Why Go To Business School In California?

There’s more to California than just great weather, picturesque scenery, and surfing. The Golden State is fueled by innovation and an entrepreneurial charm, serving as home to vibrant cities in the south such as San Diego—a hot bed for top healthcare and biotech companies.

For students with dreams of entering careers within these sectors, attending a business school in San Diego can be a great way to access these industries.

Joining a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) designated MBA can also help you to secure a job within tech, while reaping the many other rewards that STEM MBA programs bring, such as generous graduate visa options for international students.  

Here are the top reasons to go to business school in California.

Joining business school in California can help you change career path

California is predicted to become one of the world’s largest economies due its strong labor market, use of renewable energy, and flourishing GDP growth.

This makes it a great place to be if you’re thinking about changing career direction.

Dylan Campbell (pictured below) grew up in the East Bay of San Francisco but, from his frequent childhood visits to San Diego, he’s always had his eye on the Southern California city as a business school destination.

“I’m drawn to the city, rich culture, and environment in San Diego,” he says.

Before his MBA, he had worked in a lab for a medical device manufacturer on infectious disease diagnostics.

“It was a very technical role, and I felt like my skills could be better used elsewhere in a more customer-facing role,” he says.

Dylan wanted to remain within the life sciences field, so joining a STEM MBA program at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Rady School of Management made perfect sense.

 The UC San Diego Rady School of Management has a strong business focus on life sciences and engineering, with its STEM MBA offering a variety of courses and electives geared towards product management and biotech organizational structures, among other subjects.

“I was attracted to this MBA program as you can really customize the degree to your career path,” he says.

MBA students can take electives in a variety of topics, including ‘Marketing Strategy’, ‘Technology Innovation and Strategy’, and ‘Organizational Behavior’.   

Dylan is leveraging this blend of generalist business teachings and technical learnings from his MBA to thrive in his role as global segment marketing manager at Illumina—a San Diego-based biotech research company that manufactures DNA sequencing machines.

His role involves developing go-to-market strategies for new product launches within the organization's clinical oncology testing segment.

He’s juggling this full-time role alongside the Full-Time MBA as he’s been able to take classes at Rady during the evenings or weekends.

Learn from faculty with expertise in tech at business school in California

With tech hubs scattered across California, including Silicon Valley in the north, joining a business school in the Golden State will mean gaining access to experts in tech and innovation.

“You’re learning from professors who actually work in these industries and have so much knowledge to share,” he says.

There’s also a strong emphasis on practical learning, with guest speakers from nearby tech companies regularly invited to the MBA classroom to speak with students.

“It’s a really good opportunity to move beyond theory and books on business and management,” he says.

You’ll gain rich networking opportunities at business school in California

No matter what industry you hope to enter, networking can always be beneficial. Whether this is forming a network with potential employers or networking with peers working in the industry you want to join, these close connections can help you get a foot in the door.

At business school, there are many opportunities to build your business school network.

At the Rady School of Management, employers visit campus during career-focused events, which enable students to get to know different companies and find out what roles might suit them.

“Rady is positioned well to have strong connections with companies across biological sciences and engineering,” says Dylan.

It’s not all about companies, however. The UCSD Rady MBA is comprised of students from all walks of life, with 52% international students making up the cohort and an average of 6 years of work experience.

“In the business world, you’re not able to choose who you work with, so you need to know how to work alongside different people,” says Dylan.

From forming these close connections at business school in California, Dylan says he feels supported in his career ventures going forward.

He’s excited about being able to enhance his technical background with a broader perspective of areas such as product management and business development, gaining a holistic understanding of the biotech business sphere.

For Dylan, the location of his MBA program in San Diego couldn’t be a more perfect match.

“San Diego is not only an incredible place to live but there’s a variety of job opportunities here,” he says.