Cass or UCL, MBA or MSc?

adrianino

3 5

Posted Jun 13, 2013 09:06

Hi everyone, I have 3 offers to choose:

1. Cass Business School : MBA
http://www.cass.city.ac.uk/courses/mba/full-time-mba/the-course
2. Cass Business School : MSc Investment Management
http://www.cass.city.ac.uk/courses/masters/courses/investment-management#courses-details=0
3. UCL : MSc Management
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/msi/study/msc-management/What/#consultancyproject

I had dual bachelor in finanace and economics. Previously worked in the army, in a corporate bank, and in Big Four for 3 years in total. Anyone here suggest me which to choose based on the connection to and reputation in the job market, or other factors I need to consider?

Regarding the course, I am interested in all of them. Now I want to work in finance-related industry (especially banking) but I haven't had a clear career goal and specific interest :( UCL's Management might be too general knowledge even with its specialised finance stream; IM in Cass , on the other hand, might be too specialsed if I plan to find a job in other industries? Getting Cass?s MBA offer surprised me but the tuition fee is way too high?

However, what I concern most is that many job recruiters in Asia ( or maybe even in the UK) select the candidates by their diploma rankings. UCL is ranked worldwide 1st-tiered universities but doesn't have a b-school that I'm afiraid the networking is weaker. Cass ranks 40th in FT 2013 global MBA ranking, but the overall ranking of City University London is not parallel to Cass. No sure whether the connection to job market of Cass outweighs the reputation of UCL when finding a job in the UK or even Asia.

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Duncan

14.013 15.475

Posted Jun 13, 2013 09:33

If your goal is to progress your career quickly, then an MBA from a top school like Cass is the obvious choice. MBAs will get more senior jobs from MSc graduates, who typically do not have work experience (the only exceptions are the MSc in finance degrees at LBS, HEC and Oxford which get MBA-level salaries). Even that those schools, the higher fees for the MBA are a small fraction of the higher salaries: it's a much better idea to do an MBA.

Among MBA recruiters there is a hugh level of knowledge about business school. Many of the top European and Asian schools are not part of top-ranked universities: Insead, IESE, IE, Ceibs, IMD, ESADE, the IIMs, ISB are all in the top 40 worldwide. MBA recruiters in banking will know that Cass is one of the top 20 schools worldwide for finance. It will be much stronger for banks in Asia than UCL.

Your alternative should not be MSc degrees, but other MBAs. Try this approach http://www.find-mba.com/board/33571 to see which schools in the Asian countries you ae focussing on. Also review: http://www.find-mba.com/specializations/12/finance

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adrianino

3 5

Posted Jun 14, 2013 10:48

Thank you Duncan!

I was targeting at MSc since I was afraid I was too less experienced to do an MBA. After getting the offer from Cass (and rejected by my dream school LSE lol) I decided to give it a try and luckily got the offer! I want to study in big cities outside my hometown Asia with huge job markets (New York or London), and I want one that is time- and cost-saving. Maybe Imperial is an alternative but the tuition fee is higher and the application is more difficult lol

Duncan you said Cass is famous for finance. Will UCL's MSc be strionger in other indutries?
Thanks for your shared link, I will try to use LinkedIn as a method :)

Don't know if my thoughts are correct, thanks for anyone answering my question in advance!

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Duncan

14.013 15.475

Posted Jun 14, 2013 11:02

No, I can't see an MSc from UCL being a more powerful credential than an MBA or MSc from Cass with any organisation that habitually hires from business schools.

PS Please don't misunderstand fees. They are a clear sign of quality and long-term value. Cass MBA alumni earn three or four times more than UCL MSc alumni because of the greater quality of the students, education and network.

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Mamit

293 515

Posted Jun 15, 2013 22:02

I would strongly suggest to opt for an MBA over MSc. With 3+ years of work experience, I believe you should be able to cope up with MBA as that is the minimum requirement of work ex by most of the B-Schools. MSc are more theoretical as they normally target freshers therefore I think you may be little overqualified for MSc in terms of your work exp.
And no doubt the pay scale of MBA is much higher than MSc.

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adrianino

3 5

Posted Jun 17, 2013 10:40

Thank you Duncan and Mamit!

In fact I am just afraid that my work ex cannot help me participate well in class discussion. My senior graduated from Cass MSc QF now served as consultant said that other MBA classmates may not intend to build up the network with me since I am too young and less experienced... I believe an MBA will progress my career faster but after all profession matters right? It seems hard to be as professional as MSc although there are electives in MBA?

Really need your opinion, thousand thanks!

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Duncan

14.013 15.475

Posted Jun 17, 2013 10:58

You'll have more courses in an MBA than in an MSc. MSc: nine modules and a project, or 13 modules without a project; MBA 15 modules plus two projects and the consultancy week. If we assume each project is 3 modules and the week is one, then the MSc course load is 13 modules and the MBA is 22. The MBA is a much higher qualification.

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Mamit

293 515

Posted Jun 17, 2013 15:06

Thank you Duncan and Mamit!

In fact I am just afraid that my work ex cannot help me participate well in class discussion. My senior graduated from Cass MSc QF now served as consultant said that other MBA classmates may not intend to build up the network with me since I am too young and less experienced... I believe an MBA will progress my career faster but after all profession matters right? It seems hard to be as professional as MSc although there are electives in MBA?

Really need your opinion, thousand thanks!

It depends how you build relations with them. You should take this in a positive was as you will be able to learn quite a lot from your cohort. People doing MBA are not so selfish.

<blockquote>Thank you Duncan and Mamit!

In fact I am just afraid that my work ex cannot help me participate well in class discussion. My senior graduated from Cass MSc QF now served as consultant said that other MBA classmates may not intend to build up the network with me since I am too young and less experienced... I believe an MBA will progress my career faster but after all profession matters right? It seems hard to be as professional as MSc although there are electives in MBA?

Really need your opinion, thousand thanks!</blockquote>

It depends how you build relations with them. You should take this in a positive was as you will be able to learn quite a lot from your cohort. People doing MBA are not so selfish.

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Duncan

14.013 15.475

Posted Jun 17, 2013 16:58

Cass is one of the top schools in the world. It will have an excellent eye for the sort of candidates its corporate partners want to hire. If they offer you a place then you will fit in the cohort. Speaking personally, in my MBA study group we had a very young guy, the youngest in the whole cohort. He was an amazing person and the only one in the study group who I would have worked for unquestioningly.

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