I am from Pakistan with 39 months of work experience but I want to do my MBA in New Zealand. What are the best options, based on job prospects in the country? I have limited my search to the Auckland University of Technology, Otago Business School, and the Victoria University of Wellington. I plan to go into sales or marketing when I am done with the MBA. I have not taken the GMAT yet but believe that I can safely score 640.

I know that Otago tends to recruit people with eight or nine years of work experience, on average, so you may be a little on the young side for that program, at the very least.

In terms of job prospects, I don't think that any of these schools publish career statistics, so you'll have to ask them directly.

Do you know of any good MBA programs in New Zealand where I can apply based on my work experience and GMAT score?

There are only a handful of internationally-accredited business schools which offer full-time MBA programs in the country: the ones you mentioned along with the University of Canterbury. Why not just ask the schools directly to see if they see you as competitive? They should give you an honest opinion.

Another option, based on your work experience, might be a masters in management program. These are generally aimed at people with little to no work experience. Some of the schools you're looking at, including AUT and Otago, offer MSc programs.

Thank you. Can you tell me something about the post MSc job prospects in New Zealand? Do employers there value this degree?

I think the MSc is well understood in most countries in the Commonwealth of Nations, perhaps with the exception of India.

Yes. What I mean is, how does it compare to an MBA for careers in NZ?

Why not ask the schools this question?

The master's in management degrees that Ralph mentioned are from well-regarded business schools, but none of these programs are ranked, and as far as I know none of them have published career data available.

For me, these facts are some red flags, and if I were you I'd want to know about post-MIM career successes for international students. That's a question that can be answered by the business schools themselves.

The MSc is not comparable to an MBA because MSc students don't have the work experience that MBAs have. Salaries are at the very high end for undergraduates.

If that's the case, I think I will wait another year or 2 to apply for an MBA rather than an MSc.

@Ralph About Otago MBA minimum entry requirement. The MINIMUM entry requirement is 3 years work experience. 8 is the AVERAGE work experience in the class. Check out their webpage at: http://www.otagomba.ac.nz/mba-apply-now

[Edited by Seeker on Mar 10, 2015]

I suggest you re-read what I said:

I know that Otago tends to recruit people with eight or nine years of work experience, on average

Hi Zurwa Pak, it is over 2 years since you initially posted your thread. Have you already decided where you want to study? For NZ, only Otago and AUT offer full-time MBA to international students. Victoria and Canterbury mentioned in this thread are just distractions.

[Edited by mba-alum on Apr 19, 2017]