Hello Everyone,

I am an internet entreprenuer, A computer engineer by profession, currently running my ecommerce store for the last 9 months. Before starting my venture i had an exp. of 15 months with an marketing and advertizing agency.

I want to apply for fall 2013

My goal is to climb the corporate ladder with a management degree

Now the ques which has been disturbing my mind is whether i should apply to MSc programs in management in Europe or to go for an MBA.

Some European schools i have in mind are :
ESADE ( Masters in management)
LSE (MISI program)
SDA Bocconi (International management)
EMlyon

and some US schools about which i have gathered information and i would be interested in are:

TEXAS A&M mays
Wisconsin Business school
Tippie IOWA
Syracruse Whitman
SMY cox
RIT simon
Florida HOUGH

I think the key things are:
- Which corporate ladder? Finance? Strategy Consulting? Big firms? Mid-sized firms? Why give up enterpreneurship?
- Work permits. If you have the right to work in the US, study in the US. If not, study where you have the best chance to go forward with your career.
- Why these schools? The schools you have chosen seem to have little in common. What these ones?

I want to get into Marketing i.e brand management, media and advertising.

I feel that getting a mangement degree feels like a more priority thing for me to get the better knowledge of running a business.

With the exp. i have should i go for MSc or MBA.

The European schools i have chosen, i believe, are the top schools for msc management.
And the Us schools i have mentioned are for MBA.

I am confused between MSc and MBA is because i have concerns about post graduate employement prospects

Wondering how easy would it be for me to find a good job after MBA with less prior experince.

Do an MBA rather than an MSc if you have work experience.

To get into marketing, I'd recommend you look at the large, integrated, agencies like Omnicom, WPP, IPG and Publicis. They hire MBAs in a way that smaller firms do not.

Their main locations for MBA hiring are the US, India, Brazil, China and the EU. If you are able to work in any of those countries, study there.

I assume that, since you are looking at schools in the US and EU, that you might be able to work in one of those places.

If the US is your focus, then look around the mid-Atlantic states. I recommend the MBAs at:
Columbia University
New York University
Harvard Business School
Fordham University
Wharton
Emory University
Northwestern University
Rutgers
New York University
Pace University - Lubin
Thunderbird

If Europe is your focus, then look in the UK, France and Spain. I recommend the MBAs at:
INSEAD
HEC
ESSEC
IE
ESADE

What are my chances of getting into MBA prog. at ESSADE IE HEC and INSEAD.

Do the colleges only consider corporate work exp.?
as i have been working on my own business since last 9 months, will they take this into account while i am applying?

You'll need a minimum of three years' experience, so that means that either you'll start before then (and take an MSc) or wait until you have enough. The higher your GMAT score and the more work experience, the better. If my maths is right, you'll have three years in total by January 2014, when both HEC and Insead have intakes for their MBAs. These are great schools, and you'd need to be an outstanding candidate.

The most straightforward options for you are the MSc degrees at HEC and ESADE.

Thank you for the replies Duncan.
But i am little confused here, by reading the other threads.
I will give you a complete gist.
Work exp. 24 months
Gmat : 710
GPA : 3.0

Now should i go for the top msc management degree's in Europe
Or apply to tier 2/3 MBA schools

The best choice is for you to enter an MBA in 2014 or later. You won't be able to get into a tier 2 MBA in 2013 because of your low work experience.

The next best choice if for you to enter a top MSc in 2013, like HEC or ESADE. It will accelerate your career more than anything else you can do this year.

But if you are learning a lot and being well rewarded in your current job, then take extra time at start your MBA in 2014. For the MBA, HEC and ESADE are also good choices, since the 18 month format at those schools is great for people with a little less work experience.

Dear Duncan,

Your posts insightful, so at the risk of repeating the old question I will ask this.

I have been offered a place by LSE in its MSc Management, Organisation and Governance programme. I have also been accepted into Nanyang Business Schools Fellows MBA.

I have several years of professional experience in advisory and technical capacities working for the United Nations and multilateral organisations. The MSc/MBA would help me hone my management and leadership skills.

Do you think the LSE MSc would be better or the Nanyang MBA?

Many thanks.

I don't think the LSE programme would build your skills in management or leadership, would it? It "offers a rigorous interdisciplinary social science perspective on the practice of management", with a traditional focus on individual exams and essays.

The Nanyang Fellows is quite different: it's aimed at people with your level of experience, and is clearly an experiential process of executive development that will strengthen your soft and transferrable skills, and develop new analytical skills in the general management toolkit, which the LSE programme does not include.

Luckily these are not the only two options in the world. If you want to settle in the UK, put scholarships to one side as a distraction. Get into the best MBA you can.

Thank you, Duncan.

I am curious to know how you would assess the reputation of Nanyang Business School in general and the quality of the Nanyang Fellows MBA in particular in view of its modules some of which are taught by some of the top tier US-based schools.

Also, although the regular Nanyang MBA is accredited, the Fellows MBA is apparently not. (I am not sure if accreditation applies to the school itself or if specific degree programmes are acredited). Do you think this negatively affects this particular MBA's credibility/prestige?

Equally importantly, do you think it will help improve employment prospects for me in the UK?

I will proceed with this MBA only if I am offered a full scholarship. I can't afford this or any MBA otherwise.

The Nanyang school is world class and the Fellows programme is very strong. It's modelled on the Sloan Fellows programme and is co-taught with MIT. The Fellows programme leads to the Nanyang MBA, and the AACSB and EQUIS accreditation does cover all the MBA formats there. You have been misinformed.

I think the Fellows programme will open up employment prospects marginally for you in the UK, but it's a much more likely route into an MBA role than the LSE MSc, which is primarily a pre-experience degree for fresh graduates. Employers looking for MSc graduates will not hire you, because you are too old. MBA recruiters will not hire you from an MSc, because they will not come to the LSE for MBAs. The LSE does not have a (full-time) MBA.

These are not the only two programmes in the world and, while the Nanyang programme s by far the better of the two, it is not optimal for your goal.

Thanks.

The reasons I was not sure about the accreditation of the Fellows MBA was because whereas accreditation signs are clearly noted on other Nanyang MBAs, they do not appear on the Fellows MBA page.

I am now clear on the LSE MSc, but why do you think the Fellows MBA will open up employment prospects only marginally for me, and why is it not optimal for me? Do you think it is not on par with other Nanyang MBAs or MBAs from any business school for that matter? What do you suggest?

The reason I prefer the Fellows MBA is because it does not require a GMAT test score and I have a good chance of winning a full scholarship for the course. My numeracy skills are just about average or lower.

BTW, are you based in the UK or the US?

I think it opens up prospects for you marginally because you want to work in the UK. Labour markets are profoundly national, and many employers in the UK won't have heard of Nanyang and, even if they have, they won't recruit there for the UK. If you want an MBA-level role, you should study in the UK.

I'm in London. Take a look at my profile page.

Thank you very much, Duncan. This has been most helpful.

I have read your profile and will seek your assistance if I go down the UK route.

Many thanks again.