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Why did they do it? Why do they think you should do it too?

Wondering if you want to use your time at the GSB to do part-time work? I asked the GSB classes of 2021 and 2022 for their take. Here’s what they said:

Here are the top five reasons.

Test a new function / role / industry to pivot into, test out a new employer — 53%

About half of the 70 classmates who responded to the survey said that this was a top driver for them seeking out a part-time role. Onome Uwhuba (MBA2) did two part-time internships in addition to her summer internship and says: “If you have a bunch of theses to test, use the school year internships to explore those options for yourself. Then you’ve de-risked your summer internship and it’s not the only way you get insight into your post-GSB role.” Onome is excited about consumer retail and e-commerce so she evaluated part-time opportunities there, starting by learning a new function — brand marketing — over the spring quarter of her first year.

Eliminating a role before recruiting for your summer internship will help you spend your summer well.

Cameron Strong (MBA2) came to business school to figure out what she wanted to do long-term, and she used working part-time as a risk-free way to explore that. She found a great opportunity at Spire Animation Studios to try the animation industry and an unstructured startup environment. “I’m getting a crash course in animation, a masterclass on the industry.” She adds that more opportunities opened up in 2020 when she suddenly had more time and could work remotely for places based outside of the Bay Area.

Ben Lazaroff (MBA2) has taken full advantage of the opportunity to work for a number of investment firms and startups. “As someone who didn’t even know what venture capital was before arriving at GSB, it’s led to an amazing learning curve and connected me in ways I couldn’t have predicted.”

Build a greater network — 33%

One student shared that they chose their part-time gig primarily so they could work for a person they admire and be mentored by them. Daniel Uribe, MBA2, used his experience working in Colombia to grow his reach even further in his first year: “Through the Impact Fund, I reached out to an EdTech VC firm that was expanding internationally but hadn’t invested in LatAm. I offered to map out the region and be their eyes and ears on the ground in Latin America.”

Supplemental income — 30%

While international students don’t have the luxury to get paid for part-time work during the quarter and can only do it for credit or on a volunteer basis, income was a top driver for others who worked part-time. Students talked about wanting to reduce loans and one called it a “win-win” situation for them and their previous employer. Words of advice emphasized valuing your time and negotiating your pay. One student said, “I’ve seen a crazy range from $20/hr to over $200/hr.” Another said “I was floored to hear my GSB colleagues offering their time for so much below market!”

Ben Lazaroff says his part-time roles have helped him significantly reduce his loans, have an unparalleled learning and networking experience while at the GSB, and helped him carve out a lucrative niche for himself as he approaches the full-time job market. “Win-win-win.”

Continue working with their summer employer — 24%

Brendan Hanrahan (MBA2) is excited to work in policy later down the line in his career after the GSB. He worked at the U.S. Senate over the summer on PPP-related policy and legislation, and he continued to work over the fall at 10 hours / week to see his projects through, and increase the breadth and depth of his exposure. He says, “I was motivated to help get the legislation I worked on over the summer across the finish line. I was also able to demonstrate to my Senate colleagues that I’m committed to the work and taking it seriously. Working continuously for 6 months is different from just doing a summer internship. I got more time with people. It helps me expand opportunities down the road.”

Chanchal Bhoorani, an MBA2, has a different perspective. She asks: “If you’re continuing with your summer internship employer part-time to help with a full-time offer, reflect on what new information they’re looking for and what you’ll learn by extending your internship. After a summer of full-time work, they know what you’re bringing to the table to offer you a full-time role.”

Betsy Arce (MBA2) is working part-time with her previous employer SpaceX on an ambitious project, working 20 hours per week. She’s involved with some of the most high-priority projects for this business and has made herself indispensable. “It’s a great way for me to learn the skills for the full-time role I’m carving out for myself, in a different function than I played before, and show that I’m the best fit for the job.”

Another MBA2 who also continued with their summer employer, but on an exciting new project, encourages you to have “that” conversation early on in your internship. It’s awkward to say no to your employer; you don’t want to seem like someone who doesn’t see their projects through. Having an honest conversation early allows them to hire someone else and will help you maintain a relationship with them.

Get exposure to a role I know I won’t pursue in my short-term career — 20%

Chanchal is a product manager and she wanted to learn more about sales and marketing by doing the function herself. She carved out projects that would help her learn that at a 10-person startup this winter quarter.

Aneri Amin is another MBA2 who interned in product and has already accepted a PM offer post-GSB. She decided to work part-time this quarter in VC to “to get exposure to a field that is far from my current path, but gives me a new set of skills and an exciting view of the industry.”

I came to the GSB hoping to explore the VC industry and / or build something. I am a builder at heart but I was excited to do a VC fellowship program the winter quarter of my first year to get exposure to the industry early on. Not only did it help me learn what Venture Capital is, how the industry works, and what founder-VC relationships look like, but it also helped me plan classes, future co-curriculars and internships at the GSB. It was an early litmus test. If you want to explore or get exposure to a new role, look for opportunities before the winter quarter of your second year. Beyond that, exploration time spent on one part-time job is costly and may not leave room to explore for your post GSB role.

Unless it’s your passion project. A small group of GSBers (4% of the 70 who responded to the survey) are working on their own ventures part-time (30 hours per week still counts as part-time, right?). Daniel Uribe, MBA2, is working on an edtech venture and shares: “We’ve been fortunate to get two generations of GSB alumni support. Both a 2012 and a 2004 alum were working on similar ideas, and we have added them as key allies and potential investors. Being able to tap into the GSB’s credibility and networks in real time has been truly exciting.”

Others came across an amazing opportunity with a rising-star startup and decided to start immediately (11%). A handful of MBA1s continued working with their pre-GSB employers.

What did they all have to give up? Read on.

A few students shared that they benefited more from part-time work than other GSB co-curricular activities or even their classes that quarter. Despite that, some common themes emerged when I asked them for what they wished they knew before going in.

Juggling GSB and part-time work

Onome shares that when she did her first internship in the spring of 2020, she overestimated the idle time she would have because of the pandemic. And, she warns, “when internships are in person, think about the time you’ll spend driving to SF two or three times a week.” I fell into a similar trap during my extended spring + summer internship last year working 10–15 hours a week. I was determined to be productive when the pandemic hit and overcorrected. I maxed out on class credits, but still had to give up time-intensive classes like Corporate Financial Modeling. So now I’ll be spending 20+ hours a week building financial models in my last quarter of GSB while so many competing priorities scream “this is your last quarter at the GSB!”

Aneri shares, “I would look at my calendar two weeks ahead and think that Wednesday looks totally free for a full day for work, but by the time it comes around, it’s sprinkled with school stuff, group projects, walks… Know how much time you’re willing to spend; it can easily become your entire week or nothing at all.”

Ask yourself what saying yes means saying no to. Daniel Uribe recommends: “For all aspects of your [GSB] life, reflect on what your ideal, good enough and failure scenarios are. Then see if you can stay in the buffer area between ideal and good enough. I try to create balance by blocking the must-dos on my calendar, doing a little bit of everything every week and reflecting on where my time was spent over the week. I focus on the quality, not the quantity of the experiences.’’

He knows he gave up some of the benefits of second year electives — reaching out to more professors, speakers, going deeper into the readings. “You need to accept that you’re going to miss out on stuff and look at the bright side — you’re creating optionality and diversifying your experiences. The best of both worlds.”

Be ready to ruthlessly prioritize your social/academic/extracurricular life. You just won’t do as much at the GSB as the folks not working part-time are.

Setting expectations

Be transparent with your manager and team about your availability and have them be partners in protecting your time. Chanchal suggests setting aside time blocks two days a week, if your class schedule allows it, and letting your team know so they can reach you and schedule meetings in those blocks.

Scoping projects

One classmate captured what they wished they knew: “When you are working part-time, you end up working in a silo because you’re not available real-time like everyone else. Work that is done in a silo is, by definition, not high priority. You may work on some cool projects, but nothing you’re working on is super important. It’s definitely opening up opportunities for me later on, though.” Part-time projects typically involve contract / consulting work where you may be mapping out an opportunity that’s six months out or supporting your team with research work.

Classmates shared that this made them feel isolated from their team, especially in a virtual environment, and they were left wondering if they were doing well.

Brendan shares “A lot of the work I did over the summer was fast paced and the project scope could change in a matter of hours. When I continued on for the fall quarter, I aligned on the expectation that quick turn-work would not always be possible, especially because I was working remotely. I tended to work on longer-term projects, but joined weekly check-ins and contributed to faster-paced work when I could.”

Aneri offers — “Until you talk to people, you won’t understand priorities and how you add value. Even for a part-time project, start there.”

Enter part-time work with a good understanding and expectation of what you’ll learn from your project(s). Taking classes that apply to your project can really boost your learning!

When evaluating a part-time opportunity while at the GSB, ask yourself:

Set clear expectations. Make an active decision — don’t default into yes.

A fellow student sums it up — “Being able to really throw myself into super interesting and useful part-time work was the greatest silver lining of Covid and Zoom school!”

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