By Laura Nelson, Co-founder of Behind the MBA and MBA Pathfinders
Breaking into tech with an MBA has never been a sure thing, and over the last few years, it's gotten seemingly more difficult.
FAANG hiring has contracted, and the product management track has been tough to crack. Of course, AI, restructuring, layoffs, and just-in-time recruiting contribute to the complexity.
However, difficult circumstances aren’t the same as impossible odds… and forging a meaningful and successful path into tech is still very possible. I know this not just because I did it, but because I've watched many clients do the same.
If you’re planning to pivot into tech through an MBA, here are some practical ways to approach your process:
Establish realistic targets and roles
Some MBA candidates are thinking about the tech market too narrowly… or not thinking about it as a market at all.
For example, “I want to do product management at Google” is a valid goal, but it’s basically achievable for those with prior PM and engineering experience at similar companies. Additionally, if that's your strategy, you'll be competing with hundreds of highly qualified candidates for a shrinking pool of post-MBA roles. You'll also be missing out on real opportunities elsewhere.
The tech industry extends well beyond FAANG companies and includes a broad array of micro-markets across verticals, company stages, and functions. In addition to product management, MBAs can pivot into tech through roles in product marketing, growth, business development, strategy, finance, operations, and analytics, among others These roles exist at companies of all sizes – not just the ones you’ve already heard of.
So, how can you find a more realistic path into tech?
Doug Massa, Technology Relationship Manager for the Career Services Group at UC Berkeley Haas, shared his recommended approach: start with the role, then the industry, then the company – not the other way around. Many MBA candidates lead with a company name (like Amazon or Google) and work backwards.
The problem, as Massa explains, is that you’ll become a generic candidate with this approach. However, if you develop a clear story about why you want to do product management in fintech, why that makes PayPal a logical target, and the relevant skills and experience you bring…. you're a far more compelling than the candidate who just wants to work in big tech.
Practically speaking, you’ll need to build a working list of 40–60 companies spanning your target function and vertical. Then, determine which company stage might make sense for you and your goals.
Understand what company stage means
One of the most useful ways to size your targets might be evaluating the market by company stage. Then, be honest with yourself about what each stage actually means for your day-to-day reality, expectations for comp, and risk tolerance.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
Seed-stage companies are still building or refining their product. They're small, funded by accelerators or angel investors, and are generally high-risk. You'll get immediate ownership and real impact in your role, but you’ll also have fewer resources and, generally, lower compensation than your peers who are joining large companies. These companies aren't typically recruiting on campus, but they can be exceptional opportunities for candidates with an appetite for risk and the right relationships to break in.
Series A through C companies have proven product-market fit and are scaling – sometimes aggressively. They've landed institutional funding (like venture capital), are hiring to grow, and are building out their team and org structures. Generally, comp is more competitive, and the roles are more effectively defined than they are at seed stage companies... but you can still have meaningful ownership in what you do. This is where I'd tell most MBA candidates to focus their energy with targeting and recruiting. These are real companies, with real products and real MBA-level roles and, potentially, they might have less competition.
Public companies generally have the most financial stability and offer the most competitive comp and benefits. The downside is that they usually move more slowly – there’s more hierarchy and (usually) more bureaucracy. Also, there are usually fewer opportunities to wear multiple hats. As we’ve seen in recent years, “more stable” doesn't mean that they’re immune to layoffs or volatility.
Many MBA candidates focus almost exclusively on public companies and the biggest names, but the more interesting and accessible opportunities might sit in the growth stages.
Position your skills and experience
If you don’t have prior tech experience, you need to build credibility and demonstrate where you can contribute. Think about what do you actually bring to a tech role and where you need to fill gaps in your skills and experience:
Start with your transferable skills. For example, if you're targeting product marketing roles, lean on your storytelling background, experiences managing clients, and cross-functional collaboration skills. These are real assets! Showcase these experiences and be honest about how they translate to your target role/s.
Address the gaps. Depending on the role, you’ll need to demonstrate real tech and product fluency, marketing analytics, quant skills, GTM experience, etc. These are tough to fake. Leverage your MBA to help close these gaps – through coursework, your internship, experiential projects, your involvement in tech-focused clubs and communities, etc.
What does this look like in practice? I’ll use my own example from transitioning from film and television into product marketing. Prior to pursuing an MBA, I worked in film development and talent management. My storytelling background and customer-facing experience were assets for a product marketing roles, but I had some gaps in marketing strategy and business fundamentals. I knew that these existed, and I found ways to address them… which ultimately helped me position my past experience and skills more effectively.
If you’re in a similar position, (1) identify your core strengths, (2) identify the skills you still need, and (3) determine how an MBA experience will bridge that gap. Thinking through this exercise even before you apply will make your application more focused and your story more effective throughout the internship and full-time recruiting processes.
Further, if you can identify ways to demonstrate that you’ve done the job – or at least parts of it – that’s even better. As Josh Cohen, Director of MBA Entrepreneurship Programs and Startup Recruiting at Fuqua, put it: “You have to do the job in order to get the job.” That's especially true in startups and growth-stage companies, where hiring decisions aren't just based on potential — they're based on evidence of what you can do. Learn more about Josh Cohen’s “Upside Down Job Search”
The search has changed
This is not new information, but it should inform your approach. Whether you're applying for an MBA or already in a program and navigating recruiting….
On-campus recruiting alone won't get most people into tech jobs. The on-campus tech recruiting footprint has changed. There are fewer large structured programs and more just-in-time hiring. Most roles never get posted to a school's recruiting portal at all. This means you’ll have to conduct an off-campus search – proactively, systematically, and early.
What this means if you're still applying: Your career goals need to be specific and achievable. Admissions committees need to understand your arc: professional experience → MBA → first role. Again, “I want to work in tech” won’t get you anywhere. “I want to move into product marketing in B2B SaaS, building on my client-facing experience at X, targeting growth-stage companies serving SMBs” is a real goal. The specificity matters both for admission and for the recruiting process that soon follows.
What this means if you're in school and already recruiting: Start early. Building relationships – with alums, recruiters, hiring managers, and anyone working at target companies – takes time. Spraying and praying your resume won’t yield the results you want. Instead of competing for roles posted on LinkedIn and other large job boards, build relationships with decision-makers so that when a role opens up (or gets created), you're already a known quantity.
You'll also want to build your own database of off-campus job search resources. Startup-focused job boards, VC job pages, and curated industry newsletters surface opportunities that never appear in your school's portal, and they're worth monitoring consistently throughout your search.
Finally, be flexible. If your first post-MBA role doesn't land you exactly where you aimed, that's not failure. It's a start! Tech careers rarely follow a straight line, and getting into the industry – in the right function, at a company doing meaningful work – will get your foot in the door.
As Massa's framework reminds us, if you can get two out of three (role, industry, company) in this market, you're in a good position to get the third one on your next move.
If you pivoted into tech for your internship and / or full-time search, we’d love to share your story! Reach out to [email protected].