An Artist Walks into an MBA...
Hello, and welcome back! It has been over five years since my last blog post, and a lot has happened since then. However, I want to discuss one thing in particular: I am currently halfway through the first semester of an MBA at the University of Michigan. Five years ago I could not have predicted this path for myself, and it still doesn’t quite feel real some days, but I’m excited to see where this new direction will lead.
When I was making the decision to pursue an MBA, I didn’t find much information about people who had come from a creative background into business. It’s not a common trajectory, but I’m sure there are plenty of other people for whom it might be the right option, so I want to share my experience.
How did I get here?
Most artists I know have a strong distaste for the idea of becoming managers; they would prefer to make art all day without worrying about the other boring and stressful stuff that goes into managing a project or team. However, this has never been the case for me- I have always enjoyed managing creative projects as much as I enjoy working on them. I like the challenge of execution as much as the challenge of creative production. As such, I always intended to work toward a creative leadership role, though I wasn’t sure what that path would look like; I bounced around a bit in my 20s, from leading the art team at an indie game studio to storyboarding a Netflix show to working as a ‘corporate’ artist at a global consulting firm. I learned a lot in each of these roles, but I didn’t feel like I was making the kind of progress in my career that I hoped for. As I approached my 30s, I knew I wanted to start building my career in a more focused way, and I started exploring options to achieve that.
Why an MBA?
Although I had long been interested in working toward a creative leadership role and even hoped to start my own creative business someday, I did not connect those goals to the field of “business.” I saw myself as a bootstrapping creative, and I viewed business as rigid and uncreative- all spreadsheets and check boxes. It never even crossed my mind that what I was looking for might be in the business realm, until I stumbled into my corporate art job and got to see behind the curtain into how businesses work.
Looking back, I am amused at my ignorance, but I hadn’t previously had a reason or opportunity to dig deeper. I imagined that businesses (especially big businesses) were basically like machines- every person a cog with a predetermined function. And maybe to some degree that is true, especially at the lower levels of an organization. But during my corporate job, I came to think of businesses more like living machines- constantly changing to adapt new environments, with every change led by a person who wants to make the company better in some way. I worked in consulting, where I got to see this play out in companies across industries and at all levels of management- and I found it fascinating. Our clients faced challenges that did not have easy solutions; they required creative thinking, diverse skills and perspectives, collaboration, and tenacity, all of which were things that I had valued in my own managerial experiences. I also began to see that a well-rounded understanding of business would benefit any manager or leader; no matter your role, understanding the broader context of your organization and industry will help you make better decisions. I became more curious about ideas like economics and finance and marketing, and realized that these would be hard to learn purely through osmosis- all of which pointed me toward an MBA.
It was still a tough decision to make. Working as an artist is a dream for many people, and it felt almost taboo to admit to people that I was considering leaving my art job to pursue an MBA. I often got responses of confusion and even disappointment. However, other people’s dreams are not my dreams. After careful consideration, I feel confident that this is the right path for me.
I am always excited to discover that the world is bigger and more interesting place that I previously imagined, and learning about business has been that kind of experience. I have already learned so much in the first few weeks of this program (more about that in a later post), and I am glad I took this leap. I can’t say for sure where the MBA will lead, but I can say that it will make my world a little bigger, my professional skills a little broader, and my ability to tackle new challenges a little better.
So, if you are a creative, here are some reasons you might consider an MBA:
You like managing/overseeing/leading teams and projects. An MBA can provide additional skills and perspective that will shape your leadership.
You are interested in climbing the corporate ladder. Plenty of people, including creatives, have executive ambitions. Every big company has a Chief Marketing Officer, Creative Directors, etc, and an MBA can help you stand out.
You don’t want to do art as a job anymore. I can relate to this- turning your hobby into a job can kill the passion. Or maybe the reality of doing that work every day made you realize you aren’t as excited about it as you thought. Either way, it’s okay to admit that it’s not the right fit for you anymore, and try something new.
You like a mix of right brain and left brain tasks. MBA jobs often involve a combination of creative and analytical thinking, so you get the best of both!
You want to start your own company. An MBA can provide a diverse set of skills that will help you set up and run a business, plus connections to people who might want to work with you or help fund your company.
You want to get into a new industry or role. If you are ready to change your career trajectory in a big way, an MBA can be an effective way to do it.
There are also some downsides to consider with the MBA, primarily that it can be very expensive and requires a significant time commitment. And of course, an MBA is not necessary to achieve any of these goals- it is just one way to get you where you want to go. If you are feeling stuck in your creative career or unsure what to do next, remember that there is no right or wrong answer. You’re on your own path, and it’s okay to follow wherever it leads you- even if that’s not where you expected to go.
Are you a creative considering an MBA? Or one who has already completed your MBA? I would love to hear your story in the comments :) Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for future posts about the MBA experience, creativity, storytelling, and more!
