How easy is it to get a job after doing an MBA in Canada if you're not Canadian? I was looking at MBAs in the UK, but it seems like it can be hard to get a job there, especially because of the visa issues.

But in Canada, I understand that it's easier to get a visa - but do firms actively recruit people who are just coming out of business school?

I'm looking at the normal schools - McGill, York, Rotman.

The schools publish placement reports. International students do well at finding work in Canada because of the guaranteed work permits. However, salaries can be lower than in the US or Europe.

Alright, thanks, I'll look into the placement reports. Too bad about the lower salaries.

Lower costs too, but a higher supply of foreign talent.

Not always lower cost of living, it's really based on where you end up - for instance, Vancouver is more expensive than US cities in the Pacific Northwest like Seattle. But there's (marginal) cost of living savings in Toronto versus NYC. Montreal is relatively low-cost, a good place to go if you speak French: McGill is a commonly recommended school on these forums, but there's also HEC Montreal.

At least with the visa you could potentially take a menial job after graduation while looking for work - some countries don't even offer that!

There's no way I'm taking a menial job after I pay over 70,000 for an MBA!

Yes, but what I was suggesting is that there's less time pressure compared to if you were in a country where there was less visa flexibility. Maybe *menial* was the wrong word; there are many non-management level jobs that can provide standard living quality in the interim.

I am wondering about this too. It's a bit of a dilemma, it's nice that you can get a work visa but it's sort of meaningless if there are no jobs. Does anybody know anything about the job situation in Canada?

It depends on so many things, including region/city (Canada is a big place), your chosen industry or career field, and which MBA program you do.

This has been discussed some in this thread and elsewhere, but a quick run-down:

1. A ranked MBA program from a school like Schulich, Rotman, Sauder, McGill, or Ivey are usually the best bets, because they have great relationships with a wide range of employers.

2. A city like Toronto will have a lot of jobs, especially in popular sectors like financial services. But Toronto is expensive so it's a trade-off.

3. If you want to get a job in Montreal or the rest of Quebec, it's highly recommended that you speak fluent French.

Do further research through placement reports, LinkedIn, etc.

Okay, thank you. Of the schools that you mentioned, including McGill, Rotman and Schulich especially, which one do you think is the best one for somebody in the marketing field?

From the most recent employment reports from these three schools, it looks like McGill marketing grads have the highest salaries, and by percentage of the class placed the most grads in marketing functions. That said, Schulich comes in a close second.

I was surprised that given Rotman's broad focus in this area, that they don't place as many in marketing roles in the other two schools.

Gotcha, thanks for that.

Forgot to mention that since McGill is in Quebec, there's also the French language issue: it's a great place to be if you speak French. Although, many McGill grads do end up going to other parts of Canada and internationally, so I wouldn't say it's a deal-breaker if you didn't speak the language.