From Nanny to CEO: Do You Really Need an MBA?

Brown Ambition

iHeartPodcasts

Education, Self-improvement, Business

4.8 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2026

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hey BA Fam! Today I’m answering a question from a listener who calls herself “Tired Nanny” — a 27‑year‑old who recently moved to the U.S., has a bachelor’s in education, and is wondering if an MBA is the key to pivoting into business. She’s saved enough to cover grad school tuition and a year of living expenses and is tempted to quit nannying altogether so she can focus on school full‑time.

In this throwback Brown Ambition Q&A, I break down:
• Why your current job (yes, even nannying) can be a powerful bridge and not a dead end when you’re pivoting careers
• How to decide if an MBA is actually worth the time and 50K+ price tag for the kind of business or career you want
• Alternatives to grad school: continuing education, mentorship, networking, and learning directly from working entrepreneurs
• How to reframe “this is all that’s left for me” into “this is how I’m planting seeds for my future self” as a young immigrant woman building a new life in the Stats

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:02.5	Guaranteed human.
0:10.0	Hey, VA fam.
0:11.6	I am so excited to answer this question from a listener who wants to be called tired nanny.
0:17.9	Listen, I don't know how.
0:26.7	Listen, I take care of these kids because I have to legally. And like,
0:33.7	biologically, I feel the need to keep them happy and fed well. I don't know how caretakers of the world do it on purpose as like their job because it's so exhausting okay so i had to read
0:41.5	your question tired nanny let's get into it all right tired nanny says i love your podcast and every week
0:47.8	that's the one thing i look forward to listening to i came to the u.s not long ago and i'm trying
0:52.9	to build my future here i'm 27 years old and I have a bachelor's degree in education. However, I'm interested in getting into grad school to get an MBA. I've been using my background in education to work as a babysitter for quite a while now, but I am so tired of dealing with these families. I have the money now to pay for grad school
1:12.3	tuition and a year's worth of expenses. My question is, would you recommend getting an MBA to pivot to
1:18.1	business? And do you think it's a good decision to stop working so I can focus completely on my MBA?
1:24.0	Thanks in advance, I'm desperately looking for advice. I know I'm young. I don't want to work in education. And now the only experience I have is working as a nanny. Sometimes I think this is the only thing there's left for me. Thanks for your genuine advice and great content. Tired nanny. Oh, okay, hon. First and foremost, welcome. Welcome to the states. I hope that
1:48.3	it has been a, not an easy, but I hope it's been a smooth transition as much as it can be.
1:54.1	I hope you have a community, like a support system here. You didn't mention, but friends, family,
2:00.2	neighbors, find your community and start to build
2:03.3	out that support system because no matter what you decide to do, whether it's get your MBA,
2:07.7	launch a business, pursue a different career path and, you know, you're going to need people to
2:12.8	join you on that journey. Okay. The biggest lie that we, that you're going to hear when you're
2:16.7	in America is pull yourself up by your bootstraps all by yourself. That's some bullshit. Okay. The biggest lie that we that you're going to hear when you're in America is pull
2:17.7	yourself up by your bootstraps all by yourself. That's some bullshit. Okay. No, no, no, no. We do things
2:23.2	with community with support. All right. So first, yes, you are young. Okay. And what I'm hearing and what
	...

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