More than 150 MBA students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Business (MIT Sloan) embarked earlier this week on “Tech Treks,” annual job-hunting and network- building trips to a range of locations throughout the country.
This year’s Trekkers are headed on separate trips to Silicon Valley, Seattle and the Boston area, where they will visit dozens of companies and get a sense of the job outlook in a range of industry sectors.
“We have lined up an interesting mix of companies,” Jaclyn Loo, a Honolulu native who is participating in the West Coast Treks, said in an article on the MIT Sloan website. Indeed, visits are planned at start-up ventures as well as global players like Apple, Starbucks, Facebook and Cisco. “Given that the MBA may have taken a hit in the past couple of years, it is up to us to prove to these companies that the true value of the MBA lies in what we do with the degree moving forward,” Loo added.
Beyond any misperceptions of the MBA’s value, the students are also bracing for a tough job market. “While jobs are out there, I hear from second-year MBAs that it has become more difficult to get them,” Kavitha Sivasailam, who helped organize this year’s Treks, said. But because MIT Sloan alumni hold positions at many of the firms the Trekkers will visit, they have an advantage, she continued. “In this economy, networking with alumni has to begin earlier,” she added.
Hilda Tang, a Sloan MBA from Vancouver, meanwhile expressed cautious optimism about the job market. “While the economy is still weak and many sectors are suffering from lay-offs and job losses, tech companies have weathered through the crisis and are slowly picking up growth,” she said. “Many of the large companies, such as Microsoft and Amazon, have already come to campus for presentations and post-summer intern positions,” she added.
In addition to giving students an opportunity to gauge the job market and network with alumni, the Treks – especially through their visits to start-up companies – also can serve to educate and inspire prospective entrepreneurs. “The economy and evolution of venture capital over the past year has forced start-ups to rethink their priorities and execute more strategically than ever before,” Loo said. “On these Treks, the MBAs will see the true evolution of start-ups and how we can take our own ideas from concept to execution and growth,” she continued.
To learn more about MIT Sloan’s Tech Treks, click here.
Read the full article: “Tech Treks” to Silicon Valley, Seattle, Boston Now Underway by MIT Sloan Students