Posted on: 09-10-08 08:31:09
Try to get past student list from the university you are targeting for last three years and short list students who nearly matches your individual profile and get their opinion with open mind. I guess this may give you an idea of ground reality from different angle.
Thanks Ecom! I'll do that.
Diamond
Quote:
Originally posted by newton
Yes age discrimination is an issue in the MBA marketplace. Most graduates are in the 28- 32 year range on graduation and get first preference. One of my friends did an MBA from UFT and graduated at 39. He was unable to find a job and finally became an SAP consultant where he is making much more than as an MBA. In Canada employers in most MBA fields like marketing, consulting etc prefer young, Canadian born, employees. Older immigrants get last preference. Sorry to be blunt but thats the reality. Bay Street is dominated by Canadian born WASPS. Just visit one of the tall buildings in Toronto downtown and you will see for yourself. Unless you have excellent experience in a field which is in demand, excellent references and excellent academics on graduating with an MBA do not think of doing an MBA at this age. Getting good grades in the MBA program is essential since most consulting fields require very good academics before they even call you for an interview. This is peculiar to Canadian colleges where your MBA grades are very important. And getting good grades in MBA school requires political skills since the grading process is subjective. So think of all these issues.
Try getting into a technical field where there is a lack of talent in Canada like IT, Engineering, etc. All the Canadian born people with money flock to MBA schools and hence there is an oversupply of Generalists in this field due to which immigrants cannot compete. I have seen young caucasian females with average grades get interviews with investment banks and consulting firms while qualified older caucasian males with very good grades have been rejected. Yes all this happens.....personality and looks plays a big part in the selection process for investment banks and consulting firms. So consider all these factors.
-------
Indeed all of the above is really true. In fact, at some consulting firms, it is really hard to enter after 32 so the age range above is really on the mark. There are not as many MBA positions anyway in the consulting and IB markets in Canada and there are enough people flocking to these programs. It is still possible to get a good position based on prior experience though. But for pure generalist positions, it is real tough to get in. Good thread here and hope there are more replies.
I myself gave a thought about doing MBA. However, after much consideration I dropped it. Considering the high cost(>=40,000) and slower economic outlook these days. Perfect age for MBA is less than 32-33 as someone pointed out as well. Canadian companies are hesitant to hire immigrants even if you studied in Canada. I would do it if I were not an immigrant who's been in the country for only 3 years. Personally, I find the programs such as 'Project Management' and 'Business Analysis' more lucrative to find an excellent employment with a great salary. One, these programs cost less than $10,000 (viola!!) and second, if combined with the prior experience(of-course Canadian) you could easily get into management cadres.
Moreso, it all depands upon your professional experience, outlook, personality, how you cope up with the professional situations, and your decision making abilities. If you deem yourself to be quite competitive and believe you can crack an excellent job after being an MBA, then by all means go for it. Besides that it's entirely your personal decision. Sometimes, others can guide/provide suggestions, but decide what suits you best in the circumstances only known to you. Research and rigorous research is the key before investing your time and money. Take it as a project.
I wish you all the best in this endeavor.
Thanks everyone for your replies and good wishes!
After much soul searching, I have decided to try to get into a doctoral program in Canada/US... I am a researcher at heart. If my application gets rejected, I will wave goodbye to my plans to immigrate and will try for the PhD programs here in India.
With the 6th Pay Commission in place, PhD holders will get paid upto Rs80k per month. (Source--TOI, last Saturday). I think that's a very comfortable salary with which to live in India. (But I will still have to face pathetic roads, huge amount of pollution, random power-cuts 
.... I guess one can't have everything 
)
Once again, I thank everyone who has responded so generously to my query.
Diamond
That's a wise decision. Follow your heart and do what you enjoy the best. As far as roads, pollution and power cuts are concerned just imagine that you are sharing those problemd with a billion more people so Dukh batney sey dukh kam mahsoos hota hai.
Try to enjoy the good things about India. These things are missed by all Indians living in North America. Greener grass on other side syndrome.
Quote:
Originally posted by diamond_n
Thanks everyone for your replies and good wishes!
After much soul searching, I have decided to try to get into a doctoral program in Canada/US... I am a researcher at heart. If my application gets rejected, I will wave goodbye to my plans to immigrate and will try for the PhD programs here in India.
With the 6th Pay Commission in place, PhD holders will get paid upto Rs80k per month. (Source--TOI, last Saturday). I think that's a very comfortable salary with which to live in India. (But I will still have to face pathetic roads, huge amount of pollution, random power-cuts
Once again, I thank everyone who has responded so generously to my query.
Diamond
-----------------------------------------------------------------
You know you are a desi when ........ You spew forth the virtues of India, but don't want to live there...............You've never had a tanning salon membership
There was discussion on this topic previously. Refer to this thread
http://www.canadiandesi.ca/read.php?TID=18546
Hi freakout guy,
Thank you for the link. I had already visited that thread to short-list my Universities.
However, I didn't think that the topic and the various posts in that thread addressed my query. I didn't want to hi-jack that thread. So I began this thread.
Diamond
