Hello,

I relocated to Canada in late 2011. Before then, I had a very successful and progressive career in Telecommunication but since I landed I have not get any fulfillment in my career. I have an online MBA degree from a Scandinavian country, an electrical degree from my home country, and a post baccalaureate diploma in engineering from University of Manitoba, PRINCE 2 and PMP certification.

I am thinking about pursuing a ranked full time MBA program at University of Alberta, but financing the program seem like a huge barrier because of the following reasons:

- I am married with 2 kids and my wife job pay barely above the minimum salary despite the fact that she also have master degree.
- We have a mortgage. And I will have to stop working if I start the program.

The questions are; is it worth the risk? How can I get financing (scholarship, grants, loan) for the duration of the program and for our living expenses?
Lastly, how fast can I get return on the investment? Will age be a barrier to getting a great job after completion of the program?

Thank you for your time as I look forward to your candid advice.

I suggest you ask the career services team at Manitoba to recommend a career coach to advice you, working you on a career inventory and make a plan.

Thank you Duncan for the advice.

It can be worth the risk depending on your post-MBA goals. Doing an MBA after 40 is not unheard of, but I'd imagine that Alberta (or any other school you apply to) will want to hear specifically what you plan to do with the degree.

And outlining your career goals before such an investment would be good for you too. Many firms in industries that pick up a lot of MBAs (I'm thinking of financial services and management consulting, industries where an MBA is worth the investment) are probably going to be hesitant about picking up somebody over 40 who has no experience in the field.

That's a good point but second and third tier MBA employers can be open. But certainly looking for programs with internships and projects will be best.

Also consider this?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/958b6c88-fd7e-11e4-b824-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3d7HqkXvR

It continues to be good news for MBA students looking for their first job after graduation, with 84 per cent of the companies surveyed planning to recruit MBAs to their workforce this year and 50 per cent of them increasing salaries. The results of the latest survey of employers from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) will also be encouraging news for business schools, which have seen applications to full-time MBA programmes stagnate in recent years.

Hello Duncan /Razors,

Thank you guys for for those additional information.
I am seriously considering U of A for a possible career change into oil and gas. First hurdle will be to get an admission as suggested.

Regards,

Great school for oil and gas. Good luck!

Hi All,

@K_Success - thanks for posting this! I hope you have landed a seat in U of A.

@Duncan - i have read your profile, but still tempted to seek your response on my queries.

My case is similar but a bit less stellar than K_Success. I have a mechanical engineering degree from one of the top 10 colleges in India. I am aged 41, with 17 years of experience, mostly, in B2B Sales in Coatings and Adhesives. I am a middle level sales manager with a team reporting to me. As i have boxed my career in a niche, no. of opportunities are few and further career advancement is getting difficult. I have no family responsibilities and i am looking to settle in canada, but after 40 immigration with a study in canada is the only option looking feasible. I am however open to suggestions for better schools in other countries like Newzealand (Heard Otago MBA is quite helpful in getting careers change). With this background, i am seriously thinking of a full time MBA in Canada (Or any other suggestions) for a career overhaul.

My natural choice would be to get an MBA and return to the same chemical industry at a higher position. After working closely with midstream Oil & Gas, thermal and hydro power utilities in India to provide solutions to their maintenance challenges i got interested in the field of Energy and Sustainability. Solar and green energy seems to be the new sunrise industries.

Please give me your valuable insights on:

1. Two U of Alberta school of business and U of Calgary - Haskayne school of business offer programs in energy and sustainable energy. Which offers a better placement record and which is a better bet for my kind of situation?
2. Which will be a better choice from quality of education and career advancement perspective? an MBA or MSc - Marketing as per - http://www.best-masters.com/ranking-master-marketing-in-north-america/msc-in-management-marketing-queens-university-smith-school-of-business.html.

This is the link to North America ratings for marketing specialisation with top rank given to MSc - Marketing by Columbia Business School. Ranks for Canadian MSc Programs are namely, HEC - 5th, Queens - 7th, Concordia - 8th, Ivey - 9th and schulich - 10th.


Thanks a lot for your time and feedback!

I think a Canadian MBA sounds like a better idea than an MSc in marketing.

I think a Canadian MBA sounds like a better idea than an MSc in marketing.

An on-campus MBA will be much better for you if you want career services. Take a look at part-time and Executive MBAs in the UAE: options like Strathclyde, Manchester, Bradford, SJ Jain and IMT.

Hello Duncan,

Thanks for your response.
There are two parts to my query:

1. At present I cannot afford to lose the monthly salary, so on campus option seems difficult. Let us assume, if I do consider it for a moment, then what kind of job placement records do these institutes have? If you can please share some posts it would be truly useful.

2. I guess there will be some guys out there, who are kind of stuck mid-career and perhaps they can't afford to leave monthly pay cheques to pursue full time on campus MBA. For such people, which is the best possible option? I guess a comprehensive online (with an element of on campus interaction considered) MBA or an online global executive MBA from a highly reputed school. With this premise what will be your view on IE - GEMBA, Warwick GEMBA, Durham - online MBA and strathclyde MBA? The criteria would be ROI, placement within 3 months and career switch to sales consulting or general management.

Thanks in advance!

1. By on-campus I mean on-campus. not full-time. if you study part-time, it will be (other things being equal) better if you find a programme where you are taught as much on campus as possible. That is why I gave you suggestions of part-time and Executives MBAs. So, you could continue to get your monthly salary. The amount of time you spend on campus varied: the Manchester Gloabl MBA, for example, ask for 16 days on campus in the first year, over three long weekends: so, six weekend days and ten week days. You and your company can free up a few week days every four months. Those schools have excellent placement services. Just look at the rankings. I don't need to do the basic research for you: you can easily confirm that.

2. See 1.