than a sales job.
I felt like doing an MBA was the right thing at that moment
After MBA the first job you get will be influenced by your MBA. Any job after or any employer after will no longer look at your MBA but rather at your recent work experience.
MBA sometimes is a minimum requirement for the big corporations to filter out people when screening. Well, it is not the kind of company I want to work for anyway. I like small to mid-size enterprises because you as a personality and as a team member you have more contribution and decision making. I like to be able to participate. Your job and role are bigger.
I applied for technology companies project/coordination management jobs in Washington and I successfully got in.
In the same company, I moved up the ladder from product to sales management and then pure sales.
Buying my own horse was an achievement
I have been striving for it for my whole life. My first horse I bought before I turned 30.
Afterwards I did sales consulting for 6 months (freelancing) and product management consulting for education and technology firms
I got very lucky because I had this job offer due to my network.
The company I currently work for is Danish (Area9), I work fully remotely (from home) and I do sales, well I am very shy but I am VP of sales to be precise 😊
I absolutely love my job and how much we contribute to the future of people.
We sell education software to corporations that focus mostly on military and healthcare sectors (adaptive learning). I travel so much. I have almost 100.000 miles a year (160.000 km). I have a lot of benefits – free bags, first-class, miles to use for my personal trips, lounges and many others.
Working from home is the same as going to the office but the main difference: I can wear my pajamas (haha). I do the same routine, I do my coffee, I work from 8 to 5. I believe people working from home can be more productive due to fewer distractions. It is helpful to be in an office sometimes as well to come over and ask questions at the desk.
The majority of salespeople are in Europe, mainly Denmark, we are handling the sales team in the USA here remotely. I attend a lot of conferences, fairs and client meetings hence the travel. We have weekly Monday morning cross-country meetings with the whole team to see where we stand.
Next step: CEO
Dear recruiters, I am accepting the CEO offers from the education space. I found my passion for this industry. Companies are the ones who benefit the most from all of us investing in education. It is time they start investing in all of us. In 30 years many jobs won’t exist anymore, jobs change all the time, technology is changing we need new skills and we should educate people. Companies should participate in upskilling people.
Maybe in the company where I work now, maybe I will start my own. Up until now, I was gathering experience in technology, implementation, customer services, sales. I want to learn more skills and combine it all together to be the Chief Executive officer.
In my free time when I do not focus on becoming a CEO, I travel and I ride my horse a few times a week and participate in fox hunting. I cook and do my own stylish interior design. Once or twice a year I do adventurous trips to Bali, Holland, Ireland, Germany, Russia.
Go abroad! But only if you will get something out of it. Don’t just go abroad. I wish I had a little bit more of a plan. Just try.
There are no wrong decisions. There are only the choices you didn’t make.
