Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Murph]

I have been planning on getting an MBA for a while now. I have always thought that I would like to settle down in Canada, and therefore thought it best to get an MBA from a Canadian university. However, recently a friend of mine has been influencing me to think about getting one from Seoul National (if I can that is.) Here is the argument.

For one Korea is trying to attract foreign students these days and therefore universities are being less stringent with entry requirement, and they are also providing financial incentives in terms of scholarships, and living allowances to those who qualify. These are all good points. Furthermore most people agree that if you do not go to a top tier MBA school then the rest are essentially viewed the same whether they are 'upper middle', or 'lower middle'. Since I would be studying at a good second tier in Canada would it really matter if I had an MBA from say Seoul National versus the University of Manitoba? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[mises]

I would strongly advise you against it.

*Can I talk you out of the MBA full-stop?

*Recruitment activities will not extend to you in the ROK. You will not find an appropriate entry-level position if you're not doing the recruitment process in Canada. If you're not going to a top 4 or so in Canada then go to school in the city that you want to settle in. If you want to live in Winnipeg then study there.

*Ok so the retort to the above is that you'll work in Korea to get some experience, right? That won't cut it. Canadian firms notoriously ignore those without "Canadian experience". If your post-MBA experience is in ROK they'll not consider you (yes, there will be some exceptions to this but you can't assume the exception you have to assume the rule).

*You will be seen by HR managers as not able to get into a Canadian uni and that's why you completed it in Seoul. Right or wrong, that's how it will be.

*Are you sure I can't talk you out of the MBA?

*You won't have the base of fellow grads to network with in Canada. MBA's have other MBA's from their program to help them find work. The MBA is a networking experience. If you don't have the network, you're prospects are permanently diminished.

*If you want a high paying management position earn the CA or CMA.

An MBA is not what the MBA industry presents it to be. If you don't have high quality pre-MBA experience in management/finance/accounting/engineering you probably won't get a good entry level job. No good entry level job = very weak career prospects. I am not trying to be mean but it is what it is. In my opinion, the best way to move into high paying business positions without business experience is to start with an accounting designation. The CA/CMA communicates quite a lot more to firms then does the MBA. You'll do auditing grunt work (as a CA student) for 3-4 years and then move on to an incredibly diverse world of opportunity.

[youtuber]

I would say that an MBA is a poor choice of degree for a career change.

The value of an MBA comes from those who want to advance to a management role in their current field where they have many years of experience and lots of connections.

Since you will have little business experience, after you graduate, you will be competing with freshly minted undergrads for the exact same jobs. The main difference will be that you spent twice as much for the same education.

And the "networking" argument is silly. Why would someone pay $50,000 to meet new people? It is possible to meet the same people for free.

The MBA was once highly valued. However, MBA grads are now a dime a dozen. There are more than a few MBAs working in Korea. Why is that?

Of course, if SNU will pay for all your expenses, why not? But expect it to be very difficult to convince Canadian employers of the value of your Korean degree. There is a reason why Canadian and US universities are filled with Asians nowadays - their advanced Chines/Korean/Indian degrees are not recognized in North America.

I would agree that Accounting is probably a better foot in the door. However, Alberta alone graduates hundreds of accounting majors every year, so even accounting is quite competitive. Also, having studied accounting for a bit, I feel that it is super boring and tedious. Yes, accounting may develop opportunities down the road, but I personally feel that the endless hours of mind-numbing scanning of Balance Sheets and Income Statements is not worth a few more dollars in your bank account.

[mises]

[bucheon bum]

[mises]

[youtuber]

Well, I must say that one of my observations has been that most of the students that are in the full time MBA program at the UofA are similar "career changers" as the OP. The average work experience for MBAs was about 3 years and the average age was 29.

You get nurses, teachers, physiotherapists, ect ect in the program. So, most of the full time students are fairly junior in their careers and many don't have relevant business experience. And there are very many Indian/Chinese students who have no work experience in Canada. That is not a very promising network, IMHO.

If networking is your thing, it would probably be smarter to enroll in the part time program which is where you get the more senior people enrolling. But then it will take you 4 years or more (and a higher premium for part-time courses) to finish the dam degree.

I still maintain that you can generate the same number and quality of contacts (or even better) without enrolling in a terribly expensive MBA program. It just takes a bit of ingenuity and an outgoing personality.

On McGill's website, they estimate that the total cost of their MBA is $109,700 including living expenses! $109,700!!!!! Surely one can use some ingenuity and creativity to build their own contacts instead of spending 100k in the hopes of meeting a few people. Seems similar to the freshmen in uni who buy their way into a fraternity with the hope of being "cool".

I find it quite amusing that my Edmonton Journal is frequently plastered with MBA program ads from the UofA, Queens, ect ect. The ads have testimonials from students saying how great the program is. Does the Faculty of Medicine need to advertise? No. People know that program has value.

The MBA is a university's cash cow and students are getting suckered every year!

[misher]

[mises]

[young_clinton]

**********

[Mr. Pink]

[AsiaESLbound]

Be sure to have strong consumer credit history and rating as employers will check those when you pass the 2nd round of interviews. This starts years before you ever begin your studies with candidates carrying debt being objectively considered a high risk. The objective is to be debt free, have credit accounts with low balances paid in full each month, and cash in the bank to look like a responsible financial manager. Often, employers illogically figure you will be dishonest in handling money if you have money problems like high debt(including student loans) and low income, but this is far from the truth. Many retail sales people are in big student loan and home loans, suffer low incomes, and barely get by, but they regularly physically handle and account for thousands of dollars in cash without being short. I think I failed at landing many great jobs on account of lacking a credit history outside of student loan debt.

You can pay for the exams yourself to get a CFA, CMA, CA or another professional designation and you might get a foot in the door. These exams are extremely difficult, but not impossible to pass. Many people fail them once before passing, but that costs more time and money. There was a time when employers would hire those graduating college with a bachelors in business, finance, or accounting and then sponsor them to achieve the license while working, but now they are asking for you to already bring the licenses, experience, and certain highly specialized skills pertaining to their kind of business to the table. I won't be doing an MBA as it's not specialized enough with them being a dime a dozen from an employers perspective. Specializing in necessary in this market, but it's tough to target a certain specialty before being employed in it. Traditionally people specialized after getting into a line of work.

I can't say what a degree from Korea would do for you back home, but from my experience, many don't know anything about foreign countries. I think I'll go somewhere in the US to study when I decide upon a specialty, be it a CMA or food handlers sanitation permit.

[pkang0202]

I'll be finishing my MBA in Korea here in a couple months. An MBA is a master's degree, and I'll gladly take an MBA over a MA in TESOL.