Hi everyone!

I am a lawyer, based out of India. I have nearly three years of work experience in corporate law in my home country. I want to move out of the legal space and move into marketing (drastic, i know). While I do not have prior experience in marketing, i am interested in pursuing a career in it. Based on my preliminary research, I was really impressed with the HEC Paris, EDHEC and EmLyon MBA programs because their marketing courses look great. However, I have gathered that you need to be pretty fluent in French to get a job out of these colleges and I do not have any fluency in French (though I am willing to learn it). I am limiting my search to countries which offer post MBA job search visas. Would it be prudent for me to go to a French university, or any other European university for that matter? I gather that Germany (Mannheim) and Netherlands (Erasmus) , both of which offer post study work visas have the same language inhibitory issues. Should I try the UK? if yes, which universities would be good for marketing as a specialisation? I am slightly skeptical of the UK because I've been told that post MBA job opportunities may be difficult to find for non UK/EU citizens, though I am sure this caveat applies to the rest of EU too.

Alternatively, should I go for an Msc in Marketing instead of an MBA? My only issue with that is that I already have three years of work ex, albeit not relevant work ex. How much does relevant experience matter in finding a job? Will an MSc in marketing be a viable option for someone with no relevant work ex to find a job in a foreign country?

I do want to stress that finding a job post the MBA is a huge factor for me. I would be very grateful if anyone could suggest colleges based on what i mentioned above!

Thanks a bunch in advance :)

There's a lot to unpack in your situation and keywords like Indian, marketing, culture, language and acculturation will help you to search through the board. 

In a nutshell, marketers need both understanding and the ability to communicate with great nuance to their audiences. A fluent speaker of French from Pondicherry, placed in Paris, offers limited value. The opportunity is to identify where they initially might offer the most value, and how to increase their value. So, for example:
- Which French firms sell the most in India, and what can they do better to help their sales channel and clients in India that their colleague in India cannot?
- Are there skills gaps you can fill? France has higher quantitative skills than many European countries, but perhaps there are issues of international law that matter in France? Perhaps international commercial law could offer you the opportunity to work in France while you acculturate.
- Is there some B2B marketing role supporting the internationalization of some legal marketing activity?

As an alternative to a costly MBA, I would suggest a year in a state university's intensive language programme followed by a specialised MSc like https://neoma-bs.com/programmes/msc-marketing-french-excellence/

There's a lot to unpack in your situation and keywords like Indian, marketing, culture, language and acculturation will help you to search through the board. 

In a nutshell, marketers need both understanding and the ability to communicate with great nuance to their audiences. A fluent speaker of French from Pondicherry, placed in Paris, offers limited value. The opportunity is to identify where they initially might offer the most value, and how to increase their value. So, for example:
- Which French firms sell the most in India, and what can they do better to help their sales channel and clients in India that their colleague in India cannot?
- Are there skills gaps you can fill? France has higher quantitative skills than many European countries, but perhaps there are issues of international law that matter in France? Perhaps international commercial law could offer you the opportunity to work in France while you acculturate.
- Is there some B2B marketing role supporting the internationalization of some legal marketing activity?

As an alternative to a costly MBA, I would suggest a year in a state university's intensive language programme followed by a specialised MSc like https://neoma-bs.com/programmes/msc-marketing-french-excellence/

[Edited by ria basu on May 17, 2021]

Are the job prospects really worse in the UK than in countries where you don't speak the language? Is Ireland an option?

Are the job prospects really worse in the UK than in countries where you don't speak the language? Is Ireland an option?

[Edited by ria basu on May 17, 2021]

The MBA is a general management degree. A master's specialised in marketing is an MSc, almost always. The issue with Indians finding marketing jobs isn't smaller with the UK than with countries where they have lower language skills and worse acculturation. If you want to do marketing, focus on your skills gap and look at what you need to add value. UK marketers don't have or need MBAs, generally, and the CIM PG Diploma can be taken inexpensively online to give you a huge step forward. 

The MBA is a general management degree. A master's specialised in marketing is an MSc, almost always. The issue with Indians finding marketing jobs isn't smaller with the UK than with countries where they have lower language skills and worse acculturation. If you want to do marketing, focus on your skills gap and look at what you need to add value. UK marketers don't have or need MBAs, generally, and the CIM PG Diploma can be taken inexpensively online to give you a huge step forward. 

You've been given some good suggestions on how to think about how to use your experience to identify the sort of roles where your background will be an asset rather than a liability. Marketing is very hard to get into, especially if you are creating customer materials if you are not acculturated to the market. So, more technical roles will help, like analytics and digital, and roles where you can leverage your B2B experience. No, a CIM qualification will not by itself get you a job, but the CIM is the most respected marketing qualification. You can study it by distance learning now and then start to put more effort into thinking specifically about where you can add value in Europe. This isn't easy, but don't ask for guidance if you don't want homest answers. 

You've been given some good suggestions on how to think about how to use your experience to identify the sort of roles where your background will be an asset rather than a liability. Marketing is very hard to get into, especially if you are creating customer materials if you are not acculturated to the market. So, more technical roles will help, like analytics and digital, and roles where you can leverage your B2B experience. No, a CIM qualification will not by itself get you a job, but the CIM is the most respected marketing qualification. You can study it by distance learning now and then start to put more effort into thinking specifically about where you can add value in Europe. This isn't easy, but don't ask for guidance if you don't want homest answers. 

Let's play nicely, people :)