UK MBA Situation
Hi Guys,
This is my first post on WSO ( after having a thought in my mind for a while) so I do aplogise.
I am from the UK and in the Advisory division in a Big 4 firm. In the next 3/4 years I am looking to do an MBA from a Top 3 UK B school to possibly have a Industry/Sector change as my undergrad background is Pharmacy.
Now while researching B schools on both sides of the pond I found one interesting statistic. All top US B schools only have international students in the cohort to around 30/40%( the majority being American Students) BUT in the UK schools like LBS, Judge and Manchester have their international student percentages at around 90/95% of the whole class. This can only mean that despite having a few top ranked B schools in UK, not many Britishers want to do the MBA? What is the reason for this?
This seems quite bizzare but if we look at all the UK B school MBA graduates, a big percentage of them decide to stay in the UK to carry on with their careers. What is interesting to me is that if you look at the vast amount of big firms and companies based here only a small fraction of their management/associates are international graduates and the rest are UK citizens.
So does this imply that working up the corporate ladder in the UK doesn't require an MBA and it is only useful as a degree that will enable foreign students to find employment in the west? Saying that why is the situation different in the US where the vast majority of B school MBAs are Americans who go on to work in the corporate ladders in the US firms.
Saying all that, I am in two minds about doing an MBA as I see myself working in the UK ( but wont rule out working in a different country later down the line). If anyone has any input or advise, it would be much appreciated!
The MBA is a U.S. thing and most Europeans don't really bother with it, also considering that people usually go for a BSc and then an MSc and only a minority will go for an MBA on top of their MSc. Now, I'm not saying that there is no value in an MBA or whatever or that no one should do it, but it's generally not a very popular or "common" degree in Europe.
So are you saying for a Native Brit or a European, they can apply to same Job ( for example Post MBA Associate position at MBB) with a International MBA graduate but would get preference despite not doing an MBA?
How would you change Industries/sectors in Europe if you dont have an MBA? ( assuming we go with your argument that it is not a common degree)
Thanks
No, I just said that it's not a common degree in Europe. If you want to play ball with a U.S. company, you'll most likely still have to do the majority of things their way. In Europe, at least when it comes to MBB, some people actually go for a PhD instead of an MBA.
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Thank you for your detailed response!
Im in the Technology Risk Consulting team ( IT Risk and Controls + some aspects of Cyber Security) which fall in the Advisory division of the firm. As im not an Audit grad, I wont be doing the ACA but i think I will be doing the CIMA.
I have two ambitions - First for working at MBB ( it is a dream at the moment) but I dont know how feasible it will be with a person of my background and age. ( Will be around 29/30 when i start my MBA) OR - Second; because of my Masters of Pharmacy background I was looking into Mid level roles at Pharmaceutical companies ( again not sure if I need an MBA to do a industry switch from Big 4 to Pharma)
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