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Othasollala
Current Student
Joined: 30 Jan 2019
Last visit: 15 Mar 2022
Posts: 11
Given Kudos: 19
Location: India
Schools: HEC Jan20 Intake (II)
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41
Products:
27 Jul 2020, 06:57
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Hi All.
I am looking for input from someone who has a detailed understanding of the EU MBA market and who has been through it. I am from India and have recently been accepted by the HEC Paris MBA program. I am excited to be accepted as it is a very strong brand in France, however, their career report and career opportunities present some reasons for concern.
a. Mean Salaries of 128000 $. Now I am already working in the European market and this number is hard for me to believe because most people I have seen who make this kind of money are Directors or VPs. Morever, Insead Mean salary is 105000 $. Now, I understand that Insead maybe considered a slightly better program so I cannot explain the difference in salaries. Some can make the argument that its because of purchasing power parity inflation of salaries. Even on this count, Insead is a more international program and is subject to the same inflationary pressure as HEC, even more so as their graduates also tend to spread across the globe. Are HEC Grads really making better salaries than Insead and LBS grads ? What is the reality after a program like HEC ?
b. Career Centre Facilitated Internships and Jobs : I understand that this is a week point for MBA programs across Europe, but from talking to HEC Grads from 2015 and before, I understand that most jobs are obtained via the Alumni network and on campus recruitment does not exist. The reason I mention this is I see the MBA as a time to develop soft skills and hard skills to be ready when companies come on campus, however, I see that it is more likely at HEC that I would spend that time on sending cold emails and reaching out to people on Linkedin, leaving me lesser time to actually work on self improvement and bonding with classmates. Has the situation now improved in 2020 ? That Career centre has become much more active in facilitating face time with recruiters and opportunities in consulting and Technology ? (My industries of interest). I understand that INSEAD and LBS have dedicated recruitment into these sectors and schools like IMD are feeders for leadership roles.
c. Getting "a" job vs Getting "the" Job : Having already been part of the EU job market from a decent masters program, my impression from my job search and observing other internationals is that getting a job is easy if you are non demanding with respect to what and where you work. Getting "the" Job is however hard. Meaning getting into consulting with a reputable firm, or in a strategy function in the industry, especially when it comes to making a Pivot to a different industry or function. An MBA of HEC's calibre should in the ideal world be able to make this happen for students who work for it, at least the high rankings suggest so. Is this a reasonable expectation ? I do not want to spend 100K to do an MBA to get "a" job again.
d. Grande Ecole vs MBA - Are HEC Mba grads considered to be a by product offering of the Grande Ecole program for which HEC is really known for ? The high rankings (3rd in Economist, 9th in Ft, 7th in QS) suggest the MBA from HEC has come of age and into its own identity but it does matter if the alumni think you are a byproduct of their school and not a real HEC grad as it would affect future networking and circles. I have already worked with French Grande Ecole grads and my impression of them is that they are already quite snooty to other grads from lower ranked schools. Dont know it translates to grads of non grande Ecole departments of same schools.
Your input would be very much appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance.
I am looking for input from someone who has a detailed understanding of the EU MBA market and who has been through it. I am from India and have recently been accepted by the HEC Paris MBA program. I am excited to be accepted as it is a very strong brand in France, however, their career report and career opportunities present some reasons for concern.
a. Mean Salaries of 128000 $. Now I am already working in the European market and this number is hard for me to believe because most people I have seen who make this kind of money are Directors or VPs. Morever, Insead Mean salary is 105000 $. Now, I understand that Insead maybe considered a slightly better program so I cannot explain the difference in salaries. Some can make the argument that its because of purchasing power parity inflation of salaries. Even on this count, Insead is a more international program and is subject to the same inflationary pressure as HEC, even more so as their graduates also tend to spread across the globe. Are HEC Grads really making better salaries than Insead and LBS grads ? What is the reality after a program like HEC ?
b. Career Centre Facilitated Internships and Jobs : I understand that this is a week point for MBA programs across Europe, but from talking to HEC Grads from 2015 and before, I understand that most jobs are obtained via the Alumni network and on campus recruitment does not exist. The reason I mention this is I see the MBA as a time to develop soft skills and hard skills to be ready when companies come on campus, however, I see that it is more likely at HEC that I would spend that time on sending cold emails and reaching out to people on Linkedin, leaving me lesser time to actually work on self improvement and bonding with classmates. Has the situation now improved in 2020 ? That Career centre has become much more active in facilitating face time with recruiters and opportunities in consulting and Technology ? (My industries of interest). I understand that INSEAD and LBS have dedicated recruitment into these sectors and schools like IMD are feeders for leadership roles.
c. Getting "a" job vs Getting "the" Job : Having already been part of the EU job market from a decent masters program, my impression from my job search and observing other internationals is that getting a job is easy if you are non demanding with respect to what and where you work. Getting "the" Job is however hard. Meaning getting into consulting with a reputable firm, or in a strategy function in the industry, especially when it comes to making a Pivot to a different industry or function. An MBA of HEC's calibre should in the ideal world be able to make this happen for students who work for it, at least the high rankings suggest so. Is this a reasonable expectation ? I do not want to spend 100K to do an MBA to get "a" job again.
d. Grande Ecole vs MBA - Are HEC Mba grads considered to be a by product offering of the Grande Ecole program for which HEC is really known for ? The high rankings (3rd in Economist, 9th in Ft, 7th in QS) suggest the MBA from HEC has come of age and into its own identity but it does matter if the alumni think you are a byproduct of their school and not a real HEC grad as it would affect future networking and circles. I have already worked with French Grande Ecole grads and my impression of them is that they are already quite snooty to other grads from lower ranked schools. Dont know it translates to grads of non grande Ecole departments of same schools.
Your input would be very much appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance.
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lcbdelgado
GMAT 2: 720 Q48 V40
Posts: 17
28 Jul 2020, 04:38
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Othasollala
First of all, congrats on your approval for HEC. This is a great school, which has climbing up the rankings lately.
I`m a current applicant for European schools and thus, not a specialist. But I`ll try to give some of the feedback I`ve got from some people studying european schools.
a. HEC mean salary can be weighted by the high amount of people from the Asian and the Middle-East, markets know for higher salaries. So yes, this average may not be fully taken for comparison when just looking for the European market against other schools. Anyhow, I heard from colleagues that HEC has a very strong reputation in the East european market. The school has been lately putting many MBA in not only France, but also Nederlands, Belgium and others. I personnaly still believe LBS and INSEAD brands are stronger and may make easier to find a job in EU. Anyhow, I would not let this make me push back from top programs such as HEC. Anyhow, I believe you will have to work harder to land your dream position, that means more network, being more active in clubs, talking to alumni etc..
c. Talking about THE job or A job might be even harder in the after Covid. But considering that HEC program is larger than 1 year, I expect the market to be better by the time of your graduation. Anyhow, the MBA you give you amazing experiences to develop, but I'm a believer that great part of the success will come from your effort in whatever top-20 school you attend. If you have a decent job already, and your plans are reasonable, I would expect a great improvement in job position. You are already familiarized with the European market and this is a great advantage for you.
I'll wait for the specialists to add their comments, but in general if you had gone through all the other schools admission process I'd stick with HEC. In fact, if I was in your position I'd work hard to learn French and take advantage of some nice improvements that have being doing (such as the HEC consulting practice) to leverage a top job in EU.
Good luck!
Posts: 126
28 Jul 2020, 05:34
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Hey Othasollala
While I am not an expert on this subject adding my two cents as I had evaluated the EU market before finalising on NA market.
The EU is reeling under economic slowdown and Brexit. This has been further fuelled by the current pandemic.
Given this while selecting schools to apply, I felt that breaking these barriers will be a challenge for me as a non-EU resident.
Though since you are already based in EU and if you know French you might be able to break these barriers.
I would think that it comes down to the geography you want to settle in. If your choice is EU then for sure HEC is a strong brand. (Also since INSEAD is a one yr program the pace of the course is way different. You might want to consider this factor too)
Posted from my mobile device
While I am not an expert on this subject adding my two cents as I had evaluated the EU market before finalising on NA market.
The EU is reeling under economic slowdown and Brexit. This has been further fuelled by the current pandemic.
Given this while selecting schools to apply, I felt that breaking these barriers will be a challenge for me as a non-EU resident.
Though since you are already based in EU and if you know French you might be able to break these barriers.
I would think that it comes down to the geography you want to settle in. If your choice is EU then for sure HEC is a strong brand. (Also since INSEAD is a one yr program the pace of the course is way different. You might want to consider this factor too)
Othasollala
Posted from my mobile device
