Job Prospects for non-EU/EEA Nationals?

Question

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone could weigh in on the employment prospects for those of us outside the EU region when it comes to finance programs within Europe. In particular, I'm curious about SSE and Bocconi. Do non-EU students end up going home or are they able to find something?

MSFHQ · Answer

I've heard most non-EU citizens go back home, but there will be exceptions. I'd say your English fluency, internships, performance in the program and networking skills will largely determine how you place post graduation. It is going to be an uphill battle though.

mooncakes · Answer

Yeah, that's what I imagined, though I guess it seems it depends on the country I pick as well. Germany allows students to remain for 18 months to look for jobs, which is the most generous I've seen within Europe, but at the same time doesn't really have many well known schools and probably requires strong fluency in German. From the immigration policies I've seen, it seems like I should probably avoid Sweden, the UK, and probably Switzerland as well.

I'm American, so English fluency isn't much of a problem, but foreign language fluency requirements are what trouble me more. Looking around, I've seen various reports on how easy it is to get internship opportunities as a non-EU, with some positive outlooks and some not so positive outlooks. I think I'll probably have to just ask the schools for further information after/if acceptance to get a better idea, though they don't exactly have any motivation to be perfectly honest.

Grade wise I'm currently in the top 5% in my undergrad at a relatively well regarded European business school, and I think I should be able to replicate that elsewhere. I could potentially stay here, but I don't really enjoy the location. It seems like it might be a decent idea to start learning German and apply to schools there instead, but at the same time places like Bocconi and SSE have a lot of brand power compared to places like Mannheim University or Goethe University Frankfurt, which won't have too much pull outside of Germany.

My final option is to return to the US, but I'm not all too keen to blow tens of thousands on tuition fees.

MSFHQ · Answer

I read an article talking about how cheap German schools are. Most are in English. Issue is that once you graduate you'll need to know the language for work. You could say go to Frankfurt for an MSF then try and get a job in London, but the issue will be sponsorship. IMO, I would do say LSE or LBS and expect to come home. Consider it a great education and a year or two living overseas.

You could also find a US MSF that has an international component. Not going to be a full overseas experience, but might be a good compromise.

mooncakes · Answer

MSFHQ ,

Thanks for the response. I've contacted some of the schools, though most haven't written back yet. While LSE or LBS would certainly be wonderful, I'm not sure I'm keen on asking my family to take on the debt required or taking on the debt myself. There's a lot of unknowns floating around here with regards to post-graduation prospects, but I'd hate to have the experience of paying for something and then going back home when a near free alternative existed that would've placed me in the same situation. There's certainly an attractiveness to having a well known British school on the resume as opposed to a relatively unknown German one, of course, but at the same time letting that sway my mind over tens of thousands of dollars just seems like their marketing tactics are working out pretty well.

With regards to Frankfurt, Goethe University responded and said about 20% of their incoming class tends to be non-EU. They don't collect placement statistics, but the program director stated that he knows several non-EUs that stuck around afterwards, while noting the evidence is obviously anecdotal. He also noted that Frankfurt has English speaking opportunities, pointing out the ECB as a potential employment destination. While I'm doubtful I'll make it to investment banking or management consulting without German, those roles are a bit too client facing to interest me anyways. I'm more interested in quant-oriented areas such as risk management or microeconomic consulting, and I wouldn't be opposed to public finance roles at central banks as they seem to open up pretty nice exit opportunities and offer a very nice lifestyle.

I'm going to go ahead and wait on the response of some of the schools, as I'd be particularly interested in what Bocconi, SSE, and HSG have to say, but at the moment it seems like I might start working on learning German soon.

mooncakes · Answer

As a short update on this to interested parties, some schools (SSE, HSG, BGSE, Mannheim) have been very hand-wavey on the subject and evaded the question of difficulties associated with being non-EU, sometimes just linking me directly to their employment report that's easily locatable on their site. I get the impression that I should stay far away from those schools, though some also suffer from not having a very strong response team when you notice that student assistant is answering your question. Goethe Frankfurt has been the only that's offered a slightly positive response, albeit an anecdotal one. I'd imagine what applies for Goethe probably extends to Mannheim, though, given they're in the same country and they have the same pull (the latter might actually be better name wise, but Goethe has an excellent location for finance).

MSFHQ · Answer

Yeah, a lot of schools without a dedicated career office will have a response like this. Most likely out of ignorance than malice. I'd probably rank Goethe higher than Mannheim. Being in Frankfurt will be a premium when it comes to looking for a finance type job. Still be cautious though. It is tough nowadays with being a non EU national. I'd personally love to work in London or Berlin/Frankfurt, but as an American I know it is difficult. Sucks, but life I suppose.

Ivan91 · Answer

I am currently doing a MSc Finance at a top German business school. Around 25% of the students are international (non German) but most international students are not EU at all, they are mostly Indian and Chinese. Within the first semester, we had presentations from literally the top investment banks and consulting firms so job prospects seem really good right now.

However, unless you have a stable lavel in german (B1) and believe you could get it to C1 within the mastes program, I would advice against doing a MSc in Germany. Companies coming to campus simply state that they require German because some of their clients don't speak English. This goes mainly for the consulting companies, which even have their company presentations and recruitment events in German as well as for the traditional German banks who work mainly with german clients. Back-office position that requries no language skills is possible but, I mean, if you are not going to be competitive for a front role IB/Consulting/Asset Management job, then basically the idea behind a top masters program is lost.

btw most of my colleagues dream to work in the US but that is even more difficult without a work permit than it is for you to work in Europe

mooncakes · Answer

Yeah, I figured that might be the case. C1 might be a bit difficult to pull off in the span of two years. In either case, my goals have reverted to previous plans and I'm probably more headed down a PhD in Economics or Finance following a quantitative oriented masters, the former of which I intend to pursue most likely back in the US anyways.

As for working in the US, I think NYC is a very nice city to live in, so it has its perks. I wouldn't mind finding myself there either, but I'm not so sure about the rest of the US.

As for working in the US, I think NYC is a very nice city to live in, so it has its perks. I wouldn't mind finding myself there either, but I'm not so sure about the rest of the US.

Job Prospects for non-EU/EEA Nationals?

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