Hi,

I am a chartered accountant and currently live and work in Italy. I worked overseas in the past (in Vietnam) for about five years. Then the pandemic broke out and for personal situations I had to return to Italy. I now work in a tax office, but I am quite dissatisfied with my current job. I would like to go back to work abroad (Dubai, Asia or even Vietnam) and above all I would like to be able to work in Fintech. For this reason I thought about an MBA, to acquire the necessary skills but also why I hope it will open up job opportunities abroad. My preference is for an online MBA, because I can't quit my job right now and because Executive MBA in presence might be too expensive for me.

I excluded American universities from my choice (I am not interested in working in the USA) and also because lessons in distance learning will be live (the time zone with the USA is too wide to follow lessons from Italy). Furthermore, there are not many universities that offer Fintech and Blockchain courses. Consequently the field of choice is restricted to these universities:

Alliance Manchester Global MBA (Online + 5 workshops face to face)

Imperial College global online

Warwick Distance Learning

Hult Live Online

Among these universities, Hult is the one that offers the program that I like the most, but it is also a quite controversial university. As for the others, they offer similar programs and are all highly rated. What would you suggest to me?

Besides, an MBA is an important investment, could it help me to have new job opportunities (I just turned 40) and in a new field?

Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated.

[Edited by Paulus27 on Apr 25, 2022]

I don't think fintechs recruit a lot of MBAs, and certainly not from online programs. Pick the school on the basis of where the alumni are and where you want to be. Bradford, Manchester, SP Jain have major locations in Dubai (unlike Hult, and do consider cautiously the modest rise of Hult's reputation). RMIT and big Singaporean schools have a hood network in Vietnam. Also, consider a degree focussed on fintech rather than a general management MBA. Bradford has a good fintech online MSs, as do Duke, UNSW and the University of London. NYU Stern requires 7 weeks away from the office. 

Before committing to doing a degree, have you done enough research into the fintech sector? Fintech is quite broad and fast changing. It includes the aforementioned blockchain (and crypto) as well as payments, regtech (regulatory and compliance) and so on.

Have a look at the short EdX course from Hong Kong University which, although dates from 2018, might give you a good broad introduction into fintech. You'll find similar courses there or on Coursera.

A lot of fintechs are startups and scaleups so that is something to bear in  mind if you've never worked in that kind of company.

Thanks for your advice.

Duncan, I thought about an MBA rather than an Msc because I am 40 years old, maybe I am wrong but I think that an MBA gives much more opportunity to build a network than an  Msc. I am 40 years old and I am afraid that without the right contacts it is difficult to be hired after a certain age. What do you think about it?

Stern has a fantastic Ms in fintech, but it's too expensive, I couldn't afford it. There are many rumors about Hult. But it has triple accreditation. I don't know what to think.
Duncan, honestly what do you think about Hult Business School and its MBA?

[Edited by Paulus27 on Apr 26, 2022]

LInkedIn has your answer. Look at which schools are most present in the sectors and countries you want to work in. It's obviously not Hult.