MBA Cambridge or MIF LBS (Offer decision)

Question

Which course is better for working in investment banking/private equity/venture capital in terms of reputation, overall course, alumni, and job opportunities?

Background: Live in Asia. Exp in Big4 and financial consultant focusing on Financial due diligence.
Goals : Investment banking/private equity/venture capital (now still interested in finance but open to other job opportunities in the future)

If you can provide pros and cons of each course, please do so. I understand that both courses are really great, but I would like to obtain further information for making decision. Hope u guys understand.

Thank you so much in advance. I am really appreciated for every advice and comment.

bb · Answer

The IB/PE/VC are super competitive. Usually, you will be recruiting off campus and likely getting hired not because of which school you went to. However, there are some aspects that may make you more likely getting hired in that industry.

granted, I have not talk to any of the current students who are recruiting for IB or PE at either program, but my understanding is that you have a strong London homebase with LBS and a very strong finance program. However, even in the best case scenario, you’re probably looking at 10 to 20 people out of a class of several hundred getting recruited for the positions you are considering…. So even if you go to the best possible school, you still have to compete with all of your classmates during the application process for the internship and the job. My suggestion, would be not to focus so much on your plan a because it has a lot of uncertainty and low probability for everyone but instead focus on Plan B and other options you would consider simply because you really can’t improve your plan a much. Does that make any sense?

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kpmtp · Answer

Thank you so much for your reply and your recommendation. I understand that there are lots of competitive in the industry. So, I also think about working in Asia my home country in those careers. but what do u think about the different of each course that provide reputation and knowledge & skills for securing job in financial industry? or both courses can provide the quite same result.

bb · Answer

I would say that if you’re thinking of staying in finance and getting stronger and better at it, and you’re not looking too be more general distich and acquiring skills outside of your area, you probably would be better off specializing. Meaning you would get to be a better finance expert rather than a pretty average expert of nothing with some finance background.

Add the same time, I am yet to meet a person who would be applying more than 10% of what they have learned in business school or in their Masters program to their job. Usually, you will get hired and then trained specifically to work with the certain software or approach or strategy. I doubt your future employer will be too concerned about what you were covering at school but if they are, you will be better off going for masters in finance since you’ll have only a hand for finance classes otherwise during your MBA.

PS. I would also check the profile along with average age and work experience for LBS master in finance. I believe it is a more mature program and it’s not the one that recruit a whole bunch of undergrads to go straight into Masters. They can be dangerous because if the average program ages 22 or 24, it means that they will be recruiting for fairly low level jobs.

I would suggest getting in touch with a couple of the current students or alumni. You can find them on LinkedIn and connect with them. It would be very helpful to pick their brains. Usually they’re fairly open to having a quick chat or spending 30 minutes to give you their side of the story as long as you’re polite… it is also a great way to build your network for the future when it comes time to look for internships which will be in just six months….

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kpmtp · Answer

Thank you for your detailed information. In my point of view, I lack of advanced finance knowledge and skills. So, I think MiF at LBS will provide me both knowledge and soft skills for my future career. However, MBA Cambridge is very popular in my country and I think the course will broaden my optional career opportunities and provide elective in finance for choosing to specialize. That's why I am a little bit confuse for choosing the offer. However, I will use your recommendation to think about it really well. Thank you again for your kind advice.

bb · Answer

One interesting comment I’ve heard, doesn’t mean it’s true but it was something that caught my eye, London business school is strong in the London and that’s about it and Cambridge is strong worldwide but not in London. I don’t know how much true that is, but I think there’s some truth to that 😬🤷‍♂️

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kpmtp · Answer

Thank you so much for voting and I saw that many of you guys voted MiF LBS. Any comments and recommendation is welcome. If you can provide reasons or give any advice, I will be really appreciated:)

MBA Cambridge or MIF LBS (Offer decision)

MBA Cambridge or MiF LBS

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