„I can freely choose when I want to finish my work!“

Franziska, can you briefly start by describing in which company you currently work? When did you start there and what are your tasks?

Since March 2018 I am part of the Global Marketing Services Team, the internal consulting group of Siemens Corporation in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Our main business is to support our internal colleagues in every concern regarding marketing and software solutions. Before I moved to the US, I used to work for Siemens Corporation in Germany. My manager from Germany asked me during our Christmas party in November 2017, if I would be interested in going to the United States for a period of time in order to support and present our business field there. I accepted the opportunity and moved to the United States shortly after.

How would you rate the combination of full-time work abroad with work-integrated studies?

I would lie if I would say that this is not stressful. I need to have a good discipline and motivation. But it’s definitely worth it because you know what you want to reach and what you have to do to in order to reach this goal.

How important is the formation of a professional international network during your studies? How do you benefit from the MAMBA program in terms of building your network?

Having a professional international network during your studies is very important.  As it helps you to grow and to find new opportunities as well for the business as for your own.

You´ve completed half of the program now, how do you manage to organize yourself and combine your work with your study program?

Honestly, because we know our deadlines pretty well, for me it is very easy to organize my work with my study program. Most of the time, I start working on the weekly discussions which are due on Wednesday every new week, on Mondays or Tuesdays evening after work. What I definitely suggest is to keep one of these two evenings free for being able to finish the discussions in in time. Of course you have to do some cuts. Instead of watching a show on Netflix, you work on your professional career but this is what I would say is important.

Do you have tips for people who are considering applying for the M.A./MBA (USA) program?

I definitely would suggest that you should be aware of what you want in your future. Before starting the online master next to a full-time position, make sure that you are aware of the extra work which will come on top of your current workload. But the benefit is that you are very flexible, you are not bound to a specific place. This was a deciding factor for me, being flexible in the choice of my home and time. That I am not bound to any study lectures at a specific time so I can freely choose when I want to finish my work. For people who love the freedom and who have a good self-structure I can only recommend this program.