Posted by - gmenem - on 20 August 2013 - 12:15am

• Posted by - avaross09 - on 18 October 2013 - 12:37pm

  Do your General Msc and later on you may opt for PhD,Or still work using your Msc degree.

  Reply

• Posted by - gmenem - on 20 August 2013 - 4:27am

  I like your "feel good about the future" approach,I think too that choosing among good business schools and where to study abroad should be a fun procedure for everyone.

  Given the opportunity I will definitely mention how helpful is your site, and will be glad to give infos about my master experiences in the future.

  Till next questions occur my best wishes and thank you
  Giannis

  Reply

• Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 20 August 2013 - 3:53am

  Hi Giannis,

  thank you for your question. I personally doubt that it is possible to generalize that graduates from specialized business masters have an advantage over graduates from general management masters or vice versa. It really depends on many factors what you earn later on and you may find great (or worse) career options with both sorts of education.

  Consulting and financial service companies, however, are among the firms that pay the most. Hence, if salary is your primary target goal (or very important for you) you may want to work for them. Both types of masters - e.g., masters in management as well as masters in finance allow you to get in assuming that your overall profile meets their criteria. Now which one do you choose? Again the one whose content finds your interest. Hence, in addition to considering your time after graduation I would also recommend you studying in depth the curricula of several programs, both specialized and general business masters. This may light a fire in you as well...

  Also, keep in mind that you can do masters later on as well. You don't need to decide now about your final education. For instance, you may do a specialized master now because you are interested in its content (and feel fine with the idea of working in that area later). Then, after some years, if you feel like you need more management education you can still go for a (full-time, part-time, or executive) MBA.

  Also the other way round: You can go for a master in management now and later - if you feel the need for some expert knowledge in a specific area - you can do a specialized master part-time or simply gain your knowledge through some executive education seminars.

  My overall recommendation, hence, is: Relax...and let you become guided by your interests...

  As for Scandinanvian countries I have no personal experience. However, let me mention two thoughts: First, Scandinavian people in general speak very well English. I find it very likely therefore that you can survive (even at work) with just English. Second, you can research this very easily by contacting some firms and just ask (screen their websites first and then call their press offices or HR departments or send a friendly email).

  Best wishes
  Thomas

  By the way: If you like this website I would appreciate if you could mention it when you actually talk to business schools such as the WU Vienna. The more know about it and the more become aware that it is helpful for students the better :)

  by Thomas Graf

  Reply

• Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 20 August 2013 - 2:23am

  Hi there,

  thank you for your question. Actually, I like Vienna too :)

  As for the salary or career options of specialized masters, I know, for instance, about Master in Finance Rankings provided by the Financial Times and US News or about Master in Accounting rankings. Depending in your area of interest, however, there should be more in the www - maybe not necessarily rankings but records of the reputation that a school or program has.

  As for your question, what a Master in General Management can provide for someone who already has a first degree in business or economics. Well, a master is not a bachelor program. Clearly, a Master of Science, for instance, provides you with an advanced and more in-depth level of competence in business and management. You can compare it with the traditional 5-year diploma business administration programs in Europe before the Bologna reform of European education systems.

  Whether you prefer such an advanced education (with some sort of specialization through electives or an actual concentration in the advanced semesters of such a general management program) or whether you prefer to specialize in an area of interest depends on your interest and career plans.

  In our actual Global Master in Management Survey (to be published in September) we found:

  • that MIM graduates primarily start in a consulting or investment firm or start their own business
  • but that the portfolio of target industries is very broad nevertheless, ranging from the telecommunication and IT industries to jobs in luxury management or human resources management.

  This emphasizes - similar to the MBA - the nature of MIM graduates as "allrounders" - people that have many options and NOT a clear job profile. The acceptance of MIM graduates - on average and worldwide - is very good, by the way. In our survey among 45 programs, 86 percent found a job within 3 months after graduation.

  By contrast, you may be interested in a specific area of interest such as marketing or finance; you may want to become an expert in THIS area and start your job exactly in SUCH a specialist position. Then a MIM program may be too unspecific for you.

  Try to clarify first what you ideally would like to do after graduating - which country, industry, companies, and positions. This should provide you already with a hunch of which master could be the right one for you.

  • For instance, if you want to work as a financial analyst a Master in Finance could make sense.
  • If you want to work for a consulting firm a MIM program may be better suited.
  • If you want to keep it open and if you are uncertain, a MIM program may be suited too.
  • Finally, if you have some preferences regarding a specific area but without feeling committed enough to study a specialized master in that area, then I recommend you the following: Choose a Master in Management at a school that also offers a specialized master in your area of interest and check the MIM curriculum in advance as to your options to integrate some of the specialized classes into your MIM curriculum.

  Best wishes
  Thomas

  by Thomas Graf

  Reply

  • Posted by - gmenem - on 20 August 2013 - 3:12am

    Hi again Thomas,

    I really admire your speed,your response was also very helpful.Thanks a lot

    The problem is,that without any real working experience all of the above mentioned industry fields and masters sound interesting to me,thus making the decision very very hard.

    Do you know maybe if people with a specialized master enter the job market with a slight advantage comparing to the general master holders?For example more advanced positions,higher earnings.

    And my last question is if in order to work in a country such as Sweden,Netherlands,Denmark and Norway after graduating from their universities ,one has to learn the language? Nordic languages I hear are tough!

    Thanks again
    Giannis

    Reply