Georgiana Enache's MBA Story

''You discover yourself during this process. It helps you pursue other roles because it gives you the knowledge, skills and connections that you need.''

Why did you decide to do an MBA? 

Before doing the Essex MBA I studied law and worked in that environment for a couple of years. I have a Masters in International Law but the reason I decided to do an MBA was to combine my law background with business. This offers me an advantage as I now have a more holistic approach to the workings of business. I come from a law background but I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset and I think those two go hand-in-hand. I knew it would help me progress in business and make better and faster decisions. 

Another reason is that I wanted to acquire new skills that would help me in the future. An MBA offers you a practical insight into what really happens in the business world. Some companies fail and some succeed; when you are working in a company and you run your own business you often face those tough decisions and having the knowledge of what other people did and how they handled it, it helps you -and it expands your horizons. 

The idea of doing an MBA is not something everybody does, and it is not easy but the knowledge will help you along in life, so I was motivated by that and it helped me to stay focused. When I told my family I wanted to go abroad and do an MBA they asked me if I was sure because it’s a big decision to make that year-long commitment. I knew it wouldn’t be easy at times but they supported me and this made me more disciplined as I wanted to succeed.   

What were your favourite modules or aspects of the course? 

The MBA is structured around practical skills. We were exposed to the consequences of our actions and developed a wider understanding. The course gives you a lot of insight about how to manage the real world.  

I enjoyed a lot of modules – the Managerial Economics module looked at how all the economic systems change across the world so that was amazing for me to understand. Instead of just thinking about the economy of your own country you start to think about the economy of the world. Also, the case studies give you practical knowledge. I also liked Sustainable Operations because it looked at how you could be more sustainable, faster and not make mistakes that others do – how can you be the best in your industry, how can you choose suppliers, how should you operate etc... so that was knowledge that is very useful and is applicable everywhere. And finally, Entrepreneurship because I have an entrepreneurial mindset.  

How did you manage the study and work life balance?

For me the study and work life balance wasn’t too hard to manage because I was a full-time MBA student, so I didn’t have to worry about that. I loved that we always had to work in groups. We all have different personalities, and this forces you to understand each other and that helps you in the real world where you have to work in a team. How you express yourself and how you manage the expectations of the team and those around you - that was really powerful. We didn’t realise how important it was until we were in the real world – I had no idea how much this would help me along the way! 

How did the MBA impact your career?

The MBA impacted my career in a big sense firstly because I discovered the importance of data so the MBA helped me in choosing a new path as I am now working in market research. We studied a lot about how the mind works and how data works. This is a very powerful tool and to have this really made me change my career completely.  

Would you recommend the MBA, if so why? 

I would recommend that people do an MBA not just for the knowledge but also for their own personal development. I didn’t expect in just one year I would mature so much personally and in my professional outlook. That was a big shift for me, in my mindset and my way of doing things. I remember the first day that I came I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and one of the Professors told me ‘you will know what you are going to do on the day you finish and you will finish this MBA a changed person’. You discover yourself during this process, it helps you pursue other roles because it gives you the knowledge, skills and connections that you need. You’ll have this forever; those are your tools and you build on top of that in your career.