Which MBA?

[p0236948]

hi all. i would like to check for Strathclyde MBA, what is the typical time period to complete the programme part time?

the website mentioned 2-3 years and it wasnt very clear. generally you guys completed it in 2 yrs?

 

[Isman Tanuri]

hi all. i would like to check for Strathclyde MBA, what is the typical time period to complete the programme part time?

the website mentioned 2-3 years and it wasnt very clear. generally you guys completed it in 2 yrs?

Modules and classes are scheduled over 2 years. Usually most take a few more months after that to complete dissertation, but if I am not mistaken, you can take another 3 years to finish up.

But because it's flexible and designed for busy professionals, a lot of us tend to delay taking modules to the next semester etc. It's really depends on how you want to plan it, or your work capacity.

 

[xxduckxx]

now that Chicago Booth is going/gone.. r there any other options (besides INSEAD) which can give you that MBA with a branding.. short of going to the states and taking 1 yr sabbatical to do full time

 

[dareaper]

now that Chicago Booth is going/gone.. r there any other options (besides INSEAD) which can give you that MBA with a branding.. short of going to the states and taking 1 yr sabbatical to do full time

Manchester mba considered branded? Ranked around 29~30 pretty consistently i think, though it's still considered tier 2 mba. IE business school has a distance learning option (18 months iirc) with 2 or 3 short 1 week residency requirements. It's typically ranked top 10 by financial times, but not sure if it's that recognized by US or SG companies. Pretty good for Latin American/Spain region I guess? Not cheap though.

If you are only interested in USA mba, most top tier usa mba only have 2 years programme i think, except maybe northwestern and cornell?

if you are not too senior in experience, and you are in engineering/computer science/physical science/technological sector, can consider a MSc in management science and engineering from Stanford through distance learning, which is basically an engineering management masters. More info can be seen at Comparing an MEM to Other Degrees | Master of Engineering Management Programs Consortium (MEMPC)

 

[p0236948]

With regards to Strathclyde MBA, does anyone feel that having an Strathclyde MBA has an edge compared to local unis MBA in HR or MNCs perspective? In simple terms, is the Strathclyde MBA very recognised in Singapore?

I know the question is vague and depends on many parameters but I am considering a few different MBAs with sponsorship from company and my HR is mentioning she is not familiar with Strathclyde MBA! From HR or many companies perspective, unfortunately the branding of the school is important to a certain extend in Singapore. Anyone has views on that?

 

[lee_tired_sheep]

now that Chicago Booth is going/gone.. r there any other options (besides INSEAD) which can give you that MBA with a branding.. short of going to the states and taking 1 yr sabbatical to do full time

Kenan Flagler is a top school with a full fledged online mba. Not sure how they deal with time difference though.

 

[htngwilliam]

In Singapore, every HR knows about NTU and NUS but if you ask them about some universities like Carnegie Mellon Univeristy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat-Munchen, ETH Zürich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich...They will go HUH!!!!!!! Anyway, these are top universities la.

Personally I do hire locally and in overseas. For example in China, usually I will ask HR what is the ranking of the universities just to be sure it is not any fake universities or fake certificate. I feel getting a job has many factors. Sometimes you may perform very well in the interview but the interviewer just feel you are over qualified, you also cant do anything.

No guarantee you are a scholar from MIT, Insead and a commissioned officer in the SAF will get you into any private companies. Nowadays, MNC dont pay as well as before already and there are many other factors to consider. Getting a role in companies especially an important role is not so straight forward. Some hirer just dont want to employ subordinates older than them. Some hirer look for people they can click with, some prefer to hire ther friends.

Having said all these, if you have the $ and the talent to go into Insead, MIT, etc..then just go for it.

 

[LesPhantom]

For some of you guys had seen me post in this forum before, I was actually looking out for an MBA a year+ back for resume padding and career advancement purpose. Almost committed to the Strathcylde MBA, but end up holding my horses after talking to my boss and HR. I hope my post can help some young MBA seekers to see some light.

First, I think we need to see what is our intention in taking an MBA. Most of my peers did an MBA simply because it's an MBA for it's namesake, or view it as a progression to the next stage of education.

My HR highlight that at my stage of career, an MBA would make me over qualified and a generalist. They won't stop me to pursue an MBA, but I will not be considered for promotion nor salary increment. My Boss suggested that if I would like to continue in my field/area yet still insistent on taking a postgraduate degree, I should get a specialist masters instead. After weighting the pros and cons, discussion with my peers and friends who had completed their MBA, ranging from young adult to middle age veterans, I came to a conclusion to pursue a MSc in NUS, which I'm now in my 3rd week of the 1st semester.

The purpose of my post is not to discourage anyone from taking an MBA; to each his own. My purpose is for those who wants to take it for career advancement purpose, to communicate with their HR or even Boss (if you feel comfortable), working peers etc and weight your options.

My opinion at this point of time is, unless it's a 1st rate MBA from a really good school in the likes of Harvard or Wharton, or sponsored by your organization, don't do an MBA until you are really sure that your career is hamper by a lack of an MBA. For some who did it out of pride/face, that is another story altogether since ROI is not a factor anymore. Cheers.

 

[xxduckxx]

good post phantom.. a point to add that for my line of work i can/should only aim for top tier EMBAs .. thats why i was sad that booth has decided to pull out of SG.. i work on the buy side and things like top name MBAs are needed to market your team as super qualified professionals.. esp if you're pitching for billion dollar deals from big govts or funds.. they also have themselves a check list to report back to their superiors/clients

so long story short.. its only top name MBAs or nothing.. the closest i can get is INSEAD in SG but given that the "would be" booth students will now flock to INSEAD it'll only get hard to enter the course given its already quite a big intake

heng this is still a 3-4yr time story for me as i need to meet the min work exp requirements.. for now concentrate on CFA Lvl3 LOL which is another headache in itself

 

[LesPhantom]

heng this is still a 3-4yr time story for me as i need to meet the min work exp requirements.. for now concentrate on CFA Lvl3 LOL which is another headache in itself

wow CFA level 3, good luck!

I am also planning to start my MBA in 4years time, if all is right. Trying to get it while I still have energy. Probably going for the Strathcylde or Birmingham MBA, trying to strike a balance between competition, reputation and budget.

 

[htngwilliam]

It depends on your background. For us who started off with engineering, all my friends who took masters of science say it doesn't help them at all. I nearly took my dual masters in NTU until my boss tell them just forget it. Already got accepted and before I pay, I opt out.

If MNC don't pay more for their management staff, we can forget about them paying more for engineers. Nowadays, the one asking for lower pay usually get the job

Before my current job, I am at 3 MNC and most of their managers all comes with MBA and a couple of them are from NTU.

 

[Genesisz]

For some of you guys had seen me post in this forum before, I was actually looking out for an MBA a year+ back for resume padding and career advancement purpose. Almost committed to the Strathcylde MBA, but end up holding my horses after talking to my boss and HR. I hope my post can help some young MBA seekers to see some light.

First, I think we need to see what is our intention in taking an MBA. Most of my peers did an MBA simply because it's an MBA for it's namesake, or view it as a progression to the next stage of education.

My HR highlight that at my stage of career, an MBA would make me over qualified and a generalist. They won't stop me to pursue an MBA, but I will not be considered for promotion nor salary increment. My Boss suggested that if I would like to continue in my field/area yet still insistent on taking a postgraduate degree, I should get a specialist masters instead. After weighting the pros and cons, discussion with my peers and friends who had completed their MBA, ranging from young adult to middle age veterans, I came to a conclusion to pursue a MSc in NUS, which I'm now in my 3rd week of the 1st semester.

The purpose of my post is not to discourage anyone from taking an MBA; to each his own. My purpose is for those who wants to take it for career advancement purpose, to communicate with their HR or even Boss (if you feel comfortable), working peers etc and weight your options.

My opinion at this point of time is, unless it's a 1st rate MBA from a really good school in the likes of Harvard or Wharton, or sponsored by your organization, don't do an MBA until you are really sure that your career is hamper by a lack of an MBA. For some who did it out of pride/face, that is another story altogether since ROI is not a factor anymore. Cheers.

Well said. I agree with you.

 

[Genesisz]

Care to show? I feel career and business is about opportunities & timing. Till date, I still remember what one of my business professor told me when I visited him years after I left the university

Prof: I taught MBA classes but some of my students are much better off than me. Imagine I drove a Mercedes Benz but some of them drove posh cars like Ferrari and Lamborghini. If MBA is really useful, I will be much better than them.

Would an MBA really propel your career further or you are where you are simply because of what you have done in your own personal capacity in your various jobs?

SG doesn't really value MBAs that much i feel. I know my global MNC doesn't. And it isn't just Singapore. It's not going to be a situation like 'oh you are now an MBA or eMBA grad, great! Your salary will now go up 30% or something'

I think if want to do MBA, go do with those very branded (but of coz expensive) ones. Giving the illusion that you are brainy and have made it sometimes is worth more than the fact that you really are brainy and have actually made it.

Chicago GSB/Insead vs NUS/NTU... I rest my case.

I agree.

There are still CEOs, COOs and senior managers in many MNCs who do not possess MBA and yet they are up there.

 

[Genesisz]

If you are someone who wants to immediately get offered a good job upon people seeing your MBA Degree. I will say an ivy league is the way to go.

I came from an Australian Uni MBA Done in Singapore. For all MBA aspirants who are looking at this direction. The important thing is to use the knowledge gained during the studies to gain a better job or move up in your current employment.

After spending 2 years in an MBA Degree doing assignments/market reports and group presentations, one should have grown as a working professional and see things in a different light. If there is no growth in character after the degree, probably the MBA journey is wasted.

Yes, some people may think its using 20k - 40k to buy false hope. I do agree if you expect people to immediately offer you a job or get ahead in interviews when people see your degree, then perhaps your mindset should change.

Of course, there are people who spend 20-40k to go Europe and buy shoes and bags or buy half a paper for a new vehicle.

Getting senior level jobs is based on personal character and attitude together with other skills like communication, presentation etc. The MBA journey should hone the candidate and the candidate should develop his/hers career principles, ethics and attitudes. At more senior careers, these principles matters to the company.

At more junior levels, probably the company will see if your skill sets match the job scope. At more senior level, your attitude, work principles and ethics matter more.

I wont say my Australian Uni is anything fancy. Just GO8. But using the things I learned and developed during the journey, my annual income had improved 3X ever since I completed the degree in 2005.

Just my personal opinion..

Local uni's requirements (admission and fees) are higher compared to private schools providing similar programs. There are some decent australian mbas like Adelaide, UK Strathclyde, Lancaster that are in the more affordable range for most people.

As for buying a 'piece of false hope' it depends on how well you apply what is learn from class, the networking etc etc and more importantly, your personality, attitude, strengths etc and whether the recruiting manager likes you. I have personally rejected a job applicant from a local uni with very high gpa. Academically very strong, well spoken but i did not like his arrogant attitude. He was searching for a job for almost 9 months. To be honest, if he was that good, MNCs would have snapped him up long ago.

For singapore in particular, having the mba gives you an edge against those who do not assuming all things equal (years of experience etc). Not forgetting you are also competing with foreigners who are armed with masters/mba/PhDs and some may have wider international exposure with a lower asking salary.

So whether is it a false hope or not, it depends on how you value the mba. When you realise you should have taken the mba years ago, its already too late. Opportunities do not come knocking on your door twice.

Just my 2 cents worth

I agree with you.

 

[htngwilliam]

Anyone going to Strathclyde Business School this Oct?

 

[Tigarex]

3 Years ago, I was just about to graduate with a degree. I was about to make a decision on which tier B university to for my MBA. Back then, I had time, money and experience to go into any tier B university. I shortlisted Manchester, Strathclyde and NTU. I thought hard about my choice and went with it. I chose none.

As I explored the options available to me, I realized there was much to consider. What was my goal? What was the ROI, would it really increase my pay? How much experience would I gain compared to working. Would my net work increase?

One thing soon became clear to me. The entire MBA idea is same as how De Beers tells you that when you get married you have to buy 3 sets of rings, proposal, engagement and wedding band. It is also how LV/Gucci/Prada convince people to buy their overpriced branded bags. It is a marketing gimmick to make you feel like you want it even though it is not something you really need.

The idea that having an MBA will increase your pay is a huge myth. Let us be realistic here. Will having an MBA increase profits for the company? This is very difficult to measure and most bosses will tell you the answer is no. This is the basic idea that most people forget.

Instead of an MBA, what I consider to be really useful is a technical certificate (hard skill). Let’s take nursing as a very good example. It is needed everywhere. The average life span of a human is always increasing and this also increases the demand for nurses. If you have an existing non-nursing degree, under WDA scheme, you can take a fully paid for course, with 1K SGD monthly allowance with a 3 year bond. You clear up the bond, you migrate to any part of the world where you can speak the language. Do you know the average pay for a nurse in Australia is easily 5K SGD /month and can easily hit 7-8k with experience? Many of my wife’s colleagues have already migrated over there so please don’t tell me about higher costs of living. It is only higher if you choose to make it higher.

So what other skills are there? Engineers, electricians and even plumbers are hot favorites that other countries want. My advice is, don’t take the MBA option if you want to earn a higher salary. With a 20-40k SGD budget, you can actually start a small business. That’s also another way to earn more monies. There are many much more cost efficient ways to achieving that coveted goal and an MBA is certainly not one of them.

Today, I am 28 and married. I have a 9 month old daughter with no financial debts to speak of. I am pretty satisfied with my pay. It is enough to support my wife to quit her job to take care of the baby. Once in a while, I still get drawn back into the “I must get MBA to get richer” view and that is why I am still reading this thread. Maybe one day I will get an MBA for fun. Just maybe.

 

[htngwilliam]

3 Years ago, I was just about to graduate with a degree. I was about to make a decision on which tier B university to for my MBA. Back then, I had time, money and experience to go into any tier B university. I shortlisted Manchester, Strathclyde and NTU. I thought hard about my choice and went with it. I chose none.

As I explored the options available to me, I realized there was much to consider. What was my goal? What was the ROI, would it really increase my pay? How much experience would I gain compared to working. Would my net work increase?

One thing soon became clear to me. The entire MBA idea is same as how De Beers tells you that when you get married you have to buy 3 sets of rings, proposal, engagement and wedding band. It is also how LV/Gucci/Prada convince people to buy their overpriced branded bags. It is a marketing gimmick to make you feel like you want it even though it is not something you really need.

The idea that having an MBA will increase your pay is a huge myth. Let us be realistic here. Will having an MBA increase profits for the company? This is very difficult to measure and most bosses will tell you the answer is no. This is the basic idea that most people forget.

Instead of an MBA, what I consider to be really useful is a technical certificate (hard skill). Let’s take nursing as a very good example. It is needed everywhere. The average life span of a human is always increasing and this also increases the demand for nurses. If you have an existing non-nursing degree, under WDA scheme, you can take a fully paid for course, with 1K SGD monthly allowance with a 3 year bond. You clear up the bond, you migrate to any part of the world where you can speak the language. Do you know the average pay for a nurse in Australia is easily 5K SGD /month and can easily hit 7-8k with experience? Many of my wife’s colleagues have already migrated over there so please don’t tell me about higher costs of living. It is only higher if you choose to make it higher.

So what other skills are there? Engineers, electricians and even plumbers are hot favorites that other countries want. My advice is, don’t take the MBA option if you want to earn a higher salary. With a 20-40k SGD budget, you can actually start a small business. That’s also another way to earn more monies. There are many much more cost efficient ways to achieving that coveted goal and an MBA is certainly not one of them.

Today, I am 28 and married. I have a 9 month old daughter with no financial debts to speak of. I am pretty satisfied with my pay. It is enough to support my wife to quit her job to take care of the baby. Once in a while, I still get drawn back into the “I must get MBA to get richer” view and that is why I am still reading this thread. Maybe one day I will get an MBA for fun. Just maybe.

I totally agree nursing is the big thing is a lot of foreign countries. Engineers, electricians and plumbers are also in great demand.

 

[htngwilliam]

3 Years ago, I was just about to graduate with a degree. I was about to make a decision on which tier B university to for my MBA. Back then, I had time, money and experience to go into any tier B university. I shortlisted Manchester, Strathclyde and NTU. I thought hard about my choice and went with it. I chose none.

As I explored the options available to me, I realized there was much to consider. What was my goal? What was the ROI, would it really increase my pay? How much experience would I gain compared to working. Would my net work increase?

One thing soon became clear to me. The entire MBA idea is same as how De Beers tells you that when you get married you have to buy 3 sets of rings, proposal, engagement and wedding band. It is also how LV/Gucci/Prada convince people to buy their overpriced branded bags. It is a marketing gimmick to make you feel like you want it even though it is not something you really need.

The idea that having an MBA will increase your pay is a huge myth. Let us be realistic here. Will having an MBA increase profits for the company? This is very difficult to measure and most bosses will tell you the answer is no. This is the basic idea that most people forget.

Instead of an MBA, what I consider to be really useful is a technical certificate (hard skill). Let’s take nursing as a very good example. It is needed everywhere. The average life span of a human is always increasing and this also increases the demand for nurses. If you have an existing non-nursing degree, under WDA scheme, you can take a fully paid for course, with 1K SGD monthly allowance with a 3 year bond. You clear up the bond, you migrate to any part of the world where you can speak the language. Do you know the average pay for a nurse in Australia is easily 5K SGD /month and can easily hit 7-8k with experience? Many of my wife’s colleagues have already migrated over there so please don’t tell me about higher costs of living. It is only higher if you choose to make it higher.

So what other skills are there? Engineers, electricians and even plumbers are hot favorites that other countries want. My advice is, don’t take the MBA option if you want to earn a higher salary. With a 20-40k SGD budget, you can actually start a small business. That’s also another way to earn more monies. There are many much more cost efficient ways to achieving that coveted goal and an MBA is certainly not one of them.

Today, I am 28 and married. I have a 9 month old daughter with no financial debts to speak of. I am pretty satisfied with my pay. It is enough to support my wife to quit her job to take care of the baby. Once in a while, I still get drawn back into the “I must get MBA to get richer” view and that is why I am still reading this thread. Maybe one day I will get an MBA for fun. Just maybe.

Bosses always wants the most by paying the lowest. This is a trend everywhere.

 

[bugmenot45]

If you have an existing non-nursing degree, under WDA scheme, you can take a fully paid for course, with 1K SGD monthly allowance with a 3 year bond. You clear up the bond, you migrate to any part of the world where you can speak the language. Do you know the average pay for a nurse in Australia is easily 5K SGD /month and can easily hit 7-8k with experience?

this is a good blog for anyone interested in the scheme
Wink and the world surprises you: Questions about PCP Nursing in Singapore
Wink and the world surprises you: Nursing in Singapore: What did you learn?

 

[Tigarex]

this is a good blog for anyone interested in the scheme
Wink and the world surprises you: Questions about PCP Nursing in Singapore
Wink and the world surprises you: Nursing in Singapore: What did you learn?

very excellent read for those that want to make a move to overseas. Yes, in SG hospital, the politics level is damn terrible. That's a key reason many give up nursing in SG. However, Nursing overseas > Nursing SG. That's a guarantee.

On a side note, I didn't know they give 1 year fully paid leave for nurses that work in Canada for 10years. damn power!