University of Maryland: Miguel Dieguez

Miguel graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering and spent the next nine years in positions of increasing authority with the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps before beginning work on his MBA. He has taught at the Civil Engineer Corps Officer School (CECOS), worked as construction project manager at the Naval Academy, and served for a year as an admiral’s aide.

Just before enrolling in his MBA program, Miguel was assigned to the operations staff of Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Washington, located at the Washington Navy Yard, DC. Upon graduating, he will resume his military career as Operations Officer for Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR based in California and expects to deploy overseas to provide construction support for military operations. 

Miguel, who is an admissions ambassador at school and serves as a liaison to those going through the application process, says the MBA gives him a definite career head start over his Navy peers who haven’t attended business school.

Why did you choose to get an MBA?

For two reasons, really. As you can judge by the types of jobs I’ve had, I realized early that an MBA would help me reach my goal to assume positions of greater responsibility with bigger budgets in larger organizations.

I knew that I could learn about business management over time in the service through trial and error on the job—because many Navy organizations have been reaching out to industry to bring what works in the private sector into the military so it can be a better steward of the taxpayers’ money. But with the MBA, the learning is more concentrated. What works is more ingrained...it’s a way of life. So you graduate already knowing how to work through management issues, evaluate alternatives, and make quick business decisions.

Aside from that reason, someday I will have to leave the military…and when I do, I have the entrepreneurship bug. The MBA has allowed me to be more involved in my family’s business for the first time, and my family seeks out my opinions more frequently—which is nice.

What do you think everyone should know before applying?

First, think first about why you want to go. Then, think about what you want to get from school. Your picture of school will probably change after you’re there for awhile. But I get the sense that persons who think more about school before they go get a lot more out of the experience once they get there.

What advice do you have about the application process?

Concentrate on writing a great essay. The truth is that by the time you apply to business school, most of your application is already a done deal. Your grades, transcripts, test scores, work experience—they are what they are. They’re already set and you can’t change them. But your essay, that’s something you can do something about now.

How was your experience with the GMAT® exam?

Your success is 100 percent a function of your prep. The first time I took the GMAT I didn’t give it its due respect, so I wasn’t happy with my score. Immediately after I left the testing center, I went straight to my computer and scheduled my next test for a month out and started studying for it. No matter how smart you are…I’m an engineer and I thought, “The math—no problem!” But the GMAT isn’t about what you know; it’s about the way you think, quantitatively and qualitatively. You have to prepare for that.

So how did you prepare for the exam?

Sitting through the first test taught me that I needed to do more practice tests that simulated the actual test environment. I limited myself to actual test times and, more important, I spent more review time on understanding the test problems rather than just focusing on the answers.

Aside from the amount of reading I had to get used to, the transition wasn’t difficult. I think the key was that I approached the school week like a work week. I didn’t want to pick up any bad habits at school, so I still followed my military routine. I got up early, worked out, then went to school and put in a productive “work” day. As a result, I was able to maintain a good work–life balance. I’m married, so that’s important to me.

How did your military background help you with the rigors of school?

My school requires a good amount of team-based work, so being in the military was useful. From early on in the military you almost never do anything by yourself. At the very least, small unit leadership—operating in small units—is ingrained in the military. So for me, doing team-based work was not difficult.

How will the MBA broaden your military career options or advance your military career?

In the next 10 years that I’ll serve in the military for sure, I have a career path laid out. I know what I want to do—and thanks to business school I have the skills today that will let me be more effective when I get the opportunity to roll into executive positions in the Navy. I’ll already know what to do, and I’ll be more effective sooner on the job. 

I joke around with friends because I wish I had gone to business school before my last Navy job, where I sat on the operations staff and dealt a lot with financials. The financial performance of field offices, process-improvement initiatives...those are just two examples of things I learned the hard way on the job that business school taught me with a lot less pain.