Require recommendation on choosing MBA (Aston, Surrey, Brunel, Loughborough)

parkycooly

3 5

Posted Jun 03, 2022 16:03

Hi there,

I'm new here but have been browsing through FindMBA for a while.

I'm an sales engineer from Thailand is going to UK for the September intake, taking MBA to advance my career goal (managerial field).

(I currently am working in an EPC engineering company, in the food and chemical industries)

If possible I'd like to job hunt after the 1 year MBA in UK (using the 2 year additional visa)

I'm quite aware of the rankings, modules and accreditations of each university choices I have, but as a foreigner, some information maybe isn't accessible to me.

These are the choices I narrowed down too, I now they're at mid-tier but this is all I got!

1.Loughborough university 25% scholarship
2.Aston University 20% scholarship (applying)
3.University of Surrey 30% scholarship
4.Brunel University no scholarship

May I ask here, about the pros and cons, of these universities a bit more?
What's the likeliness of acquiring a job regarding having an MBA from said universities? (From the UK employers eyes)

Or any recommendation regarding said universities or MBA.

I'm quite lean towards Aston or Loughborough, more towards Aston.

Thank you for all the comments in advance!

P.S : My bachelor grades are at only 2.8, and tried applying to other high ranking universities as well, they rejected me mostly of the grades and low managerial working experience (I worked for around 6 years, 3 years management exp.)

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Duncan

14.013 15.475

Posted Jun 03, 2022 18:12

What's your career goal, more specifically, in terms of role, function and location?

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parkycooly

3 5

Posted Jun 04, 2022 04:09

What's your career goal, more specifically, in terms of role, function and location?

Hello Duncan,

I apologize for not narrowing it down.

More info : I'm currently 28. I graduated as a chemical engineer, and had work as a production engineer / process engineer/ project engineer. Then I turned myself toward sales engineering for products and liked it. At the moment I'm a sales/design engineer for large projects (selling factories), working in an international EPC company.

Career goal : I'm currently a sales engineer and see myself towards a senior position and towards a manager. I don't have the entrepreneur mindset to start my own business yet, but I hope MBA would widen my vision of the business world, as well as acting as a fundamental knowledge to climb the corporate ladder.

Function : Sales engineer >> Senior sales engineer >> Sales manager (I still enjoy working in the food and chemical industry, in EPC)

Location : If possible UK but I know the chance is very low, if not I'd have to go back to my country which a masters in MBA acts as a fundamental requirement to climb up towards the manager position. (Engineering + MBA)

I hope this helps and thank you in advance.

[quote]What's your career goal, more specifically, in terms of role, function and location?  [/quote] Hello Duncan, I apologize for not narrowing it down. More info : I'm currently 28. I graduated as a chemical engineer, and had work as a production engineer / process engineer/ project engineer. Then I turned myself toward sales engineering for products and liked it. At the moment I'm a sales/design engineer for large projects (selling factories), working in an international EPC company. Career goal : I'm currently a sales engineer and see myself towards a senior position and towards a manager.  I don't have the entrepreneur mindset to start my own business yet, but I hope MBA would widen my vision of the business world, as well as acting as a fundamental knowledge to climb the corporate ladder.   Function : Sales engineer >> Senior sales engineer >> Sales manager  (I still enjoy working in the food and chemical industry, in EPC) Location : If possible UK but I know the chance is very low, if not I'd have to go back to my country which a masters in MBA  acts as a fundamental requirement to climb up towards the manager position. (Engineering + MBA) I hope this helps and thank you in advance.

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Duncan

14.013 15.475

Posted Jun 04, 2022 11:14

Manager is a very broad term. Are you aiming at the same business function and industry or do you have a more specific transition in mind?

PS I assume you know that these are not the best MBAs for placement in the UK. I don't think any of these programmes claims to place most students into UK jobs.

[Edited by Duncan on Jun 04, 2022]

Manager is a very broad term. Are you aiming at the same business function and industry or do you have a more specific transition in mind? PS I assume you know that these are not the best MBAs for placement in the UK. I don't think any of these programmes claims to place most students into UK jobs.

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parkycooly

3 5

Posted Jun 04, 2022 11:32

Manager is a very broad term. Are you aiming at the same business function and industry or do you have a more specific transition in mind?

PS I assume you know that these are not the best MBAs for placement in the UK. I don't think any of these programmes claims to place most students into UK jobs.

Mr.Duncan,

I'm aiming at the same business function (in sales, or to say a sales manager in the future) and industry (selling turnkey projects for food and chemical industries), but maybe that would change after studying MBA and repositioning my CV (having the the original engineering knowledge + the upgraded knowledge from MBA class).

I understood that theses choices are not the best MBAs for placement in the UK, and I also understand that it relies heavily on the CV and experience prior to studying MBA.

So if in this case, not considering placement in the UK after graduation, what would you recommend me choosing regarding just for the MBA experience and overall criteria?

PS. I have scanned the modules, the course and the professors, and I'm aware that Loughborough seems to have a higher overall ranking over all the choices, and some how Aston business school seems to be more popular compared to the other choices.

[quote]Manager is a very broad term. Are you aiming at the same business function and industry or do you have a more specific transition in mind? PS I assume you know that these are not the best MBAs for placement in the UK. I don't think any of these programmes claims to place most students into UK jobs.  [/quote] Mr.Duncan, I'm aiming at the same business function (in sales, or to say a sales manager in the future) and industry (selling turnkey projects for food and chemical industries), but maybe that would change after studying MBA and repositioning my CV (having the the original engineering knowledge + the upgraded knowledge from MBA class).  I understood that theses choices are not the best MBAs for placement in the UK, and I also understand that it relies heavily on the CV and experience prior to studying MBA. So if in this case, not considering placement in the UK after graduation, what would you recommend me choosing regarding just for the MBA experience and overall criteria? PS. I have scanned the modules, the course and the professors, and I'm aware that Loughborough seems to have a higher overall ranking over all the choices, and some how Aston business school seems to be more popular compared to the other choices.

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Duncan

14.013 15.475

Posted Jun 04, 2022 12:07

You might have seen that when a candidate can only get into unranked MBAs and is aiming at functional role rather than general management, then the best advice is often to aim at a specialised masters at a much better school. I think you could certainly get into an MSc in marketing at a second tier school like these ones: https://find-mba.com/board/europe/the-fts-hidden-ranking-of-second-tier-mbas-60514 and probably get into one of the very top marketing programmes: https://www.best-masters.co.uk/ranking-master-in-united-kingdom/master-marketing.html Personally, I think a huge advantage in a sales manager would be a better understanding of marketing strategy and execution. Right now, most marketing teams don't get very useful direction from sales teams. Sales managers don't know how to help marketing to design programmes that better nurture clients and qualify leads. I think that would be more useful than a so-so MBA.

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Duncan

14.013 15.475

Posted Jun 04, 2022 12:08

PS If any of those programmes had a deep focus on digital marketing and marketing analytics then this would be especially useful. Closing the gap between sales and marketing seems very important now.

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parkycooly

3 5

Posted Jun 04, 2022 12:18

PS If any of those programmes had a deep focus on digital marketing and marketing analytics then this would be especially useful. Closing the gap between sales and marketing seems very important now.

Thank you for the comments Mr.Duncan, I appreciate them a lot!

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parkycooly

3 5

Posted Jun 09, 2022 17:54

PS If any of those programmes had a deep focus on digital marketing and marketing analytics then this would be especially useful. Closing the gap between sales and marketing seems very important now.

Hello Mr.Duncan,

I have another side question, I haven't tried the "Using linkedin method to find the right school for chosen industries" yet. But I will.

I just got an offer from Sheffield (MBA program) and I found out that it's a part of the Russell group, and in the top 100 universities (QS world ranking 2022), but its not famous for its business school like Aston (on the mid-tier level).

If in this instance I have to choose between
1. the overall lower ranking of Aston, but famous for its business school (mid-tier)
2. the higher overall ranking of Sheffield (top 100, Russel group)

My belief is that to choose on the subject ranking (the modules you like), not the university ranking, am I correct? If what I'm thinking is correct, then should I be choosing Aston over Sheffield?

Please advice, thank you

[quote]PS If any of those programmes had a deep focus on digital marketing and marketing analytics then this would be especially useful. Closing the gap between sales and marketing seems very important now.  [/quote] Hello Mr.Duncan, I have another side question, I haven't tried the "Using linkedin method to find the right school for chosen industries" yet. But I will. I just got an offer from Sheffield (MBA program) and I found out that it's a part of the Russell group, and in the top 100 universities (QS world ranking 2022), but its not famous for its business school like Aston (on the mid-tier level). If in this instance I have to choose between 1. the overall lower ranking of Aston, but famous for its business school (mid-tier) 2. the higher overall ranking of Sheffield (top 100, Russel group) My belief is that to choose on the subject ranking (the modules you like), not  the university ranking, am I correct? If what I'm thinking is correct, then should I be choosing Aston over Sheffield? Please advice, thank you

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Duncan

14.013 15.475

Posted Jun 10, 2022 06:31

Focus on fit with your goals. Don't be distracted by the Russell Group label.

Focus on fit with your goals.  Don't be distracted by the Russell Group label.

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