Ignore the European schools then. Search this board for information on the Canadian schools and also read How to use LinkedIn to find the best school www.find-mba.com/board/33571

Hello Duncan

I am pretty new to the whole idea of MBA. Been reading a bunch of blog posts here and I can see that you give some really good advice.

I am a software engineer in India, with 3 years of work experience. I recently quit my job because it was getting really stagnant (we were well into the maintenance phase of our project and I couldn't learn anything new at work). While I was working, I was sent on site in Norway for a couple of months, where I basically played the role of business analyst; the goal being to customize the software for our Scandinavian clients by seeing how they like to handle their work.

I have three questions; first, will an MBA help me get a job as Business analyst? Second, what are my chances of finding work post study in Europe? (I am considering a one-year FT MBA). Third, is 3 years of work experience considered too little by international B-schools?

I hope you find the time to reply to this soon.

Thank you!

In india, most specialised business degrees are MBAs or PGDMs. In Europe, most of those degrees are called MSc (and, indeed, I have an MSc in business analysis). If you want to be a business analyst then I suggest an MSc because there are very few good MBAs with courses in business analysis that are at your level, and none of those MBAs will have meaningful accreditation. If you study in a country where you speak the language, and at a school with good careers services, then you stand a good chance of finding work.

It's not mainland Europe but Manchester's MSc in Business Analysis and Strategic Management sounds like it might be a good fit:

http://www.mbs.ac.uk/masters/courses/business-analysis-strategic-management/

Hi All,
I applied to four of the universities from above (Birmingham, Ottawa, HHL & Frankfurt School) along with Durhum and Monash Malaysia. I have got acceptance from all these universities thankfully. I personally want to consider going to Germany but the language seems to be the only barrier in deciding between HHL & Frankfurt.
My second choice would be Durhum but I am not quite sure about Ottawa. What should my preference be, given that I would probably like to work in the country from where I graduate. I have some friends in Germany and they all say that it's not so tough finding a reasonable job without having to speak German.
Looking forward to hearing your opinion.

I think HHL has some advantages over Frankfurt: HHL allows you to choose between fast and slow, so you can take the less intensive timetable and then have more time to learn German. I am not sure if your friends went to HHL, but I think it's obviously that given the choice between two equally good candidates, employers will always pick the one with better German. Take a look at Do you need to speak the local language? www.find-mba.com/board/34713

Duncan,
Hope you are keeping well. I've been selected for the Advanced track (21 Months) at HHL so hopefully there would be adequate time to learn German given that it doesn't clash with my studies. Most of my friends are enrolled in technical masters so they can only give a general perception of the job market for international graduates.
What do you think about Durham? UK doesn't offer an extended visa in order to find a job post graduation. That for me is a bit risky.

Yes, I think both of those choices are a little risky. In terms of placement, Birmingham a safer bet than Durham, with 88% placement compared to 80% at HHL and even less at Durham.

Durham is clearly a school that is putting more effort into its careers services and is, like Manchester, a business school that's in temporary accommodation for a while as its main building gets extended. Obviously Durham gets a higher FT ranking, and most students will be better off there especially if they don't already speak some German. However with only 78% placement, according to the FT, it is risky.

AT HHL, I don't think you'll be able to go from beginner to professional fluency in 21 months: If only there was an exchange partner in Austria or German-speaking Switzerland! I understand from the Fing-MBA listing that HHL is now 52nd in the Economist 2015 ranking: that#s a strong performance and the 22-month format is impressive. I think I would take the risk with it, but then I speak a little German already.

PS What have you been able to find out about Monish in Malaysia?

[Edited by Duncan on May 25, 2015]

Duncan,
Appreciate your input on the matter. I think luck plays it's part in getting a Job in UK as well even if one does not graduate from the likes of Said, Judge etc.

Monash is a good induction to the Malaysian universities offering an MBA. I was going through the faculty the other day and it seems fairly strong. Tuition's are reasonable. Not sure about it's post graduation scope though especially for internationals and how much the degree would be valued globally in comparison to Australia. I'll probably have to cancel this one out. What do you think?

No, not really luck but networking and Birmingham offers so.many more possibilities because of the location. I have no idea about Monash in Malaysia.