from bench to board

I've been getting quite a few questions from readers on when the best time to do the MBA is. Usually the question is around how much work experience would be competitive as an applicant. Some prospective students are concerned that they do not have as much work experience as others. If you look around, the Duke MBA and similar MBA programs usually have a median work experience of 5 years in their incoming class. Here I'd like to offer my perspective as someone who only had 3 years of work experience prior to starting the MBA at Duke Fuqua.