Hello,

I am a musician and I applied for several full time MBA programs.

I would like to know, If I will receive an offer, which one would be the best fit for me between:

Warwick, Imperial, Whu, Mannheim or Edhec in terms of industry connections.



Thank You

[Edited by garf on Jan 13, 2021]

Which industry? The music industry? 

And in which countries? Like, WHU might have great connections but if you can't do networking in German then how useful are they?

Thanks for the reply! 

Yes, the music industry in general and the big three (Sony, Universal and Warner Bros) in particular. 

I will give for granted my ability to do networking in countries like Uk or Germany and focus on the school potential and the country itself.

For example, if WHU has great connection in the industry it is definitely something I would evaluate. 
Or, from another point of view, if London still remains as the europe capital of music industry my decision will point towards Imperial.

You might take it for granted, but I can't take for granted that your German acculturation and language skills are at the high level needed. 

Take a look at:
Do you need to speak the local language? www.find-mba.com/board/34713



Specific career goals help you to pick the right MBA (search for it at https://find-mba.com/board/general-forum )



How to use LinkedIn to find the best school www.find-mba.com/board/33571

[Edited by Duncan on Jan 14, 2021]

Duncan you are perfectly right on that, what I wanted to say is that I would begin study the language and doing my best in studying the language, but before I would like to have a clear idea of which university is best for me on the basis of the industry connections rather than language barriers. 

Yes, I appreciate that you would like to ignore the language barrier but the language barrier will not ignore you. 

Yes, I will ignore them for the moment, given that the german MBAs offers language courses and I have some month of study before the program start to immerse myself in the language. this, plus the MBA course, will add to one year and a half in total, that is not much for german language but enough for make valuable connection in the industry. My question is if the industry does exist and if so, which university has the better connections

You absolutely misunderstand me.

I read your great post on language and the fact that it is very difficult to find a job in Germany even with a C1. I will take that into consideration in my choice. But let's say I speak a fluent German, French and Spanish, (I applied also for Esade and Iese), which one will you suggest? I did my research both on linkedin and on the general forum that you kindly send to me, but I really cannot decide. Thank you very much anyway!

The barrier here is that you think that you think you can get to professional fluency in a year and a half, alongside a demanding degree in English taught in an English-speaking bubble, and that you ignore the whole issue of acculturation. As Stuart says, the language barrier can't be ignored in that way. 

When you did your research in LinkedIn, what did you find out? 

PS I think you mean Warner Music, not Warner Bros. 

[Edited by Duncan on Jan 15, 2021]

I searched LinkedIn for MBAs in the Music industry for UK, DE, ES, FR. The schools with the most alumni are three specialist schools in France, and two top-tier b-schools:

ICART

EMIC Paris. Ecole de Management des Industries Créatives

MBA ESG

London Business School

ESSEC Business School

I need to thank you very much for the great post on linkedin search, I arrived at basically the same result you had. This will make me review my priorities on which Mba school to choose. Regarding the language, I know you are right. 

Just an update on my situation: I have been admitted to Edhec, Whu Otto and Mannheim MBA. 

I am also waiting for Iese and Esade to let me know but they will let me know in more than a month, so for now I will accept and reserve a seat in one of the schools I already been admitted. Any suggestion on which to choose? Duncan? Thank you very much again.

I would do the same analysis, looking at those schools' alumni in your industry. 

I did but there are too few, I will go for the overall best school. But, it is hard to decide. Edhec is 7th on economist but low on ft.com, and has the plus of the language. Whu and Mannheim are wonderful schools too but the language is a minus. I really don't know, not easy decision. I will take into account also entrepreneurship and salary after graduation (obviously). 

I did a lot of research and I would like to share my own pros regarding the universities I am choosing: 

Edhec: Pro: location, language, economist ranking, class diversity. 
Mannheim: potential exchange with Essec, higher ft ranking and major ranking growth in the last 10 years. 

Which school offers the best opportunities to work in Switzerland?


Thank you

[Edited by garf on Jan 30, 2021]

Since German is the majority language of Switzerland, Mannheim. 

For the last element for my decision, after having excluded Edhec, I am trying to compare Mannheim and Whu. 

On one side, there is a Unesco city of Music with the Popakademie that is, for what is my understanding, very important in the music business world. Also Mannheim's employment percentage is higher and the exchange programs seem interesting.

From the other side, Whu seems to have a great entrepreneurship network and maybe could be better if I want to start a company after the MBA...? Could it provide the right "energy" and support for that? 

Mannheim's students are more highly qualified and are more likely to speak German. WHU seems to be better at placing foreigners who don't speak German. 

[Edited by StuartHE on Feb 02, 2021]