Just to clarify I am not interesting in chasing an H1B visa, I'd be happy with the normal post MBA work visa but I would like to extend it by doing a STEM degree. Is there anything like this that is 1 year long?

I have also thought about Canada or Australia but in my industry work experience in the US is highly prized.

Just to clarify I am not interesting in chasing an H1B visa, I'd be happy with the normal post MBA work visa but I would like to extend it by doing a STEM degree. Is there anything like this that is 1 year long?

I have also thought about Canada or Australia but in my industry work experience in the US is highly prized.

Even though you may not chase the H1B - from the recruiters point of view - you are a risky bet. They realize that there is always a clock ticking with you. STEM OPT doesn't guarantee 3 years of work authorization. The way it works is all students (STEM or otherwise) gets 1 year of work authorization that the student has to request from USCIS indicating a start date. e.g. if you are graduating in May and anticipate getting employment in July. Then you would submit your request to USCIS to start the 1 year clock in July. Let's say if you don't get employment till Sept - well tough luck you have eaten into that 1 year clock and you have 90 days from the start of clock to find employment in line with your education - paid or unpaid.

After "1 year" you need to file again for an extension to USCIS - this is only available to STEM OPT. Please note that the USCIS can still reject your extension application citing reasons that your employment doesn't require master's degree or your employment is not in line with your education. So no - one cannot work in a McDonalds just to meet the criteria after doing MBA - I know because I asked this question to my school immigration officer during a seminar.

All the above - I mention - just to bring home a point that you become a risky investment for an employer. Now unless you bring some skill set that is just not there in US then only will a company be ready to hire you. Most of such jobs are high-tech and/or involve some way shape or form of analytics or awareness with coding.

By default most MBA programs are "generalist" in nature - even the specialist ones aren't deep enough to make you a subject matter expert if you are changing functions.
MBA/MS programs will accept you if you meet their criteria - Chinese/Middle Eastern students bring in lot of money for US tuition - this is common knowledge.

From a recruitment point - it may work in your favor if you find your way to China specific recruiting in US offices of Big 4, or something like the IBM Blue program. Companies like Huawei publishes several jobs for which they prefer bilingual Mandarin / English speaker.

Depends on what you want to do? What are you career goal? If your goal is to find a job - any job - and you like analytics then MS (STEM or otherwise) makes sense over MBA any day.

If you want to work in Finance Planning & Analysis then maybe MBA in Finance would open more doors than MS in Analytics.

1 year MS in Analytics from places like Fordham, Purdue and CUNY are still better than MBA from similarly ranked schools IF your sole criteria is having the flexibility to work for 3 year on an OPT in US. MS programs are 1 year so your cost of living and wages lost is only for 1 year instead of 2 years needed in MBA. Of course ROI will depend upon fees, scholarships, cost of living, your salary post MBA/MS.

Marketing is a very broad area. Usually marketing roles go to local people since they know the culture best. Any client facing or strategy associated roles would go to locals. (e.g. Product Management - non technical, Brand strategy etc.)

The area where there may not be enough locals is analytics - marketing analytics. They usually look for a tool person. who can run xxx tool and provides insights. Usually local talent pool doesn't want to limit themselves to the "tool guy" or girl.

My sister after completing her MSMI from Fordham is working in UM worldwide as Sr. analyst. She had 5 years of experience in marketing back in India and was a Manager. Yet her company doesn't promote her. She and her 4-5 colleagues from India are all sulking at Analyst/Sr. Analyst roles since that's the ceiling. whereas a 23 year old English graduate joins and after 3 months is promoted to Manager. Since she was a "better fit". Call it racism or whatever. US can work in your favor only when you have a skill set that's lacking in US market.

Check out jobs at Capital One. They very clearly mention for positions like Project Management, Process Management, etc. that they won't sponsor H1B. They hire undergrads who then become manager in 1-2 years. All Indians apply for Operations Analyst / Data Analyst / coding roles and keep doing that kind of work for years. So they Join as Analyst and after 5 years their title change to Principle Data Analyst.

That's some great background, Ayon. I'd add that yes, these skills are in demand by US firms - especially for roles at the analyst level - and if you want to land a job like that a specialized MSc in analytics / etc. is a good way to go. Just be aware of the visa issues involved - many immigrants have to return home when they lose out on the H1B lottery. Not always the case but it does happen. If your overall goal is to work in the US, and you can't get into a top 20 MBA, then this (a quant MSc to an analyst-level job) is a valid route.