@ mridula

If u are more interested in staying in this field only, I will suggest you join any of the MSc courses in UK. The reason being even after an MBA in agri-Business (recruiters) can expect you to move away from your core-competencies. It can also depend on how much you are willing to argue with the management that you want to remain in the area dedicated to ur expertise. Initial job will always be in the agri-company. but soon u will be phased out to the part where the Agri-courses will have little role to play.

If u manage to get a final offer from IIM-ABM courses, u can give them a thought as IIM tag is just too hard to let go of. But over Symbiosis (I know it is a respected insti) I think UK degree should get preference. this is also in line with ur interest in Food Tech Line.. The UK course will you better exposure in ur selected field..

hello friends,
am mridula and am a food technologist from DU...am immensely interested in my field and want to continue with the managenerial aspect of THIS feild ONLY....and have been luckily selected for MBA-agri business at symbiosis as well...

now the problem is...that I have applied to University of Reading as well for MSc. Food Economics abd Marketing and MSc. Food production Management at University of Nottingham...Both these universities are top-ranked in my feild...

now in the due course of time...if am able to secure admissions to either of them...should I consider them over MBA????

Also, in all scholarship grants there is a stipulated condition that one has to get back to India as soon as the course is over....does anybody has any idea that can this period be deffered for one year or so??? coz under new visa laws..international students can get an extension upto one year so as to get work ex in UK!!!!


please help...

require urgent advice...

vishalchopda Says

thnx.. i know wat do u mean to say.. but there are certain constraints i am facin due to which i have to choose this path.. ideal wud have 4 yrs work ex + CFA and then a ISB mba.. but tht i can't do due to some reasons..one more query, due u have any idea, is it worth for me to do ms finance if i plan to come back to india after a work ex of 2 yrs there.. will i get a gud job here.. i know its very futuristic and vague, still wats ur perception??Thnx,Vishal

You can come down to India. However salary will not be comparable. still you may land in to the high salary brackets.
I understand by 2009 most IB's are planning to shift a major portion of research and modelling here, UBS, Goldman etc.
Ample opportunities provided you have developed strong US market knowledge by then (as in Mortgage backed securities, pension funds, hedge funds, PE etc...).

It also depends on how you groom yourself. one gud example is Roopa purushotam who wrote the BRIC report and become famous. now she has shifted to India as chief economist for Pantaloon grp with crores salary.

Vishal, if you want to go for MS-fin from a US univ, why you need an MBA thereafter. or if you want to go for MBA from ISB why you need to go for US MS in finance. i guess you need sort out priorities and goals.

you can straight go for ISB MBA, specialize in finance and go for an IB. alternatively keep working, do CFA(US) and then go for ISB MBA. then you sure get a good shot at any top IB with a foreign plcmt. look for the expenses and do a cost-benefit analysis.

thnx.. i know wat do u mean to say.. but there are certain constraints i am facin due to which i have to choose this path.. ideal wud have 4 yrs work ex + CFA and then a ISB mba.. but tht i can't do due to some reasons..one more query, due u have any idea, is it worth for me to do ms finance if i plan to come back to india after a work ex of 2 yrs there.. will i get a gud job here.. i know its very futuristic and vague, still wats ur perception??Thnx,Vishal

thnx a lot guys for ur replies.. i know for sure that academic wise UIUC masters in finance scores over imt or mdi whose calls i have but my only concern is that this yr plcmnts at uiuc haven't been very gud for international students.. also i am plannin to work their for 2 yrs after masters and then come back to india and start on my own(which i feel requires mba skills).. considerin all this which career path will be better for me? mba or msf??
Also if i do a masters now and gain a work ex of 2 yrs in US and then come back to india, will my profile be gud enough for a mba frm ISB??

P.S. i like derivatives a lot and i am interested in it but i don't want to make a career in it.. i want to make my career in portfolio mgmnt or IB..
Thnx a lot for all your views...

Regards,
Vishal

Vishal, if you want to go for MS-fin from a US univ, why you need an MBA thereafter. or if you want to go for MBA from ISB why you need to go for US MS in finance. i guess you need sort out priorities and goals.

you can straight go for ISB MBA, specialize in finance and go for an IB. alternatively keep working, do CFA(US) and then go for ISB MBA. then you sure get a good shot at any top IB with a foreign plcmt. look for the expenses and do a cost-benefit analysis.

thnx a lot guys for ur replies.. i know for sure that academic wise UIUC masters in finance scores over imt or mdi whose calls i have but my only concern is that this yr plcmnts at uiuc haven't been very gud for international students.. also i am plannin to work their for 2 yrs after masters and then come back to india and start on my own(which i feel requires mba skills).. considerin all this which career path will be better for me? mba or msf??
Also if i do a masters now and gain a work ex of 2 yrs in US and then come back to india, will my profile be gud enough for a mba frm ISB??

P.S. i like derivatives a lot and i am interested in it but i don't want to make a career in it.. i want to make my career in portfolio mgmnt or IB..
Thnx a lot for all your views...

Regards,
Vishal

My apologies I got confused between UIUC and University of Chicago ,it's the latter one that is regarded as the temple of finance though UIUC is not bad either.

guys i have a master in finance admit from UIUC, chicago...
i have gd pi calls frm imt and mdi.. imt gd pi is done which was gud.. mdi not yet done.. i know comparing institutes not allowed on pg.. but wanted to ask, if i am intersted in Merger&Aquistions; and derivatives market more, wat path shud i take..also my final goal is to get into IB.. thnx for suggestions..
P.S. one prob is watever i want to do have to be this yr only, can't wait for one more yr due to some reasons..
CAT 98.77
GRE 1440
68% acads BE IT
in tcs frm june 06

Thnx,
Vishal

First of all Derivatives and M&A; are altogether different fields altogether.In Derivatives your Quanti skills are more important so depending on the canidate MBA,MFE,MS (Fin) and Phd's are recruited for derivatives.
But for M&A; you need not only have good number crunching and financial modeling skills but also cross functional industry knowledge which makes MBA grads the preferred choice as far as I Banks are concerned.

In any case UIUC is anyday better than an IMI or MDI not sure about the comparison to the top IIMs(ABC) though.
Unnivesity of Chicago is regarded as the temple of Finance which the modern day portfolio theory emanating from there.It's MBA programs is right up there with that of H/S/W ,if you had a choice between IIM(ABC) and MS Fin at Chicago then it would be a diff choice but now it's a no brainer.

guys i have a master in finance admit from UIUC, chicago...
i have gd pi calls frm imt and mdi.. imt gd pi is done which was gud.. mdi not yet done.. i know comparing institutes not allowed on pg.. but wanted to ask, if i am intersted in Merger&Aquistions; and derivatives market more, wat path shud i take..also my final goal is to get into IB.. thnx for suggestions..
P.S. one prob is watever i want to do have to be this yr only, can't wait for one more yr due to some reasons..
CAT 98.77
GRE 1440
68% acads BE IT
in tcs frm june 06

Thnx,
Vishal

MDI can never beat UIUC MS in finance. neither IIM's. IMT dosent comes to consideration also. UIUC will launch you in to different universe altogether.

@ Vishal

Go for MS course.. I do not think IBs come to IMT and MDI campus and even if a few of them do come, the competition will be very diff. to beat.

At least in US, not evry1 is fighting for the same set of jobs...

guys i have a master in finance admit from UIUC, chicago...
i have gd pi calls frm imt and mdi.. imt gd pi is done which was gud.. mdi not yet done.. i know comparing institutes not allowed on pg.. but wanted to ask, if i am intersted in Merger&Aquistions; and derivatives market more, wat path shud i take..also my final goal is to get into IB.. thnx for suggestions..
P.S. one prob is watever i want to do have to be this yr only, can't wait for one more yr due to some reasons..
CAT 98.77
GRE 1440
68% acads BE IT
in tcs frm june 06

Thnx,
Vishal

Difference between MS (Finance) and MBA.

There are just too many..

So I will take an alternate route.

Differences between MS (Finance) and MBA (Finance):

1. Course Contents - AN MBA contains much more diverse subjects than MS in Finance. Even an MBA in finance will contain some electives from other streams like Marketing, HR, Operations and General Management. Besides there is a marked difference between core subjects in both.. MS is highly specialized course which concentrates on Financial Modeling, Financial Research, Advanced Mathematical Applications in Finance.. And MBA in finance on the other hand will have core subjects as Decision Making under Uncertainty, Organizational Behavior, Statistical Applications, and Computer Modeling.

2. Career Opportunities: An MS in finance can often land you in the same position as an MBA in finance will. That means you will be working as an Associate in an IB firm alongwith MBAs. But then it is a bit more difficult. Still an MS in Finance from a top Uni like UCB is better than an MBA in finance from a lower ranked college.

Besides, even if u earn similar money in short term, u might get bypassed for senior positions which require MBA. U might not get the same amount of opportunities to shift the company. In other words, u might have to decide to do an MBA after some years.

3. ROI - In short term, MS (Fin) is much more attractive than an MBA strictly on ROI basis. And ROI cannot be calculated on the long term basis..
So ROI wise, MS is better if u r really interested in Finance only.