Business School graduate programs are ahead of the job market. When Oil and Gas experienced a 20% decline in jobs from 2014 to 2023, top Business Schools were ahead of the curve, limiting the class size of Oil and Gas courses or completely stopping such programs.
I have seen a few assumptions by which Oil and Gas applicants approach Tuck MBA application, especially the Why Tuck MBA Goals Essay.
Before you write the essays, follow these 4 Strategies:
1) Engineering to Tuck MBA
When a client reached out to the Tuck MBA admissions team asking about the lower number of candidates with engineering backgrounds, one reason she attributed was the high remuneration that engineers receive, limiting the risk-taking. Even with a top MBA, if the post-MBA salary doesn’t match the pre-MBA compensation, the increase in salary metric – a factor in Business School ranking won’t be impressive. Schools hesitate to accept such applicants.
The admissions person offered a supply-side explanation for the low representation of Oil and Gas or even engineers in the Tuck MBA cohort. But a larger perspective that I have noticed as an admissions consultant who has helped Oil and Gas applicants get into top schools with branding and essays is that applicants who got dinged didn’t approach Tuck's MBA application holistically.
Tuck MBA Admissions team is not expecting narratives just around engineering problems. They want to evaluate your project management, team management, communication, and strategic perspective in all the exploration projects.
2) Oil and Gas – Value Mismatch
If you ask me the one big difference between the admissions team’s perspective 10 years ago and now, it is the perspective against applicants who chose the function despite the popular sentiments against the industry.
Think about it.
The Paris Accord on climate change happened in 2015, the investments in renewable energy and fossil fuels reached 1:1 in 2017 and hit 1.7:1 in 2023. Anyone who chose an undergraduate degree specializing in the Oil and Gas industry, from 2015 to 2020 or entered the industry with another background – mechanical engineering, had to consciously choose the industry despite the negative branding.
Applicants can argue that the choice was from the limited opportunities for mechanical engineering graduates without a Master’s degree but such explanations that hint as an excuse will show your academic or networking limitations.
So, how should you approach the Tuck MBA Goals Essay?
3) Oil and Gas to Sustainability
A popular narrative that Oil and Gas applicants adopt for the Tuck MBA goals essay is the choice of sustainability as a focus.
Apart from the adrenaline junkies, if you ask any military veterans if war is the answer, most will say no. After you witness the horrors of maiming another human being and playing video game-like targeting in ‘enemy’ territory, PTSD never leaves. Recurring dreams often lead to catastrophic outcomes. A similar painting of a picture of the horrors of the exploration experience, destructing serene water bodies and the life in them that evolved over millions of years, should be done with care. It is easy to turn preachy.
A better and more believable approach is to include the challenges of transitioning from Oil and Gas to Renewable as society.
Even if consumers adopt renewable energy, the new energy demands have to be met with new infrastructure for Solar and Wind Energy. There are challenges of fundraising, regulatory roadblocks, engineering gaps, lack of unified policies, and adoption in markets where the livelihood and economies are closely tied to the Oil and Gas industry.
For the transition, companies and government need those who have experience in the Fossil fuel industry.
