Top MBA after serving in non-US military?
Hi
I'm an international student currently attending a target undergrad in the US, and I am wondering:
If I serve for 2-4 years in the Navy in my European home country after undergrad, will that give me an edge when I apply to Business Schools in the US? Or is mainly US military experience appreciated and not experience in foreign militaries?
Thanks
@cibo , that is an extremely immature, inappropriate, and completely disrespectful response. I hope the admins take your response down.
@CWK , I don't know about foreign military experience, you should reach out to b-school admission offices.
Not a b-school expert but here are my two cents:
As for the US vs. non-US military, some of it may depend on the specific country. Ad coms would probably view it as equivalent to US experience if you served for Western or Northern European nation. It’s the same reason why they like big, prestigious firms (MBB, BB): they have a track record with people coming from those employers and it is less risk for them. Consequently, business schools probably have more experience with those from the British or French navies than they do the Croatian navy. More important is the rank (enlisted vs. officer) and field. That is, there is a huge difference of being an enlisted oil drainer and being an intelligence officer. I think that (plus GMAT, essays, etc) matters much more than the specific country.
Thanks for your comment. The country in question is in Scandinavia btw...So the gist of your answer is that as long as my experience is somewhat up the ranks (e.g like a lieutenant in the navy) then the absence of work experience in finance/business should not be a liability but rather a plus in the admissions process?
Auto ding if the country in question in France. Serving in the French "Army/Navy/AF" will not qualify as having served in the military.
Hahahah. Love it! The French really do have no souls.
In fairness to the French, the OP is serving in a Scandinavian "military"...I wonder what a Norwegian naval vessel would look like. I'm thinking it would resemble a rubber ducky.
I don't know how an ultramodern 450-foot frigate could possibly resemble a rubber ducky, but whatever...
Ok, so which one are you?
//www.youtube.com/embed/cbLwmUdee64
Lols you guys are so serious about everything which the point of my post.
Look, all military service is respected since it develops the traits of confidence, self discipline and leadership. The fact you guys are so insecure that one country's military is more prestigious than the other IS worth an immature response.
OK, I was trolling when I was bashing the French - they do good work with us in Afghanistan.
But, if you think about it, it's definitely true that the US Military is more prestigious than others when it comes to US B School admissions. Refer to m2's point.
The ladies in the ad coms only know the US Military.
Quality of experience within a nation's armed forces will really depend on type of branch. It's a little like banking where you have front office (say, airborne infantry) and back office (logistics corps) and you'd want to be in the former for good experience.
I think you'd be fine coming from most Western European armies in terms of quality of experience but I think OP's question as to the impression that will make on the American ladies in Adcom, whose experience in assessing foreign units may be limited, is warranted. So I'd be interested in hearing actual experiences (none of the military guys from my country that I know applied to MBA programs).
"Oh look, Nancy, here's a Brit who worked at the SAS!" -- "That's interesting, Joanne, I thought they'd only take Swedish pilots over there!"
These kinds of comments crack me up. First piece of advice for the OP, ignore any advice from people who haven't served in the military because 99% of them have no clue what anybody in the military actually does.
At the top schools there is a slightly higher representation of former special forces operators but otherwise no particular path is really better than another. It will all boil down to your specific experiences and the story you can tell. I have a few classmates who served in the military outside the US ignoring the Israelis because most of them had normal jobs after their service prior to b-school. Without knowing how many applied though it is hard to say how selective the ad com was.
Sorry I've actually spent a year in the military so know exactly what I'm talking about. I insist that the best leadership experience you can get is in infantry units and the learning curve for young officers there is lightyears from dicking around in logistics/supply.
There are a LOT of people who served in foreign militaries. It is obligatory in a lot of countries -- so any student from those countries has served. The countries that first come to mind are Israel and Singapore. Some of them have exclusively military experience others have a combination of military and work. Like any other b-school app, you're going to need to sell your story.
the IDF (Israeli military) gets a ton of respect too
Well the majority of my classmates at an M7 school are from what you claim to be "back office" military jobs. So I stand by my statement that your MOS really doesn't matter, your experience and story are what counts.
CF, just sent you those details via PM.
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