Hello everyone



I would like some guidance on a decision I have to take. I have currently received two offers, ESSEC (with a 10k scholarship) and ESADE (scholarship decision awaited).



Here is my context:

1. Worked in the Indian deep tech startup space across drones, blockchain, and AI for about 8 years. I'm currently working as a marketing and communications consultant with VCs here.

2. Post-MBA goal is to continue to work in deep tech but out of the EU or the UK as a product manager or as a senior Business Development Executive.

3. I'm open to working in enterprises or startups.



My conundrum

1. Which school would be better for the above goal?

2. My heart says ESADE because of the city and the curriculum but my mind says ESSEC because of the ROI (cheaper and one year). However, I'm confused about Spain as a post-MBA destination and ESSEC in terms of tech-related employment.

3. I'm also waiting on Warwick and ESMT to get back to me with their decisions but by the time they do get back to me, it would be too late to apply for loans for either ESSEC or ESADE.



Any helpful input is appreciated ✌

[Edited by happyheretic on Feb 07, 2024]

1. ESADE average salary is 157,262. At ESSEC it's 110,087. Why would you take a $10k discount to attend ESSEC?
2. If you spoke French, German or Spanish you might have mentioned it. What sort of business development or product management can you do without speaking your customers' language? Why are you taking an MBA rather than a year-long language course?

Love the questions Duncan. Sharing my answers below

1) I'm considering ESSEC only because of the scholarship and it's location in France which is a better economy to work in than Spain.
2) I'm planning to enrol in a Spanish or German course in the next week to get started on my journey to learning the language. I know it takes years to master a language but I want to be in EU long term so might as well start now. I'm going for an MBA because I see it as the shortest most efficient route to work in a high paying job in EU.

1. Seriously. You can have bond 1, which pays $157 a year, or bond 2, which pays $110 yearly. Bond 2 costs $10 less. Other things being equal, bond 1 is a better investment. This isn't just a choice between France and Spain, or between Cergy and Barcelona, but between these schools. When you exclude a recent cruise ship order, Spain is actually growing faster: https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/french-economy-grows-05-second-quarter-insee-2023-07-28/#:~:text=Data%20from%20France%20and%20Spain,delivery%20of%20a%20cruise%20liner.


2. Take a look at Do you need to speak the local language? www.find-mba.com/board/34713 (13k+ views).

PS Barcelona has lower unemployment than Cergy!

[Edited by Duncan on Feb 07, 2024]

This is super helpful, thank you Duncan!

Duncan not possible to compare Cergy to Barcelona. I agree your concern about future opportunities and salary. Spanish economy is fucked... and yes you have to compare Paris to Barcelona. Also, FT salaries are adjusted for cost of life so not a great metric :)

The Spanish economy has a better trajectory than France's: faster GDP growth and lower public debt.

The ESSEC MBA is taught in Cergy, not Paris. Its location might not matter for employment but it does impact the student experience.

Did you see the new FT ranking for 2024? ESADE is well ahead of ESSEC on almost all variables, especially career progress, careers services, sector diversity, overall ranking, student satisfaction, salary and salary increase.

Also, you miss the point. The FT uses purchasing power parity, not only cost of living. Yes, the cost of living is lower in Barcelona, but also salaries are lower. So, in terms of comparison, on average people in Barcelona and Paris don't have extremely different purchasing power. If anything, people in Paris are slightly better off. However, there's a huge difference between the purchasing power of ESSEC and ESADE MBAs. In the FT 2024 data, the gap has opened massively to $116k versus $182k. That's a 58% premium.

Trust me you are better off with a good parisian salary than one in Barcelona. Plus living myself in Barcelona you have to find it (the well paying job). Only a handful will: SAP, Autodesk, Gartner, HP and maybe ADP but only at very senior roles only.

I have heard similar view from some of the alumni and recently graduated students. The career services is very good when it comes to tech but ESADE I think has been able to show good numbers by finding consulting offers in the UAE.



Update: I will mostly be going with ESADE, waiting for a favourable scholarship decision to come through and seeing if ESMT gets back with a good offer.

[Edited by happyheretic on Feb 12, 2024]

These are not the only cities in the world. A good salary in Paris is a great idea but the salaries speak for themselves: if you want a good salary from a school around Paris, then the better options are ESCP, HEC and Insead - even ESCP pays a quarter more than ESSEC.

[Edited by Duncan on Feb 12, 2024]