How long do you typically need to work at a company that has an MBA sponsorship program before you are eligible for it (ie how long do you need to work at a company before they will pay for/subsidize an MBA)? Specifically in IB.
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Very few investment banks will pay for an MBA
I believe this is, even in the USA, very uncommon and becoming even less and less common. Outside of the USA, this almost doesn't exist.
Employers have realized that (1) their employees don't really need MBAs and (2) even if they would prefer to show their potential clients some folks with MBA credentials, there are already enough candidates around who have already gone through MBA (with their own wallets) and are now hungry for employment.
>Outside of the USA, this almost doesn't exist.
Where are your sources for this statement? Just off the top of my head, in Japan, large companies and banks routinely send off high-potential employees to the US (and sometimes Europe, e.g. INSEAD) to get their MBAs. Tuition is 100% covered by the firm.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese employees who got their MBAs overseas would usually return to the Company and stay with them forever/until retirement, but now the trend is for these young Japanese MBA holders to ditch their former companies and go into banking, consulting, private equity, etc.
Whether or not this new trend will cause Japanese companies to rethink their policy of subsidizing MBAs for their employees remains to be seen.
This is more along the lines of what I thought than what some of the previous statements have said.
The more common trend, and this probably doesn't happen in IB either, is for places to give you tuition reimbursement so you can take a class or two a year on their dime. But you have to pay up front and they give you the money once you show you passed with a good grade.
Yeah, and pre-2008, many F500 companies would have paid the whole thing for at least a part time. Now a lot of them give about $6k - $15k a year, which isn't that much.
A fully sponsored MBA is pretty rare these days. My firm has tuition reimbursement, up to the IRS allowable max, as well as a salary sacrifice program. Definitely not going to fund a full ride, but every bit helps and there are no strings on paying it back.
My firm has TA which you can use after 6 months or so and also an MBA sponsor program for top performers who have been there at least 2 yrs.
This is very uncommon now. I do know of some industrial companies (i.e. J&J) that still have reimbursement programs, but even they cut down substantially within the last couple years.
Thanks. My bank's employee handbook had something I read about MBA sponsorship that I'm curious to know about (but don't want to ask them yet, as I'm still only heading into a SA- albeit one where the strong implication was the FT offer is already mine if I don't fuck up royally; ours, I'm sure, for every intern they picked) but maybe it's just tuition reimbursement.
Lots of MBB people get sponsored for MBAs. Just look at placement stats for the programs, some list numbers of sponsored. Other than that, some F500 for certain positions.
Deloitte has Graduate School Assistance Program, and it requires 2 years minimum. PwC has Advisory Scholars program, requires 3 years.
Oh, OP, and to answer your question, most of those F500s let you do part time from the bat. Others are performance based so I couldn't say a certain period, but generally 2 or so years to prove yourself.
They simply hire Master's/PhD/JD to begin with nowadays.
These programs still exist at blue chip companies, although the days of full tuition reimbursement are past us. I know someone who works in Corporate Strategy / Marketing at Kaiser Permanente, who was offered tuition reimbursement. However, she had to commit to four years at Kaiser post-MBA. I'm not entirely sure how the reimbursement works. Perhaps she was paid 25% tuition each year?
I also know Parthenon Group sponsors full-time MBA as well.
It is rare, but not unheard of in the US. My company fully sponsors MBA's but you have to take an evening program. That being said, there are no restrictions on how much they will pay and no contracts post MBA. I was surprised to know this but if you do stumble across a company such as this, take full advatage ASAP.
General Mills has full time sponsorship program for a couple of people every year. Same with Baird -middle market IB firm.
Never seen it in IB, with the exception of Baird. They have a 'Baird Scholar' program that a few of the people that interviewed me there had gone through. Many F500 companies have something like this. Most of them like to keep you employed while you go through one of the night and weekend programs that many of the top schools are now offering. This limits your options a bit, but if you work in NYC, Chicago, DC, Houston or Southern California you can go to Stern, Columbia, G-Town, Darden, Rice or Anderson. Pretty damn good options....
Does adcom favor company-sponsored applicants? I'd imagine yes as those students boost career placements stats and foster strong relationships with those firms. With that said I dont see adcom going out of their way for a student who is in the lower 20% of both their gpa and gmat ranges.
They wouldn't know unless you told them, and at my old firm, we were advised not to tell them, since it might dissuade them from giving you any scholarships...which would just get tacked on and wouldn't get subtracted from your sponsorship.
True, good point.
Yup, if publicly traded, the IRS has some max amount a company can subsidize per year - it's pretty low
How common is MBA sponsorship from IB? (Originally Posted: 11/16/2009)
I know that consulting firms routinely sponsor MBA's for analysts, as long as they return back to their firm after getting the MBA. How common is that for banks?
For BBs, not very common. For boutiques, I'm not sure - it really depends on the boutique.
It's not common, although in good job markets (i.e. not now), some banks will do it after the fact -- in other words, they won't offer anything as you leave for b-school, but what has happened in the past is that if you decide to come back to the same bank post-MBA, some ex-analysts have been able to get the bank to agree to paying for the tuition.
Like anything in life, it's all negotiable - so long as you ask.
Specifically the megafunds - TPG, Blackstone, Carlyle? If you come on as a pre-MBA associate and then leave after 2 years to get the MBA, do they sponsor it?
Best Bulge Bracket for MBA sponsorship? (Originally Posted: 03/24/2013)
Hi, I am considering my offers from different banks, and I was just wondering in terms of pursuing an MBA, which of the bulge bracket are the best for sponsorship?
Also interested. Would be very helpful if someone could drop some knowledge in here.
Pretty sure most of them don't...MBA tuition is a very minimal if you choose to do banking for life anyway. However I do know that Baird sponsors MBA. You do 3 years of analyst, 1 year of associate, and then go to b-school and come back as 2nd year associate.
Thanks for the info. Not worried as much about the financial cost, but rather who allows employees to go back full time and then return to a guaranteed role. The full time experience is very valuable IMO.
I have no clue why would anyone need MBA for I-Banking.
I understand that it is useful if one wants to switch careers, break into different industries etc. but if you want to stay in banking (and at the same bank!), it is pretty much useless.
Because not all firms allow you to move from Analyst to Associate.
Yeah like I said- MM investment banks like Baird sponsors full time MBA, however most BB's don't.
Also, if you did an analyst stint and go back to b-school, you are pretty much guaranteed an associate position at at least one bank if you go to a good b school.
Yeah. and if you were middle bucket or better, your group will want you back. If you really want to be an associate, look for banks with lots of A to A promotes, it'll save you a couple years on the long climb to MD. From what I've heard, GS is leading the charge on this now with several of the better boutiques not far behind.
A guy from UBS (Associate, Europe) left for a 2 yrs MSc in Economics and he is going back there next summer as VP... Unique story I think...
Thanks for the data point. Reason why I am wondering is because I am in a very similar situation as listed above and am trying to build a case that there is precedent that other banks do in fact sponsor employees to go back full time.
I think most BBs do not sponsor. I have heard that top consulting shops do sponsor with a commitment of a certain number of years post-graduation.
I have not heard of any bulge bracket banks that sponsor. Most, if no all, do A to A promotions.
Greenhill is really the only bank I talked to during recruiting that did not do A to A.
JPM used to sponsor MBAs for certain people (investment management I know was one area where this was possible a number of years back) but they cut back on that a lot during the recession. I think that most BB's don't sponsors MBAs anymore.
i've seen this only with international offices (example: GS mexico).
Does anyone know if various megafund PE shops do this?
Heard of Bain Capital (?!), TA Associates and Berkshire Partners.
Job Sponsored MBAs: How often does this happen? (Originally Posted: 07/28/2015)
Hey monkeys,
I've heard a lot about a bank or some other employer financing a worker's MBA. Does this happen a lot? I was talking to a friend of mine about to head off to MIT (I'll be applying to schools in a couple months) and she told me she was almost banking on the fact that she could land one of those. Is that a lofty goal? Are they rare, lucky stories about the ones that land those gigs?
Do you mean post-mba employer paying for your entire MBA or a pre-MBA employer sponsoring you through the program and paying your tuition? Because while the latter is somewhat common (especially for consulting firms, there were significant # of sponsored MBB students in my class), signing bonus have come down quite a bit and even in the best case scenario, it won't cover one year of tuition.
I meant a pre-MBA employer sponsoring an MBA. How common is it in other fields? I ask because I know I my family will contribute X dollars to my college. I'm torn between going to a target and having all of that money (probably plus some debt) go to my undergrad, then having to pay for MBA, or going to a semi-target on good scholarships and having whatever's left over for grad school. Ideally, I'd go to a target and land one of these. Any advice?
From my experience, consulting firms will almost always sponsor, some corporate will too (really depends on the company) and that's pretty much it. For finance firms, many will give a guaranteed return offer, but few offer tuition reimbursement.
Anyway, regarding your situation, you have many many years ahead before you need to start worrying about this.
The above was my experience. My sponsored classmates were either 1) MBB + Deloitte consultants or 2) worked for large, foreign companies such as Samsung, MUFJ, etc. I didn't hear of anyone sponsored by U.S. financial institution, though I suppose it happens on some occasions. From what I remember, only ~10% of students are sponsored, so it's not that common.
So to kind of take this discussion a different way, you are guaranteed your shot at a target school now. This might not be true for an MBA. I'd consider that. I'll concede the debt is a big deal though.
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