Hi all,
I have got offers from uni of Aberdeen and uni of Sussex. At Aberdeen its "MBA" and Sussex its Msc Mgmt & Fin.
At Aberdeen its the normal MBA with no specialised subject from start which means i have to choose my specialisation after Mar/April2010.
Will you all please give me some guidance.
Thanks in advance.

Hi all,
I have got offers from uni of Aberdeen and uni of Sussex. At Aberdeen its "MBA" and Sussex its Msc Mgmt & Fin.
At Aberdeen its the normal MBA with no specialised subject from start which means i have to choose my specialisation after Mar/April2010.
Will you all please give me some guidance.
Thanks in advance.

aberdeen is a university with a long history. the business school is better than average or even good but nothing more than that. If you go to MBA of Abderdeen you can have 2 things. MBA certificate and alumni status from one of the oldest in english speaking world and very respected in Scotland and fairly respected in UK.

Sussex is younger but also a very respectable name, they however dont boast a respected and fancy history as aberdeen. Sussex is however in England and quite close to London.

Personally it is very equal choice for me. you gain some and you loose some in both cases. One more thing, if you want to work in finance/banking goes for master of finance, a mix degree i.e. management and finance just wouldnt do it.
Trust me mate, many people i know regret the choice of their course. If you want finance go for a pure finance degree in finance department. A management and finance degree is mostly handled by management department and only barely touches finance.

Hi donho,
thanks for the post,..

the course msc in mgmt and finance includes quite number of finance forecasting modules which can give a good base for a career in inv banking ( i think.).,
& also this new course has just been started in 2009 ( university says that the course has been designed to fullfill current market needs )
I do understand there would be cases that might be regreting their dual type of degrees.,. i belive this course is different.
But however i would like you to check the university site for any further advise you can give to me (regarding the course structure or anything).

Thanks.

did not know they only offer the course this year, another bad sign.

if you want to get into investment banking then this university is not the right one (neither is aberdeen) and the course is too lightweight. excel/mathlab/SPSS if i am optimistic is all they can reach with this degree. to do serious modelling you need like msc operations reasearch at Edinburgh university maths department. check it out and see if you familiar with the course-content? Or better yet msc mathematical finance at oxford university.

i understand that you could make it a few years back when they heavily recruit but with the current market even oxbridge finance degree-takers struggle to find decent jobs for themselves.

i think your best bet is to go for durham/lancaster/warwick, durham recently raised the fees so not a cheap option anymore, lancaster/ warwick / lse are good forever but slightly more expensive.

i guess you are in non-finance at the moment and have a decent but not outstanding background. am i right? i think you better re-work your priority

thanks./

its too late for me to apply at lse, wawrwick or lancas...
and anyways i dint had that good profile to get into such universities.

all i have right now is:
1) NTU- MSc Inv mgmt 2) Sussex- Msc Mgmt & Fin
3) Aberdeen "MBA".

I just want to ask u that as i have an offer from sussex ; can i opt for MSc corporate & risk financial mgmt or Financial Mathematics ?

I know sussex dosnt have any gud rating for finance courses in times but in guardian it is 36(biz courses) , which isnt a bad option for a guy like me having not such a good profile.
... thx in advance./

i am sorry if i say something that i should not but pls believe it is for the good purpose only.

really depending on what you want as your later career.

do you want to do quant job? it is very specialised and even though i have a thing or two to say about it i would hesistate to comment. but it is not easy to get into and not very easy to retain your job.

however, the course seems to be fairly flexible and not very technical. so you can do well with some dedication

why dont you just do the pre-course and judge your ability? Why dont you talk to the course-co-ordinator directly who should have a much better professional judgement? Ask them how many graduate from their course actually find jobs in banking doing financial modelling. Have you done financial modelling b4 or just attracted by the money?

If you want to have a broader career, not very good at maths why dont you go for the MBA? It also can get you into some coporate finance back in your country where British MBA is still respected. and Aberdeen still carries the name of the university nuture the talent of Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr Alistair Darling

hey thanks mate,.
I dont have any financial background, though i am having a managerial experience in Human Resources, But i wasnt interested to pursue a career in it as it was not very challenging.
After my schooling i had interest in both HR as well as Finance, but here in India it is very hard to find a job in Finance without a good relevant degree . therefore i opted for HR.
and i have 57% B.COM
______________________,.... thats my background.

Regarding the course, as you said i will consult the course co-ordinators and make a decision. I actually want to do financial modelling/forecasting , but I will also have to see the course stucture and the books in detail to judge wether i wil be able to do so,. which can only be done after reaching there,.

I know that it is hard to find and retain jobs in the investment banking industry , thus will consult the co-ordinator the same and re-examine my priorities,....

However the course(msc mgmt fin) which i have been offered a place isnt in core forecasting/inv banking which is also not bad (another perpective).

I was just curious wether u are also in the same industry?...coz u know so much about it......
This all information has really helped a lot,./
Thanks for everything mate, :)