Artur Gushiken’s career has undergone a great transformation. Few mechanical engineering graduates in Brazil like him manage to find themselves on Wall Street working as an investment banker, but with the help of the Full-Time MBA programme at the University of Michigan (U-M) Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Gushiken defied the odds to land his dream finance career.
“In Brazil, when I was preparing to get my MBA, everything I heard about Ross resonated with me,” says Gushiken (MBA ’16). “I knew the banking environment was very competitive, but I felt welcome at Ross. People help you reach your goals.”
Gushiken’s journey isn’t an anomaly at Michigan Ross — the school ranked second in the US for best return on investment, according to the QS Global MBA Rankings. Like Gushiken, 95% of its Full-Time MBA students are career switchers. Just last year, the graduates experienced 136% average salary growth after completing their degree. With over 58,000 alumni spread across 107 countries, the programme makes even the most ambitious dreams entirely possible.
“Michigan Ross is defined by its diverse community of students interested in impact and provides great opportunities to do real work with the guidance of faculty and other members,” says Cynthia Shih, a ’13 MBA/MS graduate now at McKinsey. “My experiences and relationships built at Ross continue to shape how I lead today.”
Michigan Ross’s vast industry and alumni connections allows you to immerse yourself in real-world business settings. Source: University of Michigan
Gears up for career support
The Michigan Ross Full-Time MBA — ranked #13 in the US — prepares students for the realities of real-world business. From the get-go, you can get involved in action-based learning opportunities to start, advise, lead, and invest in real businesses as well as grow in-demand skills.
For example, there’s the seven-week Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAP) course, which all first-year MBA students take. You’ll work alongside your peers to find practical solutions to real business challenges for a sponsor company. For Gushiken, the MAP course would bring him through the doors of Amazon.
“We analysed different markets to deploy same-day delivery. The company was very happy with our recommendations, and two months later, I saw it implemented,” he says.
Rewarding experiences like these come by the dozens at Michigan Ross. Through action-based learning opportunities, you get to realise your business ideas, manage student-run investment funds, bring your innovation to the operation of a business unit in a corporate partner, and so much more.
You can maximise your return on investment even more through the Career Development Office (CDO). They offer services from personalised career coaching, to networking opportunities, to recruiting prep groups organised by field. You can attend programmes and panels to develop networking skills and improve your resume. The office hosts treks with student clubs to visit companies like L’Oreal, J.P. Morgan, Pepsi, and more, and assists you in finding internships for the summer.
Just ask Sneha Kannan, an MBA ’25 student. She took part in a recruiting prep summer course, mainly leveraging the career assessment and the two-hour job search. “Coming into my MBA, I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to land, but the career assessment helped me understand my motivations and consider jobs that weren’t initially on my radar,” she says.
For Zoe Qin, an MBA ’25 student, the CDO’s online workshop on “How to Succeed in MBA Internships” helped redefine the expectations of what working in a real business would look like compared to her past experiences.
“My responsibility was coordinating with eight department leads at a Fortune 400 company to launch a new project on a tight timeline,” she says. “From day one, I received mentorship from my team lead and others at the firm, and strong support from my teammates. Their generosity helped me overcome impostor syndrome and integrate quickly into the team.”
Michigan Ross is located on the central campus of U-M, in Ann Arbor. The city is known for industries like healthcare, biotech, automotive, and more. Source: University of Michigan
Rich alumni connections
Even after graduating from Michigan Ross, you’ll never lose the community. You will be part of the wider 682,000+ U-M alumni network. It’s a collaborative network that’s always present should you need extra career support, especially from those who’ve been in your shoes.
“Once we updated our MBA status on LinkedIn, people started reaching out from Istanbul, and all across the globe, about our experience with Ross,” says Ozan Erdem MBA ’21, who graduated from the programme alongside his wife, Ebrar Erdem MBA ’21. “It was only natural that we become ambassadors.”
The ambassador programme at Michigan Ross connects you with alumni if you want to expand your network and exchange questions. The Michigan Ross alumni continue to receive access to career coaching at U-M, free professional development programmes, support to start your own business, and more.
Feeling inspired? Check out the Full-Time MBA programme at Michigan Ross today.
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