UK
Should you go for Columbia or Cranfield, LBS or NYU Stern?
You may be based in London and doing business in Europe, but when it comes to doing an MBA you’re probably still better off across the Atlantic.
Although Europe’s MBA schools have progressed in leaps and bounds in the past decade, American banks in Europe (and even European banks in Europe) still favour schools in the US.
Merrill Lynch, for example, targets London Business School, INSEAD in France and IESE in Spain for European associate hires. In the US it targets Wharton, Columbia, Harvard, Chicago, and NYU Stern.
The head of associate recruitment at one major European bank says around 60% of its European MBA intake is sourced from US schools: “Big US schools are just streaks ahead in terms of their faculty and curriculum,” she says. “If you want to go into banking, you need to follow the banking route – Wharton is the top business school for finance and it has been for years.”
This may be changing. Research from London-based recruiter EM Finance suggested that students from European MBA schools were 57% more likely than their US contemporaries to be hired last year – however, the stats included recruitment at consulting firms, which tend to favour the likes of Cranfield Business School in the UK , which are all but ignored by banks.
The associate recruiter says some European schools are making their mark. “LBS have ramped up their ability to attract professors, which enhances their overall programme. We’re seeing more American students actually coming there to study as a result.”
Bankers who do an MBA and end up back in Banking waste $120k on tuition and lose the money they would have made for those two years had they been working.
It is great for someone who is trying to break into banking but otherwise MBAs are not worth too much in the European market.
Only the Top 10 US MBAs and Top 2 in Europe (Insead, LBS) are any good. The rest.. don’t bother
Specialisation breeds excellence, generalism merely spreads mediocrity. Fill your investment business with mathematicians and economic historians, not MBAs.
only one school for finance in London. Cass Business School. Goldman’s, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan hire heavily from there
Not only are European business schools behind their US counterparts (exceptions being LBS and maybe INSEAD), most European MBA schools offer one year programs in which you can learn very little.
Also, in hedge funds, people prefer PhDs or quantitative MS degrees in Finance, Econ. Engineering, Physics, Maths, Comp Science.
An MBA degree teached the basics of Finance and social networking but does not provide a solid background in quant finance. I have seen numerous MBAs from Harvard, Columbia (where I studied) and even Wharton, who simply are weak in most areas of quantitative finance.
What about IMD ?
I am doing my MBA at HEC Paris and i found an Inv. Banking Associate position at Credit Suisse in London. The top US Schools beat the European ones but it will all come down to personal networking, school relationships and a good CV.
London recruiters are ignorant about US schools. They prefer to stick to the Oxbridge breed, ideally major in PPE (for the American educated this stands for Philosophy, Politics and Economics). Sincere advice to you American MBAs stay in NY if you want to get recognition for your brand (and return on money spent). English society is still too classist and you will not be judged based on your achievements. You will have to swallow a huge discount especially you lack “the London experience”.
Disagree – Banker pre and post MBA & earnings increased 500% in 2 years post Cranfield. Best thing I ever did, particularly for the networking. If you want to save money, be smart and apply for scholarships.
I graduated with an MA in Banking and Finance and would like to know if MBA could be of any help.
It is well known the MBAs teach you very little relevant finanace knowledge – you can learn more in 3 months while on the job than MBA will teach you.
Those thinking of an MBA should consider buying “10 Day MBA” – it costs around 10 and contains what all MBAs know (and more)
No offence but MA is a pointless year of education.
Now in order to get into a good MBA school you will need to show why you need further education and must have amaazing work exp, recommendations. If you are already in investment banking in europe do not bother getting one.
Graduated this year from IESE and 60 people out of 220 class landed jobs in banking- mostly in London and mostly career changers. Top ten i-banks recruit heavily. Agreed that quant finance is not as strong as Columbia, Wharton but you can learn that on the job if you have the intelligence…
Nobody mentions that what you get from a top MBA is the drive, the spirit, the confidence, the class and the round-up profile that is essential in most top finance jobs today, i mean long-term. However while it is essential to break into the sector, it isn’t essential if you are already in.
But again, depending on the cycle. I know of one guy who volunteed to take a redundancy package from ML a week before the offer was to expire after he had heard from Columbia or Harvard, came back 2 years after with an MBA missing 2 most miserable and depressing years in the City where he would be walking the mine-field for those 2 years, getting depressed and probably hired at the end anyway.. Instead he came back more qualified, fresh and inspired with a fantastic new degree, new job, new contacts and new perspective on life. Timing is often everything with the market volatility.
I read recently in one of Donald Trump’s books that to swim you have to practice, you can’t improve this skill by learning from books or attending classes, and experience is ultimately what matters most.
USA MBAs rock and are better than most of the UK MBAs. The reason is the UK MBAs lack rigour and the quantitaive touch that makes the professional crisp and sharp. Most UK MBA get away with the MBA degree just by selecting some easy and cheap modules. In the USA, most of the MBA modules have rigour, packed with quantitative modules like quant finance, optimization and investment mathematisa and PDEs. This is even the reason why the UK HSMP have more USA MBA shools on the list than their local UK MBA.
Almost all the “discussions” on articles mentioning the three letters M, B and A attracts the usual infantile comments where people are trying to “argue” for their own educational experience and against another, violently.
Could it be so that a complex industry such as I-banking actually need a few of both? And could it be so that different people have different strengths and weaknesses that can be better developed through a quant route and an MBA route respectively?
I don’t know, but there appear to be so many thoughtful, super intelligent and savvy people on here so perhaps you could shine some light on this?
To help you a little in your thought process: EIU recently published a study where they asked employers “Which of the following skills are most prevalent and which most lacking among your company’s up-and-coming talent?”
Three most lacking were: 1) Strategic vision 2) Excellent people skills and 3) Financial knowledge.
In my mind, without a doubt, any MBA from a top school are millions miles ahead on 1) and 2) while as quants wins hands down on 3). But what do I know, I’m just a woolly MBA?
What strikes me is that the debate between people with and without MBA remains based on “clichés”.
For me, to study an MBA is not for everybody, all depends on your personal circumpstances. I studied at LBS and my MBA was the best investment I ever made. It taught me the foundations of business which was highly valuable as I held a MSc in engineering, it helped me to go to an M&A role in US investment banks but more importantly to move out of it after a few years, and it was an eye-opening experience. An MBA is an accelerated way to gain insights into a broad spectrum of business fields, it has no ambition to make you become a specialist in a specific field but more to give you the background to think laterally about business issues. True, if you join as analyst you can make your way up without an MBA,but this is not the point.
An MBA is a decision to step back to have an opportunity to develop personally. All this is not about money. The comment that buying a book could replace a two-year MBA program is a perfect illustration of completely missing the point. Nothing can replace interacting during two years with people with such a diversity of professional and personal backgrounds.
Like most things in life, the 80/20 rule applies.
80% of the best jobs go to 20% of the top MBA schools.
Recruiters are only human. They follow the herd. They make decisions based on perception, not reality. They gravitate toward a handful of high-profile brands, like LBS and Harvard.
If you are planning an MBA, pick the best school you can afford. Dig deep. Pick a top-10 institution.
You won’t necessarily get a better education — they all teach roughly the same blah blah about finance, strategy, etc. — but you will get a famous name on your CV.
Think of it as, say, BMW vs. Porsche. They both offer some similar-quality products for similar money, but the Porsche megabrand probably wins most people’s votes every time.
MBA’s are a pointless waste of time. You can either do the job or you can not – These whiney individuals with MBA’s would think that finance and financial markets were invented by people MBA’s. The people hiring you who are ten times more talented than you can probably only just boast first degrees.
Lets face it,it is just another way of getting a gullible sap to part with a large amount of money so that they can think that they are better and Investment Banks are just making people jump through another educational hoop because……they can, and because some pointless prat in HR who has never made a dollar has one.
Well it is quite refreshing to read all these comments … I guess everybody tries to say what he did was a good decision. But come on, let’s face it, MBA and any general business education is just a way for rich people, to get well paid jobs !
But when you really look at what you are doing, it is only money administration ! you are writing emails, playing with excel and databases, and working the phone. It is sad and really not interesting !
Instead of putting money into your MBA, you should ask yourself if these jobs are what you want to do out of your life. I think engineering or research jobs in fields like physics, chemistry or biology are far more important than these money-administrating jobs that make you rich.
I dont think it all comes down to get rich or die trying. Make something interesting. Stop working for making money grow stupidly.
Im doing MBA at IE in Madrid. I think the education one is getting at this place cannit be replaced. The jobmarket for IE is also pretty good as all big banks come here….Its an upcoming school this one…at not very expensive price so those who have budgetry constraints ,….cant go to LBS…..OR 2 YEAR PROGRAMS.which is too much time in todays world..consider this
I agree with Jerry….if finance and Banking is your thing then the faculty at Cass Business School is one of the best. Very strong in Strategy too with well known experts in the field having written well respected books on the subjects used by all the top US schools.
Great value for time and money !
Agree, MBA is a waste of time, better to do ACA or Quantitative Finance, you learn how to manage on the job and not from learning the theories in a class room.
You can never meet enough people or learn enough knowledge, at the end of the day , you would want to ask yourslef what really matters, most people do work for money, and therefore the whole debate is on whether or not it is worth your money and time to do an MBA, I believe there is an alternative way to achive those things you have glorified such as interaction with a diversity of people. I believe spending $120K on an MBA is madness and the parties who really gain from your ‘investment’ are the business schools!!
I think if you are a nerd in Quant, no matter how many MBAs you do, you will still flair best in your field of finance. MBA does not change your personality !
MBAs are for losers.. I got into a US investment bank straight out of undergrad as a trader.
I am only 26 and without sounding arrogant I can proudly say I have made more money than the average M&A Banker/ PE analyst does in their first 10 years.. All this without an MBA.
MBA is only your ticket in (if you didnt make it out of undergrad). The rest is up to you. You do not need an MBA to get drive and ambition like some posters suggested… Ambition is a state of mind.
I did not go to an IVY school in America or Oxbridge in the UK. In the eternal words of Gordon Gekko..”Not bad for a City College boy. I bought my way in, now all these Ivy league schmucks are sucking my kneecaps”
An MBA does not make traders and might not even make sales guys. This is something you have or you don’t.
found the solution… get a top 10 MBA + CFA..and you will be sorted
I graduated in quant finance degree then went to corporate governance! I work now in private equity and project finance. What is important is not how much you know when starting at an entry level (you never know enough) but how fast you will learn on the field… In my opinion schools and degrees are good to the extent they can shape your way of approaching things and your way of working.
MBA doesn`t make experts, it`s about everything and nothing in details
Once deals run dry in London and NY, there will predictably be a rush to get an MBA and application will soar – across all schools. Of course it is easy to view an MBA as a waste of time and money now, but when the bonuses stop and I-bankers become a commodity in the job market, what will they be doing to separate themselves from their colleagues?
I am amazed at how people think. An MBA is not for everyone but it can be a lot to someone else. The Financial Industry is replete with roles which suit MBA’s. For instance I-Banking, Sell Side Research, Corporate Banking, Credit etc. These roles require people who undertsand the underlying business or an industry well besides the quantitaive aptitude.
Anyone can build a model, its not rocket science but how many can actually incorporate smart assumptions. After all a model is only as good as the assumptions that go behind it. The MBA gives one the tools to understand a business, evaluate it and look at how the business will prosper in the future. This coupled with the skills of people mgmt, relationship mgmt and positive aggression are key attributes towards success.
I think most folks get the impression that MBA’s dont really know what they are looking for and that is partly true. But from someone who knows how to use the MBA, they can derive plenty of value in the financial markets.
Having siad that its true some roles require people with a soild quant background and thats where PhD’s and others add value. Its all about figuring out where u add value and going after it.
Brad you do not need an MBA to get into sell side research, ibanknig etc… in Europe getting the ACA is a better qualification for most banking type roles you described above.
Furthermore, you get PAID to do the ACA instead of dropping $100k – $140k.
Agreed that in times of a poor job market an MBA is a good thing. However, in good times it means nothing!
Totally agree with this 26 years old trader- it all depends on what type of job you are in.
MBA really was a thing of the 80s when young undergraduate needed a managerial job in the manufacturing industry and whe theer were not that many MBAs about.
What about LSE then?
They have started a Msc in Finance degree which seems like, it will take over LBS or Cass Msc in Finance.
Charles, nice try to position LSE ;) Although I agree that LSE is one of the best schools. You don’t set up a world class programme within one or two years
Regarding the discussion above and the 26-year old trader. Maybe you earnt already lots of money but you can’t buy intelligence, stile and maturity. And btw, Oxbridge is a headhunter and not a city. Maybe you wanted to say Oxford … that’s what I mean
Hey kids, embarrasing to read some of the postings here. The level of understanding of some of you of what drives the business in the city/at the street and how peoples talents, abilities and ambitions ultimately generates invdividual and joint sucesses is incredibly rudimentary.
Talks about degrees (academic or vocational) appears a bit pretentions as it appears that graduating from kindergarten is ahead for many of you. Well, the next downturn will weed out the winners. It isn’t exactly the most challenging economic environment to make a bit of money or get a banking job now.
What about a MS or MSc degree in Mathematics of Finance or Financial engineering is this not the better option, for example the MSc offered by Imperial College University of London
I guess that all people feel they have the right answer. I don’t. The only remark I can do is that during the time I spent in the City the only thing I got from these years is money. The City is probably one of the place where I came across the least interesting and the most boring people on Earth.
Yes you work for money but money is not all and it should not be your only purpose in life. To make your choices solely based on how much it can bring you in money terms will certainly help you to increase your cash balance but it will not go much further than this.
During my MBA, I meet many traders who wanted to get out to do something more rewarding intellectually, and they just could not get out of a trading role without a proper education. Let us face it, many specialist roles in the City bring you good money, but many of these people cannot really do anything else. If they are happy to continue doing the same thing for years fine, but many people in the City do not enjoy their work, and to spend so long hours doing something you do not enjoy is a pitty even if it pays well.
But I guess everybody see their life differently and life goes on.
Having suffered through a business degree before seeing the light of specializing in finance / economics, I agree with Ashok 100%: specialize or suffer.
Daniel… I love you!
Oxbridge = OXford or camBRIDGE
Daniel i am pretty sure he meant Oxford or Cambridge (universities) when that dude said “Oxbridge in the UK”.
As an equities trader (merger arb) I can say that in the world of Investment Banking (at least on the Markets side) it does not matter whether you have PHDs or MBAs from Harvard or Cambridge etc. All that matters is your number (amount of money you make). So if you think an MBA can you get that then go for it. If you think you can do without spending more money on education then good for you.
Do what you gotta do to get ahead in you career. Good luck
Very interesting to read all these comments
one needs guts , quickness, multi tasking, a know how in extracting new info from the market…mba’s good for meeting new people, although a waste of 200k in hedge fund trading or fixed income arbitrage….
What about a European MBA (think Insead, Lbs) plus a CFA charter? Does this combo beat Harvard or Wharton?
at the end of the day…who does really know if you havent one? whats the difference without having one? in terms of salary?
YEah, I agree that if one ic convinced of the returns (both financial and non-financial) of an MBA, one should go for it… And I think I will too…
The problem is, my current manager will not write a reccomendation letter for me… (simply coz he doesnt waste time on non-revenue activities)… If anyone here has any suggestion on how to cross this hurdle… it will be great… I work in fixed income and am a first yr analyst…
If you are still a first year analyst you have time. However, I have known several people at my firm write their own recommendations and the managers sign it.
However, this could get tricky because how does one know how much they can big themselves up! So it all depends on who you work for. I think once you have been at the firm for longer they would trust your work more and hopefully be willing to write a rec for you. The problem is if you apply to, say, 5 schools thats already like 10 recs (atleast 2 per school) and even if someone is willing to write one rec for you they won’t want to write 5 (I know the recommendation questions are similar but not the same so some changes would have to be made for different MBA school applications).
Good luck
As a headhuter, I rarely deal with candidates with an MBA, though I specialise in Quants and Quant Trading, I feel that the knowledge they gain is too generic. Maybe this is a myth, however I reflect the sentiments of our clients who seem to prefer candidates with quantitative MSc or PhD.
The renewed option to become a banker, consultant or manager/CEO is valuable. The price is tuition, the luxury is time.
Specific programs seem to matter most in that (1) desired employers recruit from them (2) they are respected where you want to work.
If you already love your job and think you will continue to do so, congratulations.
The quant finance guys ultimately end up working FOR the MBAs. So much for the benefits of specialization theory…
Cass is not a global business school. only LBS and INSEAD count for anything, but that’s not much compared to top US bschools
The Master in Finance at LBS is exceptional. Nothing touches it – a pure finance degree without the MBA filler and fluff. If you want a job you better be technical, the MiF gets you there and then some.
It’s a ticket to the dance…after that, it’s all about what you do, not how you got in…
CASS MBA is a GENERAL MANAGEMENT programme. CASS is not targettted for MBA by recruiters (Jerry IB). CASS is targetted for its MSc (under 25s). Better visit CASS and talk later. I have heavily researched CASS and its not what you think. Scott Moller is a top M&A guy but CASS MBA is a Management programme not banking programme. Cheers.
Thanks Anonymous!
So here we are…
Debating over the true value of an MBA. Yes, a top 10 MBA will definately help in getting you in the door, as will relevant work experience combined with a lesser degree. The investment is ultimately yours. If you choose to invest in getting the MBA versus working a little bit harder and gaining the real-world experience then by all means do so. I do not side one way or the other, as I have colleagues who are successful and have gone both routes.
Personally, I believe MBAs benefit those without the prior background in business much more than those with one. But, if you are here looking for a much simpler solution to getting your feet under the desk then by all means, get and MBA. Many HR recruiters look for big names on Resumes. HR has become an office based on branding. The bigger the brand, the easier it is to land that job. Im a fan hard work, and truly knowing my craft. Real world experience and determination has ultimately helped me to be fast-tracked past associates who had the Top 10 MBA and who had more seniority. Im 27 in a senior-level position.
Continuous effort,not superior strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking our true potential. WC
Sounds to me that a lot of people want to justify their life choices. An MBA is not a ticket to success, but people forget the main source of value… It is the filtering process that goes into it. Top MBA’s select the best of the best (of course some get by). They don’t teach that much, but they do a drive to improve one’s condition. That drive is the most important thing in business and is what banks and consulting firms search for. Now you can definately succeed without one, but you may find it harder to prove externally that you have the drive. This means you have to build a long track record (+8yrs). An MBA saves you some of that time.
To Trader I would say don’t confuse brains for a bull market. I am a CFA and entering an MBA at IESE. I know that you probably are not that good a trader at 26 so as to be THAT ARROGANT (you are too young to have experience or a REAL track record and you have not known anything other than the Goldilocks economy). Market has just been nice lately, wait until CDO’s start crashing. You will appreciate having a CV with something more than the name of a failed hedge fund & a City College.
Best,
We all know it’s not always the cream that rises to the top. An MBA doesn’t raise your intelligence, but if you can’t sell yourself well, it will provide an easier access to the higher floor
I honestly don’t understand all of this bashing toward an MBA. An MBA is not for everyone, and at the same time it won’t help anyone. It is a good general training for those who aren’t very familiar with business or those who need to widen their perspectives. Though a quant master is something very useful, too, they are just two different things and would help different people with different backgrounds. Throwing out 120K?!? Better spend them in a postgraduate degree than in a stupid car or a stupid trip.
Trader,Derivatives is. At 26, you seem to think that you know it all..and sorry, even though you say you aren’t trying to sound arrogant, you DO. To dismiss MBAs as being for ‘losers’ is a pretty stupid thing to say. Yes, great for you..you came out of uni and got a job at a US investment bank and made shedloads of cash. You are probably of the school that says ‘you make your own luck too’. Well that is your prerogative.
However, as many have mentioned, this is a pretty friendly market and even my gran could get a well-paid job in the city at the moment.
The fact that you seem to measure everything in cash speaks a lot for your attitude. Some prefer to actually get involved in their career and not just churn out plenty of cash for their employers while taking out a tiny fraction for themselves in the form of bonuses and call it fulfilling.
We could all have flunked school and gone into any Sales job (not the banking type Sales) and made millions. An MBA would give you the rounding to actually make your career more rewarding rather than be a little cog in a big wheel which becomes useless when the mechanism fails (think yourself with your scant CV when the bull market tanks).
Can someone plz advise! Im a final yr student and im contemplating doing an msc in risk and asset management. Im not sure though if its a good idea. As france has the best business in europe, i will prefer doing it there than in the u.k. plz help thx
Hello Guys, I won’t speak whether MBA is good or bad but yes, its true MBA hype is there!! And if all, including recruiters are ‘crazy’ about this three-letter word MBA, why not go for it!!!
I agree with one of the reader’s post that MBA was originally meant for “General Management” and one practicing in “General Management” is trully a MBA. Even former GE Chief Jack Welch says so. He agreed to be as faculty in MIT only this condition. It was only when MBA s started loosing it shine, all this Marketing Managers (Faculty of Marketing) at top business schools have came out with MBA in finance, strategy and all this blaw blaw…… I think one should ideally got Msc in finance or for membership of ACA, GARP, etc. to enter finance field. But then again, as I said above when even recruiters are tilted towards MBA and not very enthusiastic about this MSc sort of things, why would waste one’s time and money in other non-MBA courses??
I think this course “Financial Asset Management and Engineering” (FAME) from Swiss Finance Institute is enough to at least make ‘an entry’ in investment management and related fields. What do you say?
I currently work offshore administering private equity funds for a number of well known private equity houses in the UK, one of which was probably the most high profile house in the UK and also globally recognised. The investment guys working for this high profile house all held Oxbridge degrees coupled with MBA’s from Harvard etc. Whilst they could negotiate the deal of their career, none of them had a clue as to how the finance worked or even how or why the deal was structured in a certain way! Their time management was also shocking – something they did’nt teach them at Harvard. Scary considering the deal amounts involved, what these investment guys were being paid and their university credentials. They simply lacked common sense.
I am thinking of doing a distance learning MBA through Southampton Uni. I already hold my first degree from Manchester Uni and am ACIB qualified. Everyone use common sense. Don’t get sucked in by Oxbridge degrees, chinless wonders and Harvard MBA’s because it sounds good. Experience, common sense, intelligence and determination are the best attributes.
any people can succeed without a degree. bill gates doesnt have a degree and look at him.
MBA is a general management program which can help you in other fields when you become an important person in a company, i-bank…you need more things beside the quant skills (and im not saying that theyre not important),
the thing is that an MBA can give you an impulse in your interpersonal and technical skills, and you can learn a lot of your colleagues and classes because you listen to different perspectives from students and remarkable teachers (working you dont have time to listen to all this kind of opinions). and beside you can make good friends who are all probably be succesfull and maybe they are going to help you some they with something(i.e:if you want to start a company or know something about something or find a new job or maybe they can help you talking to someone, who knows!).
and beside of this, meeting more people always help!and maybe some day you want to work in i-banking and at the same time in something different like a non-profit org or helping the goverment, etc.for all the jobs and to be a good leader and professional you need more things than quant skills.and an MBA can help you
It is not only Cass business schoolbut also9 Cranfield University, LSE doing good in terms of Recruitment.
can some one help me in deciding what course shall i take.i want to do mba but not many comments goes in favour of it.but this is some thing i think i really wanna do and would do once i enter the field relevant to this. the only problem is i donno know if i do it from not so good uni would it still help me in getting the job.your suggestions plz but based on little information i have provided with thanks.
Take out the cost of a degree such as an MBA/MiF and there is no two ways about it, the 1/2 years spent doing it will be the most interesting and stimulating experience of your life. Anybody who has ever done such a degree knows this. The selection criteria of the top schools ensure classes are of the abolute highest calibre on a number of levels which really adds to the experience.
If money is your only motivator in life and thats what drives you to stay in work, then I am sad for you. That is your choice. However, most/all of us MBAs/MiFs just couldn’t live like that.
Huh? I am surprised.. MBA is not a finance degree. If you are interested in financial knowledge and want a financial certification, you are much better of pursuing the CFA charter.
MBA is not about knowledge of finance. It is supposed to help a person with detailed knowledge of one area, to move into a full-fledged management role, by exposing him to other functional areas.
Get the difference people?
Hi mate, good plans you have there. its usually a tough decision to make and hope my comments help you. Specialisation is the key nowadays if you want to get an apprioprate job and accelerate very fast up the ladder. Doing an MBA is like joining a club with an already established reputation which increase the heartbeats of Human resource managers. There are general MBAs as well as specialised MBAs. I advise you to go in for a specialised MBA, maybe in Finance or Banking. This sort of MBA gives you leaderships skills in a specialised area which helps you achieve both objectives. Going to a Big school depends on how full your pockets are and the possibility of gaining an admission to the program. It is safer to get into the top schools but if you can’t afford, go ahead and enroll with an average school. While in, go the extra mile to make yourself a guru in a specific area. One thing stands out, you can only be complete with an MBA, its everything about joining the club.
It is very obvious that an MBA is indeed a very good qualification and even though I believe you can learn how to manage on the job, I still firmly believe you can manage miles better with an MBA. so please do not think you can do an MSC in place of an MBA unless you are not prepared to get yourself promoted to the top. Becareful since abot 95% of very top positions in Businesses today require these potential people to have a very good MBA. To sum up, if you want to be specialist in your field without being too keen to progress to the top quickly then be a specialist and go for an MSC, MA or degrees.
Bangor Business School