Mba

[Daphine]

hello .. any one considering MISTC Northumbria MBA??

[sobranie]

I need some advices here too. (Sorry TS, for hijacking this thread )

I have a degree in general Business Studies. As I did not major in any specializations, i find that my knowledge obtained from my course does not give me an edge in any specialized functional departments.

I am entertaining the thought of furthering my studies again..to take a Masters but I am not sure if a specialized Masters or a general MBA will be a better bet.

I am currently working in a local bank as well.. on a contract basis which gives me the flexibility to head overseas for full-time studies after i've served my term.

I intend to make finance my choice of career. Does not necessarily have to be in Banking. Anywhere from corporate finance to banking is perfectly fine with me as long as it is not in Accounting.

Do you ladies think i should aim for a Masters in Finance/other specialized disciplines or do you think a general mba is better?

[ahbui83]

I need some advices here too. (Sorry TS, for hijacking this thread )

I have a degree in general Business Studies. As I did not major in any specializations, i find that my knowledge obtained from my course does not give me an edge in any specialized functional departments.

I am entertaining the thought of furthering my studies again..to take a Masters but I am not sure if a specialized Masters or a general MBA will be a better bet.

I am currently working in a local bank as well.. on a contract basis which gives me the flexibility to head overseas for full-time studies after i've served my term.

I intend to make finance my choice of career. Does not necessarily have to be in Banking. Anywhere from corporate finance to banking is perfectly fine with me as long as it is not in Accounting.

Do you ladies think i should aim for a Masters in Finance/other specialized disciplines or do you think a general mba is better?

Do you wanna further career in finance industry? If yes, maybe you would like to consider taking up CFA rather than Master or MBA... CFA is more prestigious in finance industry compared to MBA.. You might want to google and check it out..

[happybean]

CFA is more prestigious in finance industry compared to MBA..

that's rather a sweeping statement. the CFA is definitely a challenge; some b-schools are very difficult to even gain admission to with extremely robust and rigorous courses. also depends on what role one wants in the financy industry, no?

[preciousangel]

Hi guys i need some advice here too..Hope to refresh the thread again
I am a recent graduate in banking and finance last yr june,worked in an investment bank on a contract basis,I am looking around for a new job now and i feel my area of interest lies in organisation development,corporate sustainability etc. I am interested in pursuing a mba relevant to my areas of interest,may I know if there are any such programs relavant to what i am looking out for locally?
I have been looking into the mba programs here,i am kinda interested in the one offered by INSEAD,at their website it is stated that the average amount of work experience for their candidates ranges from 2-7yrs. I understand work experience is important for mba,but i am just curious to know are there anyone here with less work experience who did an mba?

[pas2121]

Hi preciousangel,

Different people will have different opinions on whether and when you should embark on an MBA. I read for a research masters at Said in Oxford where there were a number of Singaporeans doing an MBA with little to no work experience.

Personally speaking, an MBA is generally good if you didn't study banking/finance/econs in your first degree and you are looking to change industries and entering the finance / mgmt consulting industry. An MBA is also useful if you want to network, and you should choose a university that has a good careers service department that arranges for interviews, preps you for jobs. Not all of them are equal in that respect.

I also generally encourage people to spend a few years working before they do a masters (any masters) because you will generally benefit more when you eventually return to university. I would take a look around the industry first to see if you can find work just using your current degree - and given a couple of banks are hiring again there's at least more hope than in say 2002.

If you are determined to study first, and that's alright as well, INSEAD in Singapore is probably the best of the bunch, giving students and opportunity to spend a term at their Fontainbleau campus. I don't really recommend distance-learning MBAs because although they are good for technical knowledge, the networking and careers element isn't that great. But that's just my personal opinion.

[preciousangel]

Hi preciousangel,

Different people will have different opinions on whether and when you should embark on an MBA. I read for a research masters at Said in Oxford where there were a number of Singaporeans doing an MBA with little to no work experience.

Personally speaking, an MBA is generally good if you didn't study banking/finance/econs in your first degree and you are looking to change industries and entering the finance / mgmt consulting industry. An MBA is also useful if you want to network, and you should choose a university that has a good careers service department that arranges for interviews, preps you for jobs. Not all of them are equal in that respect.

I also generally encourage people to spend a few years working before they do a masters (any masters) because you will generally benefit more when you eventually return to university. I would take a look around the industry first to see if you can find work just using your current degree - and given a couple of banks are hiring again there's at least more hope than in say 2002.

If you are determined to study first, and that's alright as well, INSEAD in Singapore is probably the best of the bunch, giving students and opportunity to spend a term at their Fontainbleau campus. I don't really recommend distance-learning MBAs because although they are good for technical knowledge, the networking and careers element isn't that great. But that's just my personal opinion.

Hi pas2121,

Thanks for taking the time to reply appreciate that
Well i did a check with Insead and they told me at least 2yrs worth of work experience is preferred. Their Global mba prepares graduates for careers diverse in banking,HR etc. As for me i am interested in areas concerning CSR,organisational development around the likes of it. I should say what I am looking out for is quite broad and I am looking for a reasonably good mba program that not only gives me the international scope but also one which has a strong CSR focus. I did look at the Nottingham MBA program,so far the program in singapore is via distance learning and offered on a part time basis. I prefer something that's full time rather than part time actually. I am eyeing the Insead one as I can spend time both in Spore and in France within a period of 1yr. I don't wish to go overseas for a prolonged period of time as I don't think i can afford the cost of it.I was told the Insead mba can start off with a person in the spore campus and then moving over to the france campus which i find quite reasonable in the practical sense.
Are you aware of any mba programmes that have a CSR element to it?

[glitzy]

Preciousangel - on INSEAD, u can start either in Singapore or France, and if u want, u can also do the whole course in singapore.

i have not heard about any mba course that focus on CSR - some Communications Masters might have that focus though. Most MBA has focus in either management or finance, with selected MBA being industry focused - eg. IT focused or shipping focused.

[pas2121]

Hi Preciousangel,

Like glitzy said, CSR isn't mainstream and is not normally taught as a core aspect of an MBA. Many b-schools do give it some attention, but few address is specially. If you look at local business organisations, CSR is important but not the most important thing. It's kind of like an extra-curricular aspect of their business.

Nottingham does have a specialist MBA with CSR focus but I am going to be evil and say you have to be pragmatic - part of doing an MBA is about university brand-recognition. As far as employers go, and I've spoken to a couple of them, it's still the US for MBAs, although places like INSEAD, LBS, etc are still considered excellent.

If you're really and truly serious about this, you should apply regardless to full time programmes abroad - many MBA programmes provide loans to students once they are accepted. Couple of my friends did their MBA at Harvard and Wharton and they managed to secure bank loans. You should look at the "financing" section on each course's website.

You don't need to specialise in CSR to do CSR. What's more important is that you find a school that a) trains you to critically engage your mind with anything b) has a good careers service c) has good networking d) has good "brand".

That said, you can take a look at http://www.beyondgreypinstripes.org/rankings/index.cfm

The Aspen Institute grades MBA programmes according to how well they teach students to see the social and environmental connections with business. Remember it's just one kind of ranking, along with the FT as well as a myriad number of other ranking systems.

Hope that helps

Edit: another useful link http://www.independent.co.uk/student...ne-419610.html

[risquey]

Hi Pas2121, you mentioned you have friends studying at Wharton and may I ask, do you know of any requirements aside from a degree and 2 years worth of work experience?

[bingqiling]

Dear Cotters,

I am in dilemma. Currently, I am teaching English.
I am planning to obtain a higher degree qualification.
But I am not sure where to go. As my degree in Physics.

I need advise.

TIA

[pas2121]

Hi Pas2121, you mentioned you have friends studying at Wharton and may I ask, do you know of any requirements aside from a degree and 2 years worth of work experience?

Hi risquey, I'm sorry for taking so long to reply, I don't check the forums very often and I've been very busy with work.

Most of my friends who went on to Wharton/HBS/etc to read for MBAs normally have work experience. I think you also need a good GMAT score, and some good essays. I did a bit of trawling and found this

http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/adm...quirements.cfm

Wharton definitely has brand name, but I would take a look at other universities that did well in the FT rankings.

http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoo...l-mba-rankings

But always remember to take rankings with a pinch of salt and remember different organisations use different criteria.

[pas2121]

Dear Cotters,

I am in dilemma. Currently, I am teaching English.
I am planning to obtain a higher degree qualification.
But I am not sure where to go. As my degree in Physics.

I need advise.

TIA

Hi Bing,

You have to ask yourself a couple of questions when considering a higher degree

1. What do you plan on using it for? (no correct answer, could be personal growth, but you have to adjust your expectations accordingly)

2. What are you interested in?

3. Can you afford it? Will you get into debt with it?

4. What would you like to do afterwards? Carry on teaching, go into consulting etc?

Generally, if you want to read for higher degree in English and your degree is not in English, it is possible if you demonstrate ability, either through work experience, or submitted essays, etc. I find that UK uni's are far more flexible in terms of jumping disciplines (i've jumped about 3 times) whereas Singapore and Aussie unis tend to be a little stickier.

[iamaguy81]

hi Preciousangel,

you can check bradford mba at mdis. Bradford mba is amongst top 90 mba in the world. maybe you can get your details there.

Ranking by financial times: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoo...usiness-school

MDIS Business school like: MDIS Business School

[Longmao]

hello .. any one considering MISTC Northumbria MBA??

Hi Daphine, I have just completed my MSc in Mktg by University of Northumbria (NU) 3 mths ago. There are no exams & everything is thru individual project. Pace is rather fast & lecturers expect you to do a lot of self reading & researching. Each module will last for abt 3mths & after which, lecturer will give out project assessment.

Hope the above helps.