Hi,

I am seriously considering an MBA for my post grad studies.24 years old, worked in IT for nearly 8 years, 5 of which have been in a large corporate environment, currently at a bank. i am just about to complete my Bsc Hons (PT course) and are currently averaging a 1st but should get no lower than a 2:1 grading.

For the past 8 years i have been in a technical position and i know or would at least like to open the doors to manager/consultancy based positions which is why i am drawn to the MBA rather than a Msc etc. The main reason i dont want to achieve a technical degree in my area is because this can be supplemented with other professional certs and based on the fact i dont want to be tied to a single area for my entire career.

Looking at the costs it more than clear i would be getting in debt at least 20K for tuition and living costs if i went full time depending on the course i take. As a result i think i would prefer to do the course PT which would allow me to minimise the debt incurred. i live/work in the edinburgh area and work prefer lecture based learning in Edinburgh. There are MBA courses ran at University of Edinburgh, Heriot-watt and Edinburgh Napier. Looking at the various rankings available UoE seems the most regarded course of the three. At the moment it appears i am interested in Heriot watt and UoE.

So my questions:
1) which is the most regarded course of the 3

2) the price difference between UoE and the other universities is over 4k in tuition fee's. UoE is 18,150 and heriot watt 14K. Does the quality of the course at UoE justify this against say Heriot watt. i want to ensure im getting the best return for my investment

3) Also the uni's websites all state X amount of years experiance. Would i be considered due to my 8 years technical experiance or do MBA courses require that as managerial experiance?

4) from my background and future goals stated, do you think the MBA would hold true value in my career as i am looking for strong advancement potential. i am not looking for a piece of paper and want real value due to the time and financial investments.

5) UoE offer scholarships which i am thinking about applying for to help with tuition costs which require an essay for the FT program. If i were to qualify for a 10K scholarship i would be tempted to do it FT. does anyone have any good tips for completing an application of the essay?

6) from my research it appears only UoE is AMBA accredited. Is the accreditation really important to have when attempting to achieve an MBA.

7) finally does anyone have any first hand opinions of both heriot-watt and UoE regarding teaching standards, course content and so on.

Aopologies for the long post but this is a very important decision due to the investment being made. i also feel its a pinacle point of my life and career which could shape it for better or worse and would very much appreciate any input given.

Thanks for any responses in advance.

1.You are thinking on EBS @ edinburgh......EBS @ Napier....and EBS @ Herriott Watt
2.They all offers a p/t MBA which lasts for 36 months...Are you interested to do a program for 3 years?
3.Though you have solid exp the very basic question asked in Top tier is Do you have post graduate Managerial work exp?I stress the word Top tier again ....
4.EBS @Edinburgh is FT ranked institute.So no big questions on it
5.EBS @ Herriott watt has very good reputation world wide but dont have AMBA.....etc...
6.I you have not talked about your other preparations like IELTS etc..
7.Personally I don't have any big idea on Napier..
8.Spending three years for a MBA may not be a wise decision if you don't have a commanding pay +UK job.
9.I suggest you to think on F/T becoz your UG is also part time and you lack PG Managerial exp...Based on your profile I could able to guess that you would have done a Diploma and went to work at early ages...Am I correct ? and your level in hierarchy may not be managerial....In case you are in managerial then organization may be a small one...So your FT branded MBA will help you to lift in your career.
10.Give me some details about you

Hi Susee,

Firstly thanks for your reply.

here are my responses to your questions.

1. yes, im thinking of either heriot watt or Univeristy of Edinburgh as they are the best two uni's in the city.

2. Well currently, i have studied my UG PT over 5 years. preferably i would like to do it quicker than 3 years but the communication back from Edinburgh Uni is that there MBA is 9-5pm for at least 4 days a week. Which makes it impossible with me being employed full time.
3. Yes i have solid technical experiance but no management experiance whatsoever - which is why i am rather interested in the MBA to hopefully open up paths leading into this. Will it be a problem if i have no prior management experiance/knowledge?
4. So is Edinburgh Uni the better choice over heriot watt for their MBA? Edinburgh uni is more expensive but i would be willing to pay extra if the course is a better choice.
5. What effect does AMBA accreditation have on an MBA? for example, Heriot watt does not have the accreditation (that i can see), would this demonstrate a lower level of course quality than Edinburgh Uni?
6. My native language is English so i would not have to take the IELTS, unless i am mistaken?
8. Yes i have a good paying FT job at the moment which would allow me to significantly reduce the debts incurred by doing the MBA PT. if i take the course on a FT basis then i would loose a good income and incur approx £30K worth of debt over the 12 months.
9. Yes you are correct, i left secondary school in england at 16 years old. Took an advanced modern apprentice in IT which included NVQ level 2 & 3 with a national diploma. Now i am 2 months away from completing my Bsc Hons.

10. If i have not provided those details you require, what would you like to know?

Thanks

I guess you are an UK citizen..If yes,I wonder why an UK citizen worry on job prospectus...You know,I too quit my job and planned to complete my MBA by next year...This is the biggest decision I am taking in my career.In fact, UK has restricted us to work part time for only 20 hrs per week.But there is no big constraint for you...Already you spent five years in P/T program...Another three years may be too boring....At the same time I have doubt ....!.How UK employers treat P/T and online programs...Do they recognize equally with F/T programs....I don't have any big idea...

If they treat equally I would suggest not to quit your present job and carry on with P/T MBA....If they don't, then do not waste your time and money for a P/T program ...Try for a full time program ...All I would suggest is MBA is not mere studies it is an investment...So better don't aim for short term profits....Think as an long term investment....

As far as accreditation is concerned I think it is the minimum warranty for a particular program...At the same time people from different parts of the Globe may not be aware of reality...So it helps them to choose their univ...But at the same time there is no hard and fast rule that triple accre... univ alone is good....Many institutes are too good with out any accreditation....Since you are a local guy I think you can make good research on it...More over we have a poor belief that UK employers consider only AMBA degrees...But that may not be the truth...

As I said top institutes prefer managerial exp...But that alone is not a criteria...If MBA is only for Top managers and middle managers then it raises a serious doubt on that particular program...Those who born with silver spoon alone can think on that....I think that criteria came becoz of tough competition for that program....I think when competition increases naturally filtration will be there...So top B-schools keep this criteria as their spec...

I wonder, how these schools say...."our programs are designed only for Top managers and middle managers"...My question is, Why Management studies are restricted only for them...Let us take the situation of me...Honestly speaking I got rejected in EBS becoz lack of managerial exp....Despite 8 years of exp on various fields I could not able to market my profile to them...But luckily got placed in far better institutes...Standards of institutes like EBS @ edinburgh looks tricky...

Moreover why you want to restrict with two univ...Why not other institutes like Dur,Bir etc...Is it becoz of location factor?
Since you are an UK guy you would be aware of nook and corner of UK....I think you will be much informative than me....
Any way do reply back...We will discuss further...

Hi,

Yes i am a UK citizen, currently living in edinburgh. If i studied the MBA on a part time basis i would need to take it locally because i work in edinburgh. The only other option would be distance learning but im not sure how highly these are looked upon? If i were to do the MBA full time then i would look further a field and not just in edinburgh. However, i am quite hestitant to gain £30K worth of debt to take the MBA full time.

From my experiance, if a degree is a taught program it is looked upon the same as a FT program. One of the reasons i took my current degree on part time was to gain valuable experiance in my chosen field - which is exactly what i have done. Now im looking towards the future which is why i have targeted the MBA.

How are distance learning MBA's looked upon?

In fact I was expecting a reply from you.....Do UK employers consider F/T,P/T and on line programs equally ?....I don't have any big idea ...Pl do reply

Hey,

Sorry i should have been more clear in my last post. Yes, ive found PT degree are looked upon in the same light as FT degree causes providing they are in a taught program. However i am not too sure how distance learning programs are looked upon.

Then straight away I would suggest to look on EBS @ edinburgh and your job parallely...

What is your take on the Napier MBA?