Saturday, June 10, 2006

MBA – The talk of the town

UK/ USA / Australia

Well I’m really not an expert on the whole MBA thingy but here I am Mr. Golden Beard BE. MBA (Cardiff Business School-UK). Well I plan to give a short insight of the options I had, the choices I weighed and the path I chose. Also you will find what I feel I have gained and what I feel I could have gained in a MBA but have not. You will also find basic tips on how to look forward for what you really want out of a MBA and how to find it.

Well after having done my engineering successfully and not that a techy person I decided to try my hand at something I though I was good in –management. A word of caution here, MBA does not give you a chocolate truffle cake .. but just the layer of topping. You will have to have good communication skills, basic analytical to really benefit from any MBA you chose to take up. Well leaving all that behind ,I didn’t have the patients neither to write my GMAT nor take a course for 2 years in the US. Many people telling me that the degree given in Australia not really valid in India or any where else in the world. Thus my only option at that point was UK. UK also has been the center of management studies for a long time and the US being the Mecca of tech. So there you have it next stop UK, ohh I totally forgot .. I need to decide the uni !!

Well to find the best uni you do have a pretty complicated process, without guidance quite mind boggling. Well here is an easy fool proof way to select you Uni without much of a hassle. Go to hero.ac.uk get the RAE ratings from there, this is a research ranking published by the UK government on the university’s. This will give you the top schools in your particular area of interest. Word of caution the RAE ratings available now was published in 2201 and is a little outdated .. the new one is due sometime this year. The next thing would you deciding how much you can afford, this is very important. The average living could be kept fixed as **** ₤. Thus you now will know what the max tuition you could pay. Now you will have to go to these school websites and check the entry criteria and then the tuition fees. Simple aint it ? Now you have the options clearly jotted down.

My opinion about getting a job in the UK is that it not easy, out of my whole class (a class of 250) of Indians only 2 have managed to stick on and both of them don’t have a valid work permit. I personally did manage to get a job but didn’t manage to get my work permit. Thus I came back to India and am working in an MNC with a decent pay, I currently also do have a job offer from one of the world most renowned software firms to join them. But this again depends on one’s own talents. One of my friends from Cardiff has a better offer and some others are literally working for peanuts.

What have I gained from my experience at Cardiff – Well a decent international exposure. Meeting and working with a global audience always broadens ones perspectives. You also look at how other people work and equip your self with things you might not have though of.

I still feel that if I had gone to the US I could have managed to get a job there and steele down for some time. Well the other side always seams rosy. The problem for MBA’s from abroad is that many companies don’t recognize the uni which you have passed out from as they are not familiar with the ranking systems etc.

There you are… any queries and comments welcome.

14 comments:

Where's my canvas? said...

quite an insight into the whole thing :)

Raggy said...

hey u said u have done ur MBA frm Cardiff,in which yr did u passout and cardiff has a very good ranking in UK,right ? is tht very difficult to get a job in a span of 1-2 yrs

Golden Beard said...

Yes, did pass out of Cardiff. Batch 2005. It does have a good ranking, one of the best places you could get into without work ex.

Job - Finding on there, pretty hard. If your coming back to India, its all about how you position yourself.

Anonymous said...

how abt part time jobs and internships during breaks( like in dec )? and which accomodation is best , univ or private ?

Golden Beard said...

Part time jobs, Cardiff is the place. Since its primarly a student city you will be able to find lots of jobs from M&S supermarkets to Orange call centers but the thing is that it would be really hard to do your studies then, many students start going for jobs and eventually get caught up in making money and neglect their studies big time. This makes your whole goal of doing you MBA go to waste..
December you say .. hmm... after the December break you will have you exams .. if you work or play the fool you probably will not pass your exams .. So its up to you on choosing the path you take..

Accommodation - I personally would suggest uni accommodation, or semi-private like Victoria Halls or Severn point !! for MBA students these places are great cause they are closer to School and you will not waste time walking around. Also since its eternally raining at Cardiff it would be better to stay close to the library and school, that way when you have breaks you can come home study or eat and not waste time traveling to your residence and back ..

Private accommodations .. not something which I would suggest. cause its risky .. on who your staying with.. whose name the lease is in. what would you do if the stove or heater does not work tomorrow ?? Is your landlord going to fix it ?? If someone in your flat burns the kitchen up who is going to take responsibility ?? (And mind you this burning the kitchen up is kinda common) .. all I am trying to say is that uni acc is better .. any way ..

Anonymous said...

how abt part time jobs while doing MBA. in which sector do we find more vaccancies and how abt the earnings ( i mean how much can we earn per week ) any limit ?

Anonymous said...

Hi mario, this is harsh here. I got ur profile from cardiff university community. You seemed to be an mba pass out from there. Actually I needed few suggestion from a person like you who have been there. Can you just give me an idea about hows the university, mba from here is it worth, job prospects after that, universities accomodation or private accomodation? If you can put some light on these areas I would be really thankful to you. Thanx in advance.

Golden Beard said...

Is the MBA frm Cardiff worth it ? - Yes in terms on the knowledge you get.

Job - you probably will not get a job in the UK ( in relevance to your MBA)
Accomodation - Uni acc always is the best.

Unknown said...

Hi Im planning on giving my toefl n apply this year to different universities for nexst years course including cardiff school of business. I have no work experience and i also cant afford to take a gap. I'll be grad next june as a comp engg from Pune university.

Now my main question is the job prospects after my course. Like Indian institutes do the Uk univ's also have a placement system? I do want to work there for a few yrs befre coming back to India

Golden Beard said...

Hi Varun,
I passed out of Cardiff Business School in 2005. I did find a job in the UK and worked there for 6 months or so. I returend because I my visa was out !

Here are a few facts :-

1) Out of the 300 students of my class 3% stayed back for some reason (Odd jobs, further studies , jobs) 1% of the Indian population got jobs !! Thats a fact.

2) All the students passed out are doing fairly well four years later !!

3)Most of the MBA students (Indians) in UK are freshers or people with a year or two exp.

4)There is no placement system as such in almost all(that I know of) college in the UK/US.. you have a job placement cell who primarily help and guide you to make your resume and point you in the right direction. If your school is really good you get a better recognition when applying for a job.

5)It would really help if you have some solid experience in any field to get a job.

6) The current Visa system i believe (please check with proper sources) offer a two year visa once a student completes his course. But still all students who go there find it pretty much impossible to find jobs once they complete their studies.
7) Go on to Orkut .. contact students who have passed recently gather what they say. I doubt what any one says will be drastically different.

8) For college admissions to the UK try going to Campus abroad or Chopras, study over seas .. google them you can fine their websites. they will give you a good idea of choosing the college etc ..
9) Contact me if you need any further info !!!

Cheers!!

Unknown said...

Thanks a lot man. That was helpful. Ive got mixed suggestions from people. Some o them told me to do my mba from India itself n some said just get out of this country cos the prospects after doing an mba from abroad n coming back to India would be better. I'll def check out those names you've suggested n get back to you.
Thanks

Golden Beard said...

Varun-

Also I believe that doing an MBA in the US might be better .. because its a bigger country. Also the two year MBA gives you a lot of time to learn.

Unknown said...

Yes GMAT was on my cards but since i dont have any work experience is it worth giving the test? I might end up not getting admitted to any college

Golden Beard said...

Hey ... I dont have much experience in doing a MBA in US. You would need to ask someone else on the possibilities of getting into colleges . The consultant info I gave you might be able to help.

Though it might be a tougher route .. might be worth it !!