Hometown: Boston, MA
Title: Assistant Vice President, Equity Analyst
Company: Putnam Investments
Jessica Wirth
My Story About Me
Now, I’m going back [to work] and relearning things. I didn’t know how much I didn’t know until I sat down in this class.
One of the clear benefits of an executive MBA program is the immediate application of the knowledge you gain in the classroom — something Jessica Wirth, an equity analyst specializing in the energy industry at Putnam Investments, has experienced firsthand. Promoted to a post-MBA position a few years back, she jumped at the chance to attend an MBA program when her firm made the suggestion. Now, she’s able to immediately apply what she’s learning in the classroom to her job. "I can’t imagine learning it, filing it away, and two years later trying to apply it," she says. In the meantime, she is talking about the friendships she’s made, the lessons she’s learned, and the decisions she’s ready to make.
The people make the program
I came to Wharton expecting to find top-notch finance professors, but I didn’t expect them to be as strong in other disciplines such as marketing and leadership. Those professors have been equally strong.
Also, I didn’t expect to develop strong friendships with my classmates. I thought I’d be flying in and out on the weekends. I didn’t think I’d be spending so much time with them and sharing this intense experience with them. I may have bonded with fewer people overall than I would have in a full-time program, but I think the bonds I’ve formed are tighter and will be longer lasting. I’ve become very close with some of the people in my study group with whom I commute, and I see them off-and-on outside of school.
Opening career doors
We have guys in our class who work for Exxon and Sunoco. Historically, I’ve met with their CEOs and talked about the business from their perspective. Getting to talk to the people who are on the ground in these places has given me a different perspective on these companies. It has given me a lot more exposure to different investment vehicles. I have classmates in private equity, hedge funds, etc., and talking with them and learning about options I can pursue opens up doors for me.
What you don’t know
The finance curriculum, and Advanced Corporate Finance with Professor Gultekin in particular, has been really eye opening. This is a class that covers stuff that I do on a day-to-day basis — things I took for granted as being easy. But sitting in class I’ve come to see it’s a lot more complicated and intricate than I realized. Now, I’m going back and relearning things. I didn’t know how much I didn’t know until I sat down in this class.
Opening options
I see myself becoming a better decision maker thanks to this program. Currently, I cover energy stocks at my job, making buy/sell recommendations about energy companies. I certainly could continue doing this for a long time and climb in my career track. Or I could try to leverage the skills I’ve developed to cover different sectors and be a generalist portfolio manager.
Catching up during the commute
I generally get on a plane at 6:30 a.m. on Friday in Boston, land in Philly at 8 a.m., and go straight to school. When I arrive, I usually have an hour to socialize, work on projects or study before class. Saturday afternoon at 6:15 p.m., I fly back to Boston and get in at 8 p.m. On the way to Philadelphia, I sleep. Sometimes I cram for a test or finish up with readings. On the way back, I organize my thoughts for the next two weeks. And if my Boston classmates are on the plane, we might have a drink and talk.
There are seven of us from the broader Boston area, and we’re in a study group together. The first year we were on project teams together and wrote papers together. We tended to get together in the off weeks in Boston and work on schoolwork. Through that, we got closer. You find that within all the city groups there tend to be tight friendships.
Advice for applicants
Make sure you experience the campus before making your decision. Go down on a Friday and hang out with students. Go to lunch with them or drinks in the evening. Go to classes and talk to the faculty. And make sure you can carve out the necessary amount of time to really engage in the program. It’s easy to think that since it’s just on weekends it’s highly manageable, but it’s really something you are working on every day.
