Hi baccardisprite,
Thank you for sharing such a detailed knowledge on various colleges and courses..
I was just going through your earlier posts and one thing which i noticed is in many of the posts u advised the aspirants to learn a foreign language..
I m currently running up my own web venture and would be appearing for GMAT soon..I just wanted to know..does learning a foreign language enhances your profile...??nd if yes which one to go for (French/German/Spanish)
or may be you can tell us what are the points which one should consider before choosing the language..
Please help!!
Hi Baccardisprite,
Thanks alot for the initiative, it's really really helpful.
I am almost a CA. Almost because I've cleared my Final exam just have my internship left till the end of April and then I qualify.
I applied to a few European MBA programs with my 3 years of CA internship as work exp (since it is full time) but I guess given the current scenario, I mean with the competition, and my low GMAT score of 630, I haven't been able to get an admit.
My aim is to start a finance career in Europe, and I'm most interested in a corporate finance position. As in, I want to be on the 'Sell-side' as you call it, not the 'Buy'. I don't want to go in for a CFA cos it'll take almost 3-4 years to complete, and after just having put in 5 years into CA along with my internship which was quite stressing, I'm just not up for it.
I have an admit for the Masters in Financial Management program at RSM. I'm game for the investment and spending a year studying a full time program specialised in finance. What do you think of this program and the school? Will it help me start a career in Europe?
Thanks alot for your time,
Indrani
Hi baccardisprite,
Belated happy b'day 😃 and thanks a lot for replying.
The last 11 months of my life I have done nothing but research for the best possible masters' program for myself. Though ironically, I could manage to apply to only four universities, which are :
Stanford - Management Science and Engineering
MIT - SM in Engineering Systems (the 'normal' MS program of ESD)
Manchester business school - MSc Management of Science, Technology and Innovation
LSE - MSc Management and Strategy
For the other three, I am awaiting results.
I wanted to apply to at least a couple of more universities in US, but couldn't, coz nowhere I could find a program which was precisely what I wanted or else provided really good funding :D
I was going to apply to the MEM (engineering management) programs of Dartmouth and Duke but finally decided not to, as the post-study experience (job-searching) of alumni, especially indians, paints a scary picture.
For the ones you have suggested in Europe:
Delft - I know the TUM dept offers 4 programs in tech mgmt. But the problem is that none of them is established enough to be known throughout the globe. Delft's core competence is in technology, not management though. Further, all of their program have a heavy policy oriented and public sector management focus.
The one program MoT, which they are trying to make international in nature, has most of the students who are fresh out of college (I talked to their program administrator at length) and that's why doesn't hold too much of value for employers at this point of time
That's why decided not to apply as I was afraid my experience could potentially go to waste.
(Though I must say, Netherlands is a place where I wud really like to work at some point of my career)
EPF Lussane - I know their MTE program is good, but they say that 40% of their courses are taught in French. So it went out of consideration.
ETH Zurich - They run a D-MTEC program which again looks pretty good and carries the ETH name. But I talked to the director of this program and he told me that to really benefit from this program, I should know German like a native. He said some of the teaching and reference material and guest lectures etc could be in German and for getting a job too, I need solid German.
Thus again, I decided not to apply.
UK - Imperial, Cambridge and Oxford don't have any such program. Rest didn't impress me at all.
The thing u said about job searching in foreign land has given me a kind or reassurance, because I have always believed that if I truly work hard and smart and have a USP for myself and offer something to the employer which no one else does, there is no way that I would remain unemployed.
I will present a hypothesis which I believe in and I would be really grateful if you cud help me improve or rectify it.
I am someone who gets bored pretty easily and from the time I entered college to this moment, I have never been able to know what exactly it is that I want to do or achieve . My career path is not even hazy but completely invisible to me. I am not trying to be boastful here, but it is true that I am actually good at many things (except exams :)) and am usually able to easily finish everything that's assigned to me. This creates a problem because now the method of elimination too doesn't work. Almost everything I do I eliminate from my list. Hence, the list is still kinda empty.
But among all this chaos, there is still one thing which I am sure of, and that is , at some point in life, I am going to take a shot at entrepreneurship (most probably bcoz I'll be bored everything else). There is gonna be a day when I'll start my own venture. This is why I always believe that
"the brand name of a college is more important than what program have you studied there. The kind of experience that I am going to have a top college and the kind of people, student as well as faculty, that I am gonna meet and make valuable contacts, would be an invaluable experience. No matter how good a program is at a mediocre or a lesser known university, the above things will always be missing. And for entrepreneurship, these are the things that matter the most. Also, the first thing VCs and the angel investors will look at, is the brand name of university on my resume. As these are the people who wud probably help me achieve my dream, this further increases the importance of university brand name."
eg. look at the stanford website. Just going thru the details of all the entrepreneurial activities going on there makes my hair stand out. This is the stuff I am talking abt.
(Don't know whether I'll be really going there, even if I get the admit, there is no funding and I am broke 😞 )
Even in my Stanford and MIT essays, I have poured my heart out and only talked about my passion for entrepreneurship. Don't know whether it'll carry me through or not.
Don't know whether I am making any sense or not, but this is what I am.
Your comments are eagerly awaited, as always. :)
Thanks for patiently reading my blah-blah till here :)
Najmuddin
PS: I am not aiming for MBA bcoz abroad it's too expensive and back home CAT is too unpredictable (last 3 years, always on the verge, but never made the cut). Also, if I go to stan or MIT, I wont' really bother about an MBA.
Hi Najmuddin
I also had an offer from LSE, for the same program, but after talking to people in consulting recruitment, in hr, current grads, passed out grads, the scene is very bad and everyone discouraged me to go there. The 2 yr MSc might be better though, but it costs double taking the cost to above 45 lakh, no point.
And, if you enter now, the job hunt will start this oct, which is not an expected recovery point, at least in London. If you wish to come back, then you may get a job, but at a level lower than MBA grads, which makes paying back the loan very hard.
Hi Najmuddin
I also had an offer from LSE, for the same program, but after talking to people in consulting recruitment, in hr, current grads, passed out grads, the scene is very bad and everyone discouraged me to go there. The 2 yr MSc might be better though, but it costs double taking the cost to above 45 lakh, no point.
And, if you enter now, the job hunt will start this oct, which is not an expected recovery point, at least in London. If you wish to come back, then you may get a job, but at a level lower than MBA grads, which makes paying back the loan very hard.
Hi paradigm8,
Did you have the offer for this year??
And can you pls elaborate on the bad scene? Is it just for the grads of this program or is it the same for every program of LSE?
Also, are you passing out from college this year or do you have some work experience?
Thanks
Najmuddin
Yes I had the offer for this year, its everywhere man for all programs and its close to impossible for international students to get a job. I have close to 2 yrs of work ex. Some guy who passed out last year is working as a bartender, another passed out in 2007 was still looking for a job acc to his linkedin.
paradigm8 SaysYes I had the offer for this year, its everywhere man for all programs and its close to impossible for international students to get a job. I have close to 2 yrs of work ex. Some guy who passed out last year is working as a bartender, another passed out in 2007 was still looking for a job acc to his linkedin.
I too have heard a lot of depressing stories... but haven't decided anything as of now... I have been granted some scholarship and I'll see if I can arrange funds with minimum of loan... then only I'll decide anything...
Have you already declined your offer?
Did you receive any funding along with the offer??
Have you already declined your offer?
Did you receive any funding along with the offer??
Yes, declined.
No aid, creeps removed merit based award this year.
Yes, declined.
No aid, creeps removed merit based award this year.
The GMA of last year has been replaced by GSS (Graduate support scheme) this year which is based.
I have been awarded 7000 pounds thru GSS.
I had specifically asked this question of them, whether it was need or need&merit; and from this year it is only need based, that being said I guess I went with their suggestion of ask only what you really want and got screwed.
7k GBP is good, which brings your tut down to max 8 Lacs I suppose, around the same for living expenses
hi
I have a work x of around 3 years in quality assurance with very good MNCs. Can someone suggest me, if doing MBA makes a sense with this experience, and is there some course across the globe pertaining to this experience????????
I have done only my BSc, could it be a hurdle????
I had specifically asked this question of them, whether it was need or need&merit; and from this year it is only need based, that being said I guess I went with their suggestion of ask only what you really want and got screwed.
7k GBP is good, which brings your tut down to max 8 Lacs I suppose, around the same for living expenses
yeah... but 8 + 8 = 16 lacs is still a lot of money to be spent thru loans...
I'd be going there only if I am able to minimize my loan liabilities...
Do you have any other admits for this year? If you're not going to LSE then what are ur plans? continuing in the same job?
I'm desperate for going to a management program bcoz i don't wanna continue in my present job and industry... wht abt u?
I think we have kind of high-jacked this thread, check your pm.
:)
Hi
I have 2.5 yrs of exp in software industry.
B.E- 73.2%
XII - 63%
X - 62.8%
sports activites - good
I wanna pursue MBA but not in IT/Systems
I am interested in tourism/finance/advertising..
wouls it be difficult for me to go ahead for some other specialisation as
my experience is in IT
also as my acads are not very much attractive.
what should I do to get into a descent B-school
Kindly help
Thanks
Hi baccardisprite
i have an offer from LSE for their 2 yrs MSc Economics program. I have done my undergrad engineering from BITS (India) and would like to get into a good MBA school later on.
How good is the economics masters from LSE? the fees is pretty steep... thats why i am also looking at the ROI.
I have admits in MS (electrical engg) as well from cornell/columbia/penn state/dartmouth.
Considering the fact that i am most likely going to try for a good MBA program later, where shud i enroll right now? (Economics or EE).
thanks.
I was not able to post a new scrap , hence including my question as a reply.I hope it is understood.
----
At the outset , I think this is the best thread I have come across.I appreciate your efforts Baccardisprite.You are altering trajectories of lives here.Great going.Do tell us more about you.
Now the background and the question.
Past and present - I work and have worked for top 20 NASSCOM IT companies .Work ex - 13.5 years.
Role - Handling a part of an account (business unit) for revenue and margins. Size -5 M USD.
6 + years of experience managing business for GE sub businesses.
International exposure - short term in US .
Good understanding of Offshoring in business .
Impressive performance record.
Technology , Sales and Delivery background.
Sales and business background from a Non IT standpoint, handling business for half of western India early on in my career.Understand Sales in Indian market.
Interests - Finance and Strategy, Financial markets.Before the meltdown had built a portfolio of about 3.5 Million INR in Indian markets , Which is a serious amount for me.My other passions include knowing other cultures and people and have some artistic leanings too (read sketching & painting and writing ).
Education - NIT Trichy -Electrical and Electronics engineering.
GMAT - Q-46 , V23 (580)....scope for improvement here.
Weakness - RC.Missed answering 2 questions in Quant...my folly ..No excuses though!
Extra Cirriculars - Quizzing,Debating,Photography.
I dont have any social work to my credit but have ample incidents to recount my contribution ...at work , community or in the cirlces I move in.
Passionate about giving a hand to those impacted by ethnic strife and terrorism .
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I want to study Finance and Strategy and leverage my engineering background , diverse exposure and my interest for a few years now (read Finance esp the stock markets) to get into a Top B school in India (open to comparable schools outside as long as the cost is matching or )for a 1 year .Eventually act as a change agent /leader for my community. MBA is for my self and take home some learnings and network of people who fit in the scheme of things later for other goals.I accept that it is not a show stopper for the rest of job at hand though .I am open to new ideas of studying finance &strategy; , which I think is the forte of this thread.Please chip in with your thoughts.Awaiting.Thanks!.
ps- I am specially looking for schools where the score is not a barrier/mindset but experience , potential and the desire to achieve also count.
Puys,
Any opinion on:
1. MPhil in Management/Innovation, Strategy & Organisation offered by Judge at Cambridge
2. MSc Management Research offered by Said at Oxford
Thanks.
guys,
any threads on discussing PhD options here?
Thanks.
Hi baccardisprite ,U r posts are really good.Appreciate u r efforts in helping & advising every1.
I am eng. graduate with 6.5+ IT exp. in Indian MNC .I am stuck at project Lead for almost 2 yrs ,i am planning to take MBA because of long term goal of grwoing to a high position in organization & once we reach at specific levels we need to play a integration role understanding business & delivery.My understanding is that not all will grow in the organization ,say to reach Technical manager or Group Heads to Vice presidents.To grow to such levels we need to have good qualification (read good MBA) + Experience.
If i want to do MBA which courses should help me in building my career ?
Many a times i questioning my self do i need a good MBA degree or not ?
hi baccardisprite,
firstly, your thread is something akin to GOD-send to me! thanx a million for coming up with this!
as for me, i am an EEE with almost 4 years in the IT industry as a software consultant! i am desperate to get out of this mess that is the indian IT services industry! i am very keen on majoring in Finance, preferable an MS/MSc in Finance. i have an admit offer from Queen's University, Belfast for their september 2009 intake in their MSc in Finance course. what i would like to know is, with the global recession still going pretty strong & with no tangible sign of abating, what would be my prospect after i finish my MSc from Belfast? how is the job scenario out there vis-a-vis finance? it would be great if you could throw some light on this! am not really in a position for an MBA in Finance from abroad because of the financial investment involved. looking forward to hearing from you on this. thanx in advance!!
cheers
Hi baccardisprite,
I m currently running up my own web venture and would be appearing for GMAT soon..I just wanted to know..does learning a foreign language enhances your profile...??nd if yes which one to go for (French/German/Spanish) or may be you can tell us what are the points which one should consider before choosing the language..
Please help!!
Considerations - what country do you intend studying in? Which industry do you want to work in - for example if it's automotive, precision engineering, technology, pharma & life sciences (German would be helpful). If it's luxury brand management (French) and if retail then french or spanish... Industry, company, company language, country you want to live and work in... etc....