A joint program for mid-career professionals that integrates engineering and systems thinking. Earn your master’s degree in engineering and management.
Before coming to MIT Sloan, Jack O’Brien, MBA ’25, founded a company to help early-stage founders raise funds remotely, and after a few years his company was acquired. Then at a turning point in his career, when O’Brien was considering starting another venture or joining a different startup, he chose business school to focus his career on AI and climate tech.
“MIT was the school that made sense for me with its focus on entrepreneurship and engineering. It was the only school I applied to, and I would have taken a job offer if I didn’t get accepted,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien’s goal in pursuing an MBA is to immerse himself in founding another company with both a technical and business understanding. When he’s not in class, O’Brien can be found brainstorming company ideas and prototyping projects. He also served as a managing director of the MIT Energy & Climate Hack this past fall.
“The MBA core has been extremely busy, and I’m using every hour from 8 a.m. until late into the night,” he said.
For prospective students considering the MBA program at MIT Sloan, O’Brien recommended contacting current students, researching MIT-founded companies, and exploring free MIT courses online.
“There is so much to learn, and I can’t believe how quickly the first semester has flown by,” O’Brien said.
A Day with Jack
8:25 a.m.
I’m walking across the MIT Sloan campus on a rainy day, headed to my Economic Analysis for Business Decisions class – a core class – in Building E51. You can see the Charles River in the background if you squint.
8:40 a.m.
In class, friend and fellow MBA ’25 Aaron Thornton and I are talking about today’s assignment, which focused on competition among companies with undifferentiated goods. In this class, I’ve learned some useful frameworks around pricing and competition.
9:15 a.m.
In Economic Analysis for Business Decisions, we worked in our MBA core teams (groups of six classmates with whom you complete all your first semester projects) to write a strategy proposal for an aluminum company. Now, we’re trying to convince another core team that our proposal is the better option.
9:45 a.m.
That’s me and Neha Golakia, MBA ’25, in class.
9:50 a.m.
I’m on my way to Financial Accounting, another core MBA class. Accounting was one of those classes that I knew I had to take to grow as a founder and credible business person, but I dreaded spending time on it. It turns out, when you learn the rules, accounting is just a big puzzle. I’ve really enjoyed the class and can’t believe I hadn’t learned this skillset earlier.
10:15 a.m.
My accounting professor Matt Phillips (right) has done an incredible job making accounting principles clear and interesting. In this class we discussed stock compensation: the various types, how to approach compensation as an employee, and the decisions companies make in offering compensation to staff.
12:00 p.m.
Tim Valicenti, MBAn ’18, MBA ’24, and I are meeting in the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship to brainstorm startup ideas. Tim and I teamed up after the projects we were previously working on didn’t pan out. We’ve whiteboarded and experimented with a ton of ideas! A key reason I’m pursuing my MBA is to discover startup opportunities at MIT that I deeply believe in. These days AI is changing so rapidly, and MIT has been a great place to prototype while we search for a direction we have real conviction in.
12:30 p.m.
While at the Trust Center, I also attended the end of a “Pitch2Match” event, where founders can connect with collaborators and supporters. This one was focused on energy and climate startups. Tej Mehta, MBA ’25, and I grabbed a free lunch afterward. Tej is a good friend and founder who is building a company focused on reskilling workers to meet the massive labor needs of the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy investments.
12:45 p.m.
Fatima Hussain, David Brown, both MBA ’25, and I. We’re walking to our Organizational Processes class in E62. It’s only been a few months, but I’ve been lucky enough to meet lots of great people at Sloan!
1:15 p.m.
In our Organizational Processes class, Professor Kate Kellogg teaches how companies operate – their structure, their internal politics, and their culture. Today’s discussions centered on re-skilling in companies. After your company has access to a new technology or process, should you re-skill employees or hire new ones? What are the pros and cons? This class largely revolves around reading case studies and discussing companies, and past Sloanies have told me it ends up being one of, if not THE, most useful class as a leader after graduation.
2:30 p.m.
I’m back at the Trust Center for the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Club content team meeting. Catherine Ming, MBA ’25, is on the team with me and we’re planning a conference for the club in the spring. Our main job is to track down speakers for the event, and it’s been a good way to meet more people in the space.
4:00 p.m.
I’m headed to Shy Bird, a restaurant across the street from MIT to meet with my MBA core team. Shy Bird has awesome fried chicken, and I love fried chicken. This evening, I’ll hang out with the team for a few hours before spending the night preparing for the MIT Energy & Climate Hackathon [It was held two days later Nov. 10-12, 2023 and a big success!].
