Hi,
I´m just looking around and it is making me crazy. I have seen a lot of different options. I have to apply for one of this schools to start in September, furthermore i have seen that there are masters in management. What could be more interesting for me MBA or the Management one. I have five years experience as computer engineer, pre sales and post sales engineer in the Communications and Networking area. Could you give me some advice?
I would like to know which one is the best option and why.

The IMB Institute of Management Berlin MBA.
HHL Leipzig.
MBA Saarland university.

Any other suggestion?

Thanks in advance.

Is this a trick question? ;-)

HHL is the outstanding choice: it's one of very few internationally-accredited schools in Germany. It is around six times better than the BSEL or Saarland programmes.

Hi Duncan,
You caught me, it was a tricky question. :)Thanks for your answer, to be honest i supposed that and it is mind to be that way because the price is just the double. Following your suggestion I think I will apply there. I don´t wanna waste the money just doing something cheaper so will try the best option.

What about?

Frankfurt School of Finance & Management

Executive MBA
or
Master in Management (M.Sc.)

Thanks in advance for your help.

Again, the Frankfurt school doesn't have international accreditation, and the educational experience will be worse than the HHL. Given your work experience, you should look for a MBA. If you want to continue working, then an executive MBA is a good choice but there are far better schools than the HfB, which is really a vocational school for Frankfurt banks.

Thanks again for your help.
The information provided is very usefull for me.

One more question.

Which one is better. Are all of them good enough?
Gisma Hannover
HHL Leipzig
Mannheim MBS
Hannover suits me because i have house there. IS it good option?

Thanks
Thanks

Personally I am a fan of GISMA, but HHL will have better outcomes and connections, and Mannheim even better. Mannheim is clearly a programme with an international orientation and profile, which will have a strong reputation in 20 or 40 years, while GISMA might not be able to continue its relationship with Purdue and the brand name might be lost.

Hi,

I come back to you again because I belive that you are a trustful and very useful source.

Here is my situation.

I was going to go to Germany simply to improve my German knowledge, as I thought it is not enough excuse to stay there over a Year I thought it could be great do something else. Study a MBA, the idea is to live and work over there for a while at least 4 years.

I saw a million of different MBA?s and although I wanted to go to GISMA or HHL because one of your recommendations but it is gonna be impossible. I didn?t manage properly the time to get the GMAT on time, so I wont get the finance help and maybe either the admission. I don?t want to wait another year, to go over there. My questions are:

I?m thinking in HWR in Berlin. I know it is worst than HHL or Gisma but? no chance. Is this MBA gonna give me like extra knowledge and better CV?
Could you recommend me another one without GMAT exam for admission?
What is the FIbaa and Zeva reputation in Germany and outside?

Thanks a lot.

HWR isn't just worse, it's qualitatively worse. Because of the crazy prejudice against Fachhochschulen, I think many Germans would say there are four tiers:
- Elite schools (either private or in a private foundation connected to a university) like HHL, WHU, Mannheim
- Public universities like Leipzig's SME MBA, Freiberg or Goethe
- Top Fachhochschulen like Esslingen, Reutlingen and Pforzheim
- The others.

How about the Management Center Innsbruck? Generally, the Austrian FH's look better funded.

Hi,
I have an admission offer for Masters in Management, starting sep '12 at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. I look forward to specialize in manufacturing concentration. I am a Non-EU candidate. An Electrical Engineer and I come with 4.5 years of Exp. in manufacturing at SIEMENS. Though my work-ex is more suitable for MBA, I have choosen M.Sc. for a specialized study and thesis on operations reaserch.

- What are the opportunities for M.Sc. in Management in Germany?

-Please advise me on post degree job prospects for Non-EU guys, Non-EU work permit etc, provided they learn basic german during the course.

- A general idea about salary difference for M.Sc. in Management + 4.5 yrs exp & MBA + 4.5 yrs exp.

- Besides, I got an info that FSFM is on the verge of completion of AASCB accreditation, expected Feb '13.

Thanks,

Again, the Frankfurt school doesn't have international accreditation, and the educational experience will be worse than the HHL. Given your work experience, you should look for a MBA. If you want to continue working, then an executive MBA is a good choice but there are far better schools than the HfB, which is really a vocational school for Frankfurt banks.

I can't imagine what sort of operations management role in Germany would not require fluent German. If you do not speak intermediate German before you arrive, you cannot be fluent in German by the end of the course.

If the school is not accredited by the time you start your degree, what would your alternative be??

Thanks for your feedback! I agree that language requirment is a real challenge. It depends on individual how fast he can pick up. Besides, the school gives 500 hrs German training. Apart from language, could you please advice on other challenges and risks involved for me as a Non-EU student.

I don't have an alternative but I am sure by the time I'll graduate in Sep '14, the school will be AASCB accredited. So, although I do not get admitted into an AASCB accredited institute, I'll pass from an accredited one. Does it make a difference? Besided, the institue is accredited by German Govt. Finance, IB & Healthcare degrees are already accredited by FIBBA.

I can't imagine what sort of operations management role in Germany would not require fluent German. If you do not speak intermediate German before you arrive, you cannot be fluent in German by the end of the course.

If the school is not accredited by the time you start your degree, what would your alternative be??

There's a big discussion on this site about the MBA in Germany. Rather than repeat it, I invite you to read it directly: http://www.find-mba.com/boardsearch/q/language+Germany+MBA

There are, self-evidently, four challenges:
- Language. 500 hours is not enough to learn German to the level of professional fluency, especially if combined with a demanding graduate programme. If you have trouble with this, ask a second year student in the programme who arrived with no German.
- Skill. A four semester MSc in management with a "specialisation" in OR will give you one course in OR out of 16. It's actually not very specialised in OR. Isn't a degree in OR a better preparation for a career in OR?
- Placement. The degree is designed for apprentices, allowing them to work three days a week and spend the rest of the week at the school. Because many of the German students will already have jobs, and because the school feeds into banks, I don't think it will jave a strong placement service for the manufacturing concentration. Speak with alumni, ideally German alumni.
- Nationality. Every face in the brochure is white, and every name is German. Are you sure that this programme is able to support international students looking for roles in Germany?

If you start or finish at a school when it is not accredited, then your degree is not accredited. It might not make a difference, but how can you take anone's word that the school will get accreditation? The school doesn't decide that.

Of course it is not accredited by the government (the German government doesn't do that); it will be recognised by the local state government (staatliche anerkannte). These tiny private universities are not so well understood in Germany, but the quality of education can be great.

You will be better advised to take a year to learn German and then take a one year accredited MBA. You will graduate no later, but have a much more solid future.

I'd say that generally salaries in German will be 40K+ for MSc alumni from accredited schools and 65K+ for MBA grads. Totally different roles will come to the top business schools like WHU, GISMA, HHL and Mannheim: they just are not available to MSc graduates.

Thanks for your kind advice!
Could you please elaborate more (if possible with examples in different business sectors) on the job roles and profiles offered to a M.Sc.Management graduates as compared to an MBA graduate.

There's a big discussion on this site about the MBA in Germany. Rather than repeat it, I invite you to read it directly: http://www.find-mba.com/boardsearch/q/language+Germany+MBA

There are, self-evidently, four challenges:
- Language. 500 hours is not enough to learn German to the level of professional fluency, especially if combined with a demanding graduate programme. If you have trouble with this, ask a second year student in the programme who arrived with no German.
- Skill. A four semester MSc in management with a "specialisation" in OR will give you one course in OR out of 16. It's actually not very specialised in OR. Isn't a degree in OR a better preparation for a career in OR?
- Placement. The degree is designed for apprentices, allowing them to work three days a week and spend the rest of the week at the school. Because many of the German students will already have jobs, and because the school feeds into banks, I don't think it will jave a strong placement service for the manufacturing concentration. Speak with alumni, ideally German alumni.
- Nationality. Every face in the brochure is white, and every name is German. Are you sure that this programme is able to support international students looking for roles in Germany?

If you start or finish at a school when it is not accredited, then your degree is not accredited. It might not make a difference, but how can you take anone's word that the school will get accreditation? The school doesn't decide that.

Of course it is not accredited by the government (the German government doesn't do that); it will be recognised by the local state government (staatliche anerkannte). These tiny private universities are not so well understood in Germany, but the quality of education can be great.

You will be better advised to take a year to learn German and then take a one year accredited MBA. You will graduate no later, but have a much more solid future.

I'd say that generally salaries in German will be 40K+ for MSc alumni from accredited schools and 65K+ for MBA grads. Totally different roles will come to the top business schools like WHU, GISMA, HHL and Mannheim: they just are not available to MSc graduates.

MSc graduates go into entry level functional roles. MBAs typically work as functional managers or consultants. Perhaps visit the websites of some of these schools and read their careers services pages.

What if an M.Sc. Mgmt. grad has a more than 4 years of experience and he pursues his career in the sector for which has prior experience, as in my case. Will roles be again at entry level and accordingly salaries?

MSc graduates go into entry level functional roles. MBAs typically work as functional managers or consultants. Perhaps visit the websites of some of these schools and read their careers services pages.

Well, with four years' work experience the person might be an experienced hire, so they might get hired into the sort of role they could have gotten without their MSc. But they won't get an MBA-type role because an MSc doesn't contain the intensive managerial skills development element of an MBA. Employers recruit for those roles out of MBA programmes and, in today's economy, they are 'upgrading' to graduates of better programmes at better school.

So you mean M.Sc. will not help me at this career level. It will just give me an opportunity to work in Germany and have international exposure.

Well, with four years' work experience the person might be an experienced hire, so they might get hired into the sort of role they could have gotten without their MSc. But they won't get an MBA-type role because an MSc doesn't contain the intensive managerial skills development element of an MBA. Employers recruit for those roles out of MBA programmes and, in today's economy, they are 'upgrading' to graduates of better programmes at better school.

I think the opportunity to work will improve (more offers, and for better jobs) if you take an MBA. The Frankfurt MSc attracts you because it has a course in operations and you can write a thesis.

The MBA at GISMA (just one example) has three electives in operations (one for factories, one for services and the third for global manufacturing) http://www.gisma.com/en/full-time-mba/program/electives.html There's also a four month consulting assignment, which could do on an operations question. I think there will be many MBAs that will give you much better opportunities, as well as better classmates and access to employers looking for experiences students like you.

A footnote: the Frankfurt school's master in finance is very well ranked by the FT: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-finance-pre-experience-2012 After three years the students average $70,000 (55,000 euro).

Very easy and quick question.

I'm gonna be admited in HWR. Just want to know if I should wait one more year (31) and try to access to Gisma, or just go for this one the HWR. I dont wanna feel Im lossing money and time. Just being honestly.

I feel that wait another year could be a bit late regarding my age.

I wait for your opinion.

Thanks again.