NYU Stern vs. UCLA Anderson for Product Management

Question

Hello all,

I'm curious to know people's opinions about my current dilemma. Assuming I was accepted to both Stern and Anderson (without scholarship),  which would be the best choice ?

Post MBA, i'd like to get into product management for technology (i.e. Google), or brand management for consumer goods (i.e. Diageo). LA is obviously closer to Silicon Valley, but NYC also has a large tech industry. Both schools have very reputable Entertainment/Media/Technology specializations.

Thanks!

cole2012 · Answer

Well. I frankly don't see this as much of a dilemma. I will give you my thoughts, but you'd also be well served to look at each school's placement reports and scour LinkedIn, which is a great resource that many MBA applicants under-utilize, imo. If you look at Anderson's stats, you see 25% going into Tech and strong % of that going into product mgmt at top tech/consumer internet companies. Is that true for Stern? You tell me; I don't have the interest to look, but I'd guess not.

In general: SV+SF is so much larger a market for tech than NYC, it's really an apples/oranges situation. NYC shares more in common with LA or Chicago, even Austin, Denver or Seattle. The Bay Area has more open MBA positions (all sectors) in any given year than any other market, including NYC with all its finance jobs and consulting headquarters jobs. That is mostly tech. This is Mecca. If you want product mgmt in tech, you want a feeder into Mecca. The feeders are Stanford, Haas and Anderson, with strong representation from Kellogg and Ross, believe it or not, as well as Sloan and Wharton. Those are the real tech schools. Those are the schools that can get you jobs at AMZN, GOOG, MSFT and AAPL. And it's both by design and a self-perpetuating cycle.

So you have to ask yourself questions here. West Coast or East Coast. Are you a Google/Apple/Twitter/Facebook/MSFT/AMZN person? Or are you a AOL/IAC/Tumblr/Buzzfeed person? You'll notice that NYC's tech scene is pretty content-focused. Also, on the entertainment side, NYC is TV and LA is Film. The digital entertainment revolution which has started -- think: how Youtube, Hulu, Netflix, Xbox are affecting Warner Bros., Disney, HBO and NBC -- is occurring as an epic war/partnership between LA and Silicon Valley. If you want to be in the middle of that, West Coast is your desired network.

Realizing now I will come across as biased here. In any case, those are my thoughts. Others may differ. NYC is a perfectly fine place to work on a startup. Not sure Stern is your best route there, but I'm sure others have made it. I just prefer to go where the action is immediately.

Good luck.

therabfrequency · Answer

Thanks very much for your feedback. You make a lot of sense. I'm 90% sure I'll choose Anderson...

Does anyone else have any input? It would be greatly appreciated.

codytravers · Answer

Cole nailed it. I too am extremely interested in moving to the Bay Area after graduation, and being in CA will make it much easier to network/interview with firms located there. Looking at flights 2 weeks from now, you can get from lax to sfo for $75 each way, taxes and fees included. Best of luck in your decision!

integral · Answer

Sorry to dig an old post here, but contrary to the poll, the responses and your own 90% conviction, you seem to have matriculated at NYU Stern. What made you go for it?

LoganSmith · Answer

Hi

NYU Tech MBA has the biggest job placement in Product Management role.

NYU Stern vs. UCLA Anderson for Product Management

Anderson or Stern?

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