Best Masters to get a job in France as an international?
Title says it all. I have a 3.5 gpa from business undergrad and decent 2.5 years of work experience but not yet enough to get into the top MBAs (not keen on waiting a few more years). I've seen a wide array of masters programs at multiple schools and have gathered that some of the target schools for finance are HEC, ESSEC, and ESCP. I'm looking to go into strategy, finance, data analytics, or even marketing as a career, but frankly I'd be happy with any decent-paying job as long as I get to stay in France. What masters programs will be best for an international like me to get a permanent job in France after graduating?
I will be honest with you, if you do not speak French then it is going to be very tough for you. If you don't then, avoid France and try the US or a strong english speaking economy (e.g.: Nordics or the Netherlands).
Thanks for the input, I’m at a basic to intermediate level now and I think I’ll be able to reach full professional proficiency while I’m there.
Best schools for finance are usually as follows: HEC, ESSEC, ESCP, Science Po and Dauphine, as well as the 3 best engineering schools (you will have a bigger chance breaking into data analytics with those).
There are also a lot of dual masters program that might of interest to you.
You can pm me if you have other questions!
HEC-Paris Masters in Finance is the best you can find to land a job in France. Or HEC-Paris MBA.
Now why would you pursue Master's degree though? You will be setting yourself back relative to your peers. Since you already have 2.5 years of experience - by the time you apply - get accepted - matriculate - you will have close to 4-4.5 years of experience. Remember that most college report "work experience" as time during matriculation. Technically - you have sufficient work exp to go for an MBA and be relatively on the same level as your peers. Remember that a Master's in Finance starts at a lower position as compared to an MBA. So even if you wait - let's say an additional 6 months - you will be basically skipping 2-3 years of work exp that you would need otherwise to get to an Associate level position vs an Analyst.
With 2.5 years of experience now - If you apply in January R1 for January 23' start - you will have a little above 3.5 years of exp when you start. This my friend is sufficient. As long as you have other areas in your application (GMAT, ECs, good essays, strong work exp) - you will be fine.
If you apply for R1 next year - you will start Fall of 23' - you will have 4.5 years exp at matriculation - almost at the average of HEC-Paris work exp for MBA.
Thanks for the detailed advice, really appreciate it! The reason I'm looking at Masters instead of MBA is that I would like to maximize my chances at scholarship a high-ranked MBA. With my experience as it is now, I don't think I'm competitive enough. So I'm looking at applying R2 this January for other Masters or MiM in HEC/ESSEC/ESCP, so I'd start in August '22 with a little over 3 years work experience.
I've thought about the HEC MBA January '23 start, but I'm worried about long term prospects vs maybe higher ranked schools (M7/INSEAD/LBS) so I'm going for non-MBA masters now to build up experience in a country/region I really like.
I have to agree with boib_1's comment below.
I honestly do not think that you are really thinking this through. Also - if you disagree with me, feel free to ignore my comment. Only here to provide my perspective and to help you.
I am going to take HEC-P as an example.
1) MiM is considered a replacement for MBA. MBA is a relatively "new" thing in Europe. Europe likes to stick with master's programs and so MiM is more popular vs MBA. This does not mean than an MBA will get you no where. But if I am in your shoes and admissions committee, its either MiM or MBA.
2) You may have a lower chance for scholarship with MiM/MFIN. Both of these degrees are "pre-experience" degrees and so you will be in a class full of students that have relatively 0-1 year of experience only. with your 2.5/3 years of experience - you will be an outlier. In such that companies may not want to persuade you for a job for entry-level positions where you will be older than others. Remember age is a factor - even when they say its not. I believe LBS is the only one that has a pre-experience (MFA degree) and post-experience MFIN degree and post-experience MBA.
3) As point #2 states - Age is a factor. If you pursue a Master's degree now - while you are a bit older than a traditional master's candidate, and you do land a job you want. Eventually you will need to be at that job for at least 3 years before you can think about MBA again. The reason being - you need a story of why MBA since you just recently persuaded a master's degree even after having work-experience. At that point - you may need to re-take your GMAT because the scores are only valid for 5 years. I am going to take an average age of 22 when students get Bachelors degree. If you graduated at 22 - 3 years of work exp (so I am thinking 25 is the age now) - 2 years MiM (so 27 age) - 3 years work exp after MiM (age 30). At this point you will be 30 considering an MBA. Possibly 31-32 when you matriculate. You will once again be a older candidate pursuing an MBA. Now 31-32 is still okay for an MBA, you will need a strong story to persuade ad coms to why they should accept you.
All of the above + you may not even be guaranteed to get a scholarship for MiM/MFIN. So if MBA is eventually in your plans - would you really consider taking on loans now and taking on loans again later? Seems like a huge waste.
*Adjust the age accordingly in point #3.
*These are just my views - so feel free to ignore if you want.
*Also you are planning to apply to R2 in January. Another bad choice. Not only will you be an outlier with higher work-exp for pre-exp degree, R2 will be harder to get into with limited seats.
None of this goes to say that what I am saying WILL happen. What you are planning might work out as well. Nothing is guaranteed.
Doing a 2/3 year MIM plus an MBA is crazy. What a waste of money and time. Even if you get a scholarship... Pick one and go for it!!
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