The Joys of Funemployment

Ah yes. Funemployment. The time between when you quit your job and when you start your MBA. The promised land that many MBA applicants seek. The break that every one of my peers is a tad jealous about.

But it isn’t all sunshine and roses. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t been at work since early June. I’ve been spending my time golfing, going to the beach, eating good food, visiting friends and family, and just plain relaxing. But I’ve also received a long to-do list from Cornell over this summer that includes Accounting reading/homework, MBAMath prep, Career webinars, Personal branding exercises, suggested reading, exemption exam preparation, and many other things. Also on that list are many to-do items not directly related to the MBA program: Planning for housing, healthcare changes, organizing financials, physical/immunizations, etc. Throw in the stress of making a good first impression in meeting new classmates, pressure of doing well in a new academic environment, and uncertainty with recruiting and careers, and you can see that funemployment isn’t quite the most relaxing stuff.

So whats my point? My point is leave yourself plenty of time when you do get accepted at your dream school. Don’t work right up to the deadline to save an additional $1500. Sure, it is important to be financially responsible as you begin to realize the massive cost of your MBA, but it is important that you show up to your program both relaxed and prepared.  I’ve found that quitting early has allowed me to work at all of those items listed above while being able to enjoy my time off. While I’m not quite done with my list, I’ve been fortunate to have one of the most relaxing couple of months I can remember.

Now if you’ll excuse me, Professor Libby is expecting me to read about financial statement adjustments. That said, I can think of worse places to be studying accounting…