I’ll bet you anything that this is the prime question for any professional thinking of getting an MBA without leaving the current position he or she has and disrupting their career progress which would simply render the whole idea a little less attractive.
The answer is a simple yes, the IXMBA program can be the right solution but that’s not the end of the story, in fact, it’s just the beginning…
Going through the application process, the essays, the interviews, the registration, Oh and, more interviews and then the acceptance and enrollment is just the beginning. Knowing that you are a serious professional who have sought this program for the sake of career and personal advancement is a start but far from a smooth ride.
Now listen, I don’t want to scare you and tell you it’s hard, because it ain’t hard; it’s absolutely excruciating but equally intense and enjoyable.
The program offers more than education; it offers the experience to meet and work with peers of different backgrounds, cultures and schools of thought and leaves the rest up to you. It opens up for you a space for lateral thinking to nourish your brain and tighten those nuts and bolts only to jolt it back into effective action.
Sleep deprivation, becomes your middle name, Skype becomes closer than your next of kin, Oh, and you might even call one of your children “Executive Summary”…
It takes stamina, hard work, multi-tasking, loads of reading, discussing, conference calling, meeting, group working, discussing, debating, convincing, posting, more posting and then posting, oh, and did I mention loads of reading, and this happens in between your day job, travel on business, travel for fun, driving your kids to soccer practice and piano recitals and attending that very important business lunch, and the list goes on and on and on, but the good news is “the friends” you make along the way, each unique and pleasant in his own right, they are the ones you will never forget.
I tell you, the International Executive MBA can be quite an experience… Did I mention loads of reading?
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Call me an amateur juggler. That’s my job now. Not in the real world though, but that is really what I think I have been doing ever since I hit my very first IXMBA text book about a year ago. (For those who are not familiar, IXMBA = International Executive MBA)
As a juggler, how many balls do I have to toss into the air? Quite a few. Let’s see…. I am a full-time employee, a husband, a father, an IE student and, of course, a sleeper. Those are my prominent balls. If I attempt to be just to all of them, each ball will equally get tossed 4.8 hours a day. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. There are times when I have to drop some balls. Which one? Obviously, not my full-time job. I still want my picture to be posted on the “employee of the month” wall in my office (kidding, no, I don’t work for McD). Don’t even think of sacrificing your family! Never do that, unless you want to end up being single after your graduation!). Should I sacrifice my study? Naaa… I have paid a fortune to do this. So, the only ball that that I have to drop from time to time is, unfortunately, my sleep!
Yes, sleeping is such a luxury these days. Actually, it is not that bad. I can still enjoy my nice pillow for at least four hours a day (not bad, huh?), then I usually continue my sleep on the metro on the way to the office (just make sure I don’t miss my next stop).
Well, I am not trying to scare you off with my story. As I said, it is not always that bad, because there are times when you feel like rewarding yourself with a 12-hour sleep having completed a tough quiz or a mind-blowing assignment. The good thing about IXMBA, a.k.a. online Executive MBA, is that you can manage your own time according to your own rhythm. You can study in a café around the corner, in the toilet, on a bus, at an airport lounge, in a park whilst watching your kids playing…. You have the choices. You can participate in the online group and class discussions anytime that suits you. (I personally like to do it early morning, as I am an early bird)
I know some of you will say in skepticism,”Oh, really? Is the program that flexible?” Certainly. I am not lying to you. (Why would they ask me to write on this blog if they knew that I was a liar? 
) As long as you are committed with your choice, then the flexibility is yours! Yes, that’s what I like most about IXMBA. (Now I realize that the IXMBA program has been designed around the idea of giving a certain extent of flexibility to the students, as most of us are full-time professionals. We have the liberty to control our own learning pattern.) If I succeed, I am proud of myself. But if I fail, no one, but myself, is to blame.
So, finding your own rhythm is the key. If you are an avid tennis player like me, do not stop. If you are a jogger, keep doing it, because your body needs to relax too (after hours sitting and staring at the monitor.) Keep your hobbies on your agenda. Even if that means going to cinema with your loved ones, don’t give it up!
The first couple of months after joining IXMBA were, in my opinion, the most difficult period. Not only for me, but also for the people around me, my wife and my daughter. I obviously had to change my routines and they too had to adapt to it. If you are married (with or without kids) or living with your partner, make sure you get their approval prior to giving your commitment to IE. I remember a faculty member stated at the opening day last year,”If you are married, your wife would deserve half of your MBA diploma”. Everyone laughed, but I think no one now would disagree with such a compelling statement. My family might even deserve more than a half of it!
Hi everyone,
My name is Antonio Gomez and I’m one of the students of the on-line MBM at IE. I was looking for an on-line MBA program for a long time in order to improve my career expectations. I wanted an on-line method to be able to continue with my work, today I’m employed at the european Commision as a Scientific Officer (I’m a biologist) in Belgium. After going through the selection process I started the program in February this year, without knowing truly what was waiting there for me….
After eigth months in the MBM and ready to share with you my experience: it’s incredible!!
I won’t lie to you, the MBM involve a lot of work, minimun 4-5 hours a day that you will have to allocate into your dayly rutine, it’s tough, but not impossible. I can do it, with a heavy load of estress, but I can manage to follow the subjects and forums in a reasonable way. I consider myself an average student and I was quiet afraid about my changes during the Master but with the time I realised that the conditions to study the material presented are outstanding, and that you certainly will learn a lot with the methodology used.
Your life will change, I’ve got little time to enjoy my little daughter, to go out with my girlfriend and friends but the reward worth the efford: you will make good friends, interact with people from around the world, develop communication skills, interact with people from different backgrounds, etc…The experience is unique and will add an incredible value to your existing learning experience.
I imagine that you may have lots of questions regarding the Master, the method, etc…I was there a year ago!!!! and I’ll be pleased to answer any doubts and to share with you my experience…I’m approaching the final months, with tons of reports, exams and readings to do..well, maybe not tons but thousands of things to do…ok, if you push me a little I can settle a hundred of things to finish….so I can have time to interact with you and solve some questions….
IE is not paying me anything, I’m not working as a consultant and the views expressed as purely those of the writer and may not under any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the IE…you may see how the master has already changed in my life…
My contact details are antonio-manuel.gomez-galan@ec.europa.eu
Looking forward to hearing from you
Antonio
Hola from a Greek in Madrid!
My name is Peter Dimitriadis, I am 35 years old and a student of the executive online Master in Sports Management program of IE.
I have been working for the last 10 years in senior sales management positions for a Canadian software vendor. I was based in Paris, living between Athens and Johannesburg and travelling in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (hope you are still with me!!).
I have decided to take a year off and although I am still linked with IT and business as commodities trading, my main focus is the Master program. I spend most of my time in my home country Greece, however I take as often as possible the opportunity to visit beautiful Madrid and meet with both the program manager and profs who are very open minded, experienced and willing to help you at any moment, something that makes the IE experience unique!
I am glad I took the decision to follow a course in the business of sports, both because the latter is an interesting and exciting subject and because there are many opportunities out there related to the field of sports.
It is a demanding program as it requires more than 4-5 hours of studying per day and participating on online sessions and 10-12 hours from weekends. It can be devastating when I have to travel for business at the same time, however my extensive work experience has helped me cope with the work load and acually offer accurate insights during the online sessions.
Although, I still believe that work experience is the most important asset for an executive, studying for a masters degree helps in achieving a more analytical view on issues someone faced or will face and most importantly helps an executive build a network of contacts that can prove invaluable for the future.
Thats all for now dear readers.
Please feel free to contact me for any information you might need or just to share our experiences.
Through this space (and time permitting of course) I will be posting various blogs related to sports management and share my experiences as a member of the IE family.
Hasta pronto!
Peter
Hi, my name is Jurek Chlebowski and I am working in Warsaw, Poland for Mitsubishi. I will tell you some of my day-to-day opinions and remarks as per the IdE on-line study…
I have just finished another week yesterday by completing one of the quizzess of Financial Accounting. Despite quite theoretical contents this time I scored 80/100 what was a bit of disappointment for me …
This needs quite a lot of time every day, I spend approximately 3 to 4 hours daily, but to be honest I have also some time off – trying to squeeze the schedule in that way to get some time off during the weekend…
It is also important to do things in advance and in consequent regular basis – the worst thing that happened to me was when i was late with some material due to extensive travels and then had to spend much more time on catching-up, current work and soem other material preparation …
On the other hand it is an extraordinary experience – imagine people from several contries and cultures exchanging views and ideas – some disciussions or even furious quarells on some economics on the discussion board – this is really exiting …
Sometimes you really need to hold yourself from expressing too much of your opinion – I did certainly too much posting during first period of time – but there was a discussion about environment and I am convinced environmentalist with very pragmatic and solid background in business thus it is hard to convince me to some ideas sometimes … (my schoolmates probably thought I am a crazy person … )
nevertheless this is a lot of fun and you feel like being able to think broader and be wiser every day …
Now I need to finish some of my part for our business plan but I will return soon with some comments. Had you some questions please post or e-mail me.
best
J
It gives us great pleasure to announce the launch of “Living the IE Online Masters” blog created especially as a response to increasing requests for information about the online Masters at IE Business School.
This is a place where our current students will share the experiences they gathered over the months of studying their online program with IE, a place where the activities of our students will be shown, a place to share photos, comments, and information. As well as being able to see how our online students manage to coordinate their private and professional lives while studying.
Deciding to study an online master at the IE will mark a turning point in your career.
