Hi Everyone,

Was hoping you could give me some advice. One of my key personal and professional goals is to work in China/HK in the future, either in asset management or management consultancy. I have c3 years of investment banking experience (emerging markets equity research sales / investment banking) from one of the top global investment banks (based in London). I am also doing part 3 (final part) of the CFA this summer. Furthermore, I have a strong undergrad from the London School of Econ. Is it worth my while going to China (say BLCU) for a year to learn mandarin and apply to MBA programmes such as HKUST / CEIBS while I am in language school? With my background, is an MBA useful? Any advice would be appreciated.

Xie Xie!

Is it worth my while going to China (say BLCU) for a year to learn mandarin and apply to MBA programmes such as HKUST / CEIBS while I am in language school? With my background, is an MBA useful?

Hi Bianca,

Thanks a lot for your advice. You are correct, I was planning on doing an MBA to broaden my skill set and to develop relevant business contacts in that region (whether it be HK or mainland). I was also planning to go to Beijing to learn Mandarin. Do you think that it will be possible to apply for MBA progs such as those in CEIBS, HKUST, Tsinghua etc while I am attending language school? Will this put me at a disadvantage compared to those who are applying while still working? Also, do you think my background / level of work experience is enough for those kind of schools? Based on their websites, a minimum of 2 years is required but I'm assuming successful applicants will have a lot more.

Thanks

This was an interesting article from a Tsinghua student - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/57e3578a-f9eb-11dd-9daa-000077b07658.html - appears to have similarities with you.

I think targetting companies you want to work for while you are in China will be important. Do you want to work for a Multi-national or a Chinese company? It seems most of the opportunities for foreigners in China right now are with Chinese companies, as they are trying to internationalize and do M&A. MNC's in China have been localizing pretty heavy as of late. Tsinghua and Beida may be the best schools for getting in with Chinese companies - so many of their undergraduates are in the top Management of those companies and may have sympathy to a fellow foreign alumni.

thanks for that strekstar! another friend of mine told me about tsinghua and i must admit, it sounds pretty amazing! I've worked for MNCs during my career so far and would probably want to work for a high growth Chinese company if I was there! Do you think that I should apply while still working here in London or bite the bullet, move to Beijing this fall to begin studying Mandarin and then apply while I am there?

thanks for that strekstar! another friend of mine told me about tsinghua and i must admit, it sounds pretty amazing! I've worked for MNCs during my career so far and would probably want to work for a high growth Chinese company if I was there! Do you think that I should apply while still working here in London or bite the bullet, move to Beijing this fall to begin studying Mandarin and then apply while I am there?

thanks for that strekstar! another friend of mine told me about tsinghua and i must admit, it sounds pretty amazing! I've worked for MNCs during my career so far and would probably want to work for a high growth Chinese company if I was there! Do you think that I should apply while still working here in London or bite the bullet, move to Beijing this fall to begin studying Mandarin and then apply while I am there?

Hi nazking,

Regarding the language, here's a link to the best description I found of mandarin requirements in China: http://www.find-mba.com/board/9083

Basically, if your goal is to work for a Chinese company in China, the odds are that 3 years in Beijing will hardly be enough. It will be a good start, but my understanding is that (if you start from scratch) it would take you something around 4 or 5 years of immersion to be proficient enough.
In this respect, 1 year of mandarin study + 2 MBA years at Tsinghua or PKU would bring you to a good intermediate level.
Then, expect to work another year or two at and MNC or chinese companies expanding overseas before achieving complete fluency.


As for your worries about taking a year off to study and putting in on paper, I believe that studying mandarin is one of the few things that can be shown as "value studies". Spending a full year at it or only a semester may be questionnable, but exposure to China (or any of the BRICs for that matter) can not be considered by any serious b-school as an error on your CV.

Will I be okay with 3 years experience in reality at the best Chinese schools?

Will I be okay with 3 years experience in reality at the best Chinese schools?

From my research, Tsinghua or PKU have "lower" requirements for foreign students (unlike for Chinese nationals). The reason is that foreign students is a good way to raise their profile.
Check out Tsinghua's requirements page (http://mba.sem.tsinghua.edu.cn/tabid/185/Default.aspx) and you'll find that the requirements are very poor, with WE being only optional.

In reality, I think that although it use to be fairly easy to get in a couple of years ago, these institution are getting harder to get into as their programmes become more acknowledged worldwide.
However, 3 years of WE should be enough in your case (esp. with CFA Level 3).

Hi Everyone,

Was hoping you could give me some advice. One of my key personal and professional goals is to work in China/HK in the future, either in asset management or management consultancy. I have c3 years of investment banking experience (emerging markets equity research sales / investment banking) from one of the top global investment banks (based in London). I am also doing part 3 (final part) of the CFA this summer. Furthermore, I have a strong undergrad from the London School of Econ. Is it worth my while going to China (say BLCU) for a year to learn mandarin and apply to MBA programmes such as HKUST / CEIBS while I am in language school? With my background, is an MBA useful? Any advice would be appreciated.

Xie Xie!

Hi Everyone,

Was hoping you could give me some advice. One of my key personal and professional goals is to work in China/HK in the future, either in asset management or management consultancy. I have c3 years of investment banking experience (emerging markets equity research sales / investment banking) from one of the top global investment banks (based in London). I am also doing part 3 (final part) of the CFA this summer. Furthermore, I have a strong undergrad from the London School of Econ. Is it worth my while going to China (say BLCU) for a year to learn mandarin and apply to MBA programmes such as HKUST / CEIBS while I am in language school? With my background, is an MBA useful? Any advice would be appreciated.

Xie Xie!

Hey,
I'm based in HK right now and I used to live in Beijing. I think I can give you my two cents.

If you want to work in China /HK, you've got a good academic background there so that's all good. However, the main asset if you want to settle here is to have actual Asian experience, so it's great that you are considering HKUST/ CEIBS.

As for the language school--1 year would realistically not help you develop the level you need to actually work here. Why don't you just apply straight for the program, and then develop your language skils while you're at it? That makes more sense to me in terms of how you should invest your time and money.

Also, personally, I think that you should aim for Peking U or Tsinghua. As noted by another poster, their requirements for foreigners are lower because Mainland China, in general, still have a distance to go before becoming a more international region. Also, Peking U and Tsinghua are 1) the top schools in China, 2) well-respected in Hong Kong as well so you hit two regions with one stone, 3) allows you to develop your mandarin skills and 4) allows you to communicate with the people in both China and HK (people in HK speak Cantonese).

Finally, an MBA is always useful, and if you've got the relevant experience and if you've done your research, you will be able to launch a career in asset management / management consultancy.

Thanks for that - very informative! You might be right about applying while I am still working. I guess my initial thought was to spend a year learning Mandarin at language school and then continuing with it while doing the MBA to gain a greater level of fluency. However, the risk I'll be taking is that I won't have anything to fall back on if I'm rejected. I guess you can't win either way!
Did you study at either Peking U or Tsinghua? Did you have prior Mandarin fluency?

Thanks for that - very informative! You might be right about applying while I am still working. I guess my initial thought was to spend a year learning Mandarin at language school and then continuing with it while doing the MBA to gain a greater level of fluency. However, the risk I'll be taking is that I won't have anything to fall back on if I'm rejected. I guess you can't win either way!
Did you study at either Peking U or Tsinghua? Did you have prior Mandarin fluency?

Hi again,
In my case, I'm hoping to go to Tsinghua starting from next year. Prior that, I'm planning to take mandarin lessons to achieve at least some fluency.

Why ?
1) Because the best thing about a Tsinghua or a PKU is not the IMBA classes (which will probably be average), it's the Chinese network. The chinese students there are going to be the some of the brightest and most interesting people one can find in China. So communication with them is a must for me.
2) Because (crossing my fingers real hard) I'd love to attend classes taught in mandarin either at the b-school or other departments (eg. Engineering school), where I'm sure the education will be top notch.
3) It will just make things much much easier. Seriously, you don't want to go at a Beijing restaurant and look at the menu with a blank face...

Would it be possible for you to take mandarin lessons while still working ?

i think Bianca is right - knowing Mandarin is essential for networking in mainland china. that's why i would take mandarin lessons before if i where you - i think that with intensive studying, you may get the basic level needed for communication pretty quick, and then be able to develop your skills further during the MBA.

i think Bianca is right - knowing Mandarin is essential for networking in mainland china. that's why i would take mandarin lessons before if i where you - i think that with intensive studying, you may get the basic level needed for communication pretty quick, and then be able to develop your skills further during the MBA.

If you could afford it(both money wise and career wise), you should consider taking this year for intensive mandarin learning in china. this would not only give you a good basis for further development of your language skills during the MBA, but also a better understanding of the culture, which is a very important thing for one wanting to do business there.

that being said, it is a big investment and you should really be clear with yourself about your goals before deciding to make such a move.

that being said, it is a big investment and you should really be clear with yourself about your goals before deciding to make such a move.

The opportunity cost is, in many ways, very limited. Also, the financing side of it isn't the issue - its more a question of whether or not, having started a year's worth of study this year, I'll actually get into the programmes! If not, I'll be a bit stuck...

Hi nazking,

From what I understand, your question is really about the admission process and the application justification of spending 1 year off work and studying chinese.

Only you have the answer. Is learning chinese truly a part of your career progression? What is your own motivation?

As answer tips :

Recently I read a survey conducted with many people leading successful careers (check here if you want: www.radical1000.com).
To the question "Which would you do to boost your long-term chances of success?"
Answers were:
- Lie about where you went to college: 13.8%
- Work every weekend for a year: 26.4%
- Take a big pay cut: 29%
- Learn a new language: 92.6%

Learning a new language is - by far - considered to be the best way to boost long-term chances of success. In my opinion, learning chinese (or russian, or hindi, or portuguese) should be in the mind of everyone who expect to succeed in tomorrow's world.

I totally agree with Bianca! learning a new language is a great way to boost your success chances in general. although we often get the feeling that knowing English is enough in this world, this is far from truth - there are lots of cases where you can benefit from knowing the local language, especially when it comes to lands like china(but also Germany, Spain ect.). although most people do understand written English now days, a lot of them are having trouble understanding spoken English, and prefer to talk their own language(the best example for it is Koreans - from my experience, they all understand English very good when written, but are usually having trouble understanding it when spoken)

if i where you, i would take this chance - if you don't get excepted there, you would surely be able to use the fact you know mandarin in order to get to another school some where, or to get a better job.