Karen Harvey

Why did you decide to study the MBA?

When I started my MBA, I probably had one of the most rewarding jobs in the whole world. I was a stay-at-home mum to my two children, Freya and Alex. But after a chosen career break, when it came time for me to feel like I wanted to re-enter the workforce, I was just filled with feelings of insecurity and fear, inadequacy. So, I turned to study an MBA in order to make myself more marketable and to refresh my skills.

How much of a learning curve was there studying an MBA?

Like many of my colleagues, it was a long time between exams for me, it had been 22 years since my undergraduate degree so, it was a steep learning curve. However, the support provided by AIB in terms of the online forums and over the phone was just exceptional.

What value can you see in adding the MBA to your qualifications?

I feel that having an MBA has enabled me to have an enormous amount of personal growth and it’s allowed me to now choose a career path as a real estate auctioneer that I wouldn’t have previously considered.

What are the best aspects of being able to study online?

The best aspects of the online study with AIB was being able to fit the study around my everyday life: Fitting chunks of study in when the kids were doing their homework, before and after school and work, and basically all the flexibility that it afforded me.

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