Sebastian Eder

Home country: Austria

Home state: Lower Austria

Undergraduate institution: University of Texas at Austin

Undergraduate degree and major (and minor, if applicable): Chemical engineering

Pre-MBA industry: Energy/manufacturing/industrial

Pre-MBA company: Tenaris

Pre-MBA title: Senior industrial process analyst

Desired industry post-MBA: Energy

Desired job function post-MBA: Finance/commercial

Degree specializations: Energy, finance

Student organization membership: CleanTech Association, Consulting Association, Energy Association

What has been the most surprising part of your Rice MBA? The MBA has shown me a completely different way of thinking about problems compared to my previous education and job position. In engineering, most problems I tackled had a specific cause that could be addressed with a specific solution. During my MBA, I have learned that bigger-picture business decisions are most often fraught with a lot of uncertainty. While there is data to analyze, the best solution can vary widely depending on what assumptions are made. This has been incredibly interesting for me to learn about and has completely changed my mindset on how to approach problems, whether they be related to marketing, finance, or other disciplines.

What has been your favorite thing about your MBA experience? The best thing about the MBA program has been meeting students from a huge variety of cultural and professional backgrounds. Working in a company for some years focuses your mindset on that particular industry and the individuals you interact with, but the MBA has been a wonderful chance to expand my worldview and learn from others' experiences. The fact that Rice promotes this internal networking through events like Partio has made the MBA so much more rewarding by giving ample opportunity to meet new people and foster friendships.

What do you love most about Houston? Personally, I think the best thing about Houston is the food scene. Being such a diverse city, it is possible to find authentic restaurants from almost any culture. There are endless new flavors to explore.

As an outdoor enthusiast, I have also enjoyed exploring the surroundings of the city. My favorite activity is to venture out to the coast, which is easily reachable, in order to go fishing. While the city is relatively flat, there are also still fun parks to explore and hike/bike around in.

Lastly, being close to the museum district has also been very exciting. The Natural Science Museum and art museums are truly one of a kind and distinctly position Houston as the city with the best museums in Texas.

What is one piece of advice you would share with a prospective student? Recruiting for internships starts very early in the first semester of the MBA, so I would recommend doing some preparation for this before starting the program (and leaving your previous job a bit early to decompress).