Is it worth doing MBA in US in the present scenario?

Question

Hello,
I'm from Peru. One of my dreams for my career has been studying in a top business school in the US, such as Harvard, Stanford or MIT. I have valuable work experience, a good GPA, a good GMAT score and extracurricular activites.
However, when I read news about the US economy, it seems that they are in a big problem. The unemployment rate is high, the deficit budget also is high, and I have seen some friends that had to come back to my country because they didn't find a job in the US: They studied in Michigan business school.

In this sense, do you think that it is a good idea doing a MBA in a top business school in the US in this moment? If you think that it is not a good idea, do you think that a MBA degree from a top business school, such as HBS or Wharton, would help me in getting a job in Europe or Asia? 
Regards!

hamsandwich · Answer

Is this serious? From someone's who's already posted almost 1000 times?

metallicafan · Answer

Notice that I'm saying "in the present scenario". Maybe I have to wait until the economy is Ok again. 
Also, you have to have in mind that getting a job is more difficult for a foreigner, specially in the present circumstances.

nosferatudracon · Answer

I would say if you go to HBS, Stanford, Wharton and can't get a job in this economy than we're all screwed.

Of course there are outliers in every group. Even the top schools don't have 100% placement rate. Of course don't always know why this is. However I would say if you're good enough to get into one of those schools and you get good grades are are active in extracurriculars than you'll be just fine for getting a job....if not the rest of us who don't get into schools like that are all really screwed

Nos

metallicafan · Answer

Thanks Nos. That's the same advice that a friend gave me the other day. "The world still moving; therefore, there are people who are moving it, some of them are from those schools, and they are in good positions".

nosferatudracon · Answer

Sounds like a pretty smart friend you got there. Where'd he/she go to business school?

metallicafan · Answer

Yes, he is very smart, but he has not applied yet. Currently, he is looking for a job in Europe in Finance. But he told me that the situation is also not so good there. :s Paradoxically, now the called "third-world" economies are growing more than the "Western" economies. My country is growing at a rate of 8%! :-D

However, the wages in my country still being low to pay a debt for a MBA degree in a top business school. That's why my concern of getting a good job after my MBA degree. By the way, Nosferatus rules! That's the only vampire who scares me :shock:

nosferatudracon · Answer

Absolutely agree with you that the developing world is where the money is at right now. All of my retirement accounts are heavily invested in the international funds right now with a lot of investments being in Brazil or India. If I had my pick of places to live in the developing world right now the booming economies that most interest me are Brazil, Poland, and Turkey...sorry don't know much about Peru

At any rate...go to one of the top schools you mentioned and be involved and get good grades I think you wont have a problem getting a job to pay off your debt. If you're really worried there's always the option of expanding your application to a few other lower schools and hope to get scholarship money...that way you get a good degree with good job prospects but if it doesn't work out you aren't broke either. Then again there's always the option of going into debt and then fleeing the country and never returning...but who would actually do that...

sniperssk · Answer

It largely depends on the companies you are shooting for - how many MBA spots they have and how many people are gunning for them. In my experience, grades in bschool don't matter when it comes to finding a job. The same goes for extracurriculars. I've seen a lot of people with excellent grades and lots of xc involvement fail to get a job on campus whereas people with less than stellar marks, but really focused on recruiting and networking had several offers.

The firms care about several things: do you have basic knowledge about the function you are recruiting for; do you really want to work in the industry or you have just dropped your resume as you did with 30 other companies; do you fit with the culture of the firm. That's why you need to demostrate BASIC knowledge of the principles of marketing, finance, or whatever function you are recruiting along with knowledge of the industry and the company, which shows that you are interested enough to learn about them and think through the issues facing them. The fit portion is hard to be faked - it's just about the way you are used to doing things and how you think.

Excluding IB and consulting, about 30-35% of the traditional industry jobs are open to internationals. The main problem that most internationals had in securing jobs was communication skills. I saw many people with less than stellar English skills and they didn't fare well in recruiting. If your English is less than fluent, I would recommend improving it as it would really put you at a disadvantage - you are competing with native speakers, so your ability needs to be pretty close to theirs. That is even more true for MC and IB. I saw people jump on the IB/MC bandwagon without considering whether they would be a good fit for the job only to get dinged in their interviews - by that time interviews for other industries had started and these guys were left with nothing because they hadn't networked with other firms.

So you need to really decide what kind of job you'll be after before arriving as the recruiting process starts pretty soon after school starts. It's hard to generalize for all possible jobs, but one recurring theme I noticed was that showing interest and networking with people from the company is much more important than having good grades in marketing or finance that no one looks at. Even previous experience in the function/industry will not get you in if you cannot show interest or if you don't click with the people from the company and have bad communication skills.

metallicafan · Answer

Thanks sniperssk! Actually, I'm really interested in IB and consulting. Are those industries more open to internationals? PS. To Nos, you should visit Peru, dude. Nice beaches, ancient ruins, good food! 8-)

nosferatudracon · Answer

I think what sniperssk was getting at is that IB and consulting require a higher degree of English fluency than other industries, due to the amount of client facing time involved with those positions.

I'd love to visit Peru. I have a goal to visit all 7 continents eventually in my life. Right now I've been to 3 so...only 4 more to go.

BlueRobin · Answer

IB and Consulting are actually difficult to get into compared to General Management or any other sector. Actually, I read it in an chat transcript of Randy@Cornell. Again, it depends on what kind of consultant you want to be Management Consultant, or specialized technology consultant. Management consultant is pretty competitive but I should say that there are plenty of MC jobs in many companies out of McK, Bain, Booze or any Top 10 consultancies.

I think you can progress your way up if you prove to be a really good consultant.

Thanks for the kudos.

Regards.

I think you can progress your way up if you prove to be a really good consultant.

Thanks for the kudos.

Regards.

metallicafan · Answer

My mistake! Kudos for all you 8-)

BlueRobin · Answer

Wohoo way to go man, I am gonna inform the Adcoms I GOT A KUDO, now give me the admission.

Kidding.

Hjort · Answer

This may have already been covered, but the spot market for MBA grads is less relevant that the state of the market when you graduate. Thus, the real question is what you think the demand for US UE/Elite MBA grads will be as your target graduation date approaches.

sniperssk · Answer

Yes, they are more open. However, you need to decide which one of these two you will be after before you start recruiting. And more important, decide whether you will be a good fit for these jobs. IB is a sales job and that's what recruiters will be looking for in you - can you be a salesman. If you don't feel comfortable selling, I would advise against going for IB. Consulting is similar - it's a client-facing business. Do you enjoy solving cases for which you are given limited information - if you don't enjoy that or if you are not good at solving these problems, you won't be a good fit for consulting either. Do you enjoy interacting with different people to find what their needs are and how you can solve their problems - that's another thing consultants will be looking for during recruiting. Think very carefully whether you have the personality for these jobs because if you don't, recruiters will sense that pretty quickly and you'll join the ranks of the people who dedicated their time to pursuing one of these careers, but ended up with nothing because they went with the herd and failed to assess what they are good at.

fedexunledded · Answer

From what I've heard from a few alumni and current students, Consulting and Finance are open to all international students because the firms are well-versed with the nuances of sponsoring work permits. However, not all jobs in traditional industry may necessarily be open to international students. It depends on the firm and this may change from one year to another. Some firms clearly state that only those with permanent work authorization in the US need apply for these roles. This can prove to be a hurdle for those who are very keen on jobs in the industry (NOT Consulting and Finance). However, I have seen quite a few alumni profiles on LinkedIn and they made the transition from business school to GM or Rotational Leadership Programs. So it suggests that there are openings in these as well. I spoke to an international student who joined a manufacturing firm. The firm recruited her in spite for her nationality primarily because she was able to demonstrate strong fit, enthusiasm and passion for the job and the firm.

As for returning to your home country immediately after an MBA, it depends on how you intend to pay back your loans (if you have borrowed any). If your intention is to get over with the loans as soon as possible, then you would be better off working in the US for a few years since the pay scales in developing countries are unlikely to be as attractive as those in the US. However, the number of MBAs returning to my home country immediately after business school in the US seems to be on the rise.

As for returning to your home country immediately after an MBA, it depends on how you intend to pay back your loans (if you have borrowed any). If your intention is to get over with the loans as soon as possible, then you would be better off working in the US for a few years since the pay scales in developing countries are unlikely to be as attractive as those in the US. However, the number of MBAs returning to my home country immediately after business school in the US seems to be on the rise.

whiplash2411 · Answer

I am not really an expert on this subject, but I've heard that in MC (and to an extent, IB), a lot of the firms are willing to place you in an office in the international locations (perhaps your home country) if the US market isn't working out well (largely due to visa sponsorships and so on). That's another option you have.

fedexunledded · Answer

i've seen a few folks go to their home countries for an internship at the MC office there but not sure whether that happens for the full-time offer too.

Is it worth doing MBA in US in the present scenario?

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