I can attest to the finding. I have an Admit from from IESE and ESADE. I chose ESADE because it gives me the flexibility to complete my MBA in 12,15 or 18 months. I have already paid the first installment of 8700 Euros.
Esade did not give me much time to wait and see. I did my own reasearch and I think that Krishnaak is correct.
I did some research and found the following
- I talked to a current student at ESADE and he said that it is next to impossible to find a job in SPAIN or other european countries becuase you need to know the language. If you are betting on working in UK then you are probably not aware that UK has implemented new rule in Dec 2011 which has made it impossible to work in UK for people who graduated from universities outside UK. Earlier if your school was in top 20 list of Europe then you get 12 months of working visa and permission to look for a job. The new rule says that even for students who graduated from UK universties like Oxford, London Buisness school will have only 4 months to look for job and an employer who would file for work visa. I verified this news from Wall street journal and several other news source.
- I called up one for seniors from school days who is a pass out from IESE MBA 2008 batch. He said that he would trade places with me in US anytime. He confirmed that working in Europe for Non european is very difficult. Most of the people end up taking jobs in Dubai(which is hiring MBAs from europe like crazy) or singapore.
- I called up two more friends from my engineering days in India who are working in Switzerland. One of them is working in German speaking part of the country and other is working in french speaking part of Switzerland. They both confirmed that language barrier will stop you from getting an offer unless you are exceptional. They gave their example that although they both work in Switzerland but they cannot switch places because one works in french speaking country and other is in German speaking part of the country.
- I called up another friend of mine from Engineering days and he is studying MBA in SDA Bocconi Italy in the current batch. I wanted to make sure that this was not the case in other part of Europe. He confirmed that for Non Europeans you will end up in Dubai, Singapore or India or any other English peaking part of the world. He confirmed that so far only guy who was from India found a job in Italy.
The Esade site mentions that something 80% found job outside Europe so if anyone who is not from European country, please acknowledge the fact that you "might" have to end up going to your home country. If your plans are that you will get a job after graduating from ESADE / IESE / IE etc. in EUROPE, then please be aware of the huge risk. If you are open to working in Dubai/ Brazil/Singapore then you are good to go.
- Additionally I looked up people from India who did their MBA from IESE and ESADE and so far have not found anyone who passed out from IESE or ESADE from batch 2007 (2 exceptions they had PR from UK) onwards who is working in Europe or USA. "Almost" everyone is working in India in Bangalore/Noida Mumbai etc. I called up another 2009 passout in India and talked to him. He confirmed that possibility of working in Europe is extremely slim. He did mention that Middle East hires heavily from from IESE and ESADE and visa is not a problem if you are open to working in Dubai/ Muscat/AbuDhabi etc.
So if any critics on this forums says that be optimistic, then please use your own judgement. I read that someone said that when it comes to job and prospects that no one holding a crystal ball will be bale to tell you your future. It is true for both sunny day scenario and dooms day.
It is so tough for me to give up a chance to get an MBA from world renowned University, but I also need to think wisely.
Lastly, both school and admission counselor at IESE and ESADE say that 75-90% (plus/minus) work outside Spain, it is true but they will not tell you exactly how many non-European got a chance to work in Europe.
So do your own research, don't be afraid to reach out the alumni... Use LinkedIn, Facebook or twitter. Alums are people like us and they like to help.
I had also asked this question to one of the alum that since I am working in US for last 6 yrs, do companies from US hire from these schools - He said Yes they do visit but prefer to hire some one who is already eligible to work or is already a citizen or visa is easy to get .. ex - Canadians, Singaporeans..
In all I talked 11 people - 2 from Adcom committe, 2 from Current students, 3 Alumni(2 from 2009 and one from 200
, 1 from 2006 IESE alumni who was also my senior in school and now works in UK, 3 College friends who are wroking in Germany and Switzerland(They do not have MBA but have been working there for last 4-5 years).
So think before you take a leap. :-)
Hi dude.. that was pretty detailed research and will scare the sh*t out of any European MBA candidate. I had also mailed the IESE career team with similar concerns and got responses from them on similar lines.When I first read your whole post ,, trust me I had goosebumps thinking the amount of debt I am taking and the doomsday suggested above. But later once I relaxed and started corroborating facts mentioned above and those i got from Career services I realised I already know most of it. So here it goes :
1. I had asked Career Services , where Non EU students with language constaints land and they said UK, Singapore , Dubai and Switzerland. Now its a very clear fact that no one will get a job in Spain of France/Germany too. But matter of fact i would not want to go to these places , they are high on taxes and will not help my loan repayment. So ya a Singapore (flat 20% tax) and Dubai (flat 0% tax) will look good as first job options.
2. I asked them will UK visa norms pose challenge . They said yes , but not for Banks and consultancies, moreover the new norms make it equally difficult for a UK grad and a Euro grad to work in UK. Kinda helps if you are from a good B school.
3. Most important fact.. will i make enough money to pay off my loan and actually make a difference to my career. Now here i have no source , Iese 2012 figures are not yet out , as per seniors aalready 70-80% class has an offer in hand and rest are going thru the process. Going strictly by Iese placement report of 2011 average salary stands at 80-90K Euros. For 2011 when Spain was already down under and Eurozone was in crisis Iese had 97% placements and average sal above 80k euros. Now this number can come down or go up but not by a huge amount.
I have already paid 3.5lacs to Iese and its almost no turning back for me but still 65-70 lac gamble is much bigger and potentially career threatening. But i personally have no qualms about working only in europe or US , what matters most is what I am working and of course how much i earn.
if anyone else has any inputs, feedbacks plz feel free to express the same. i still have 1 month's time before I submit next installment and its never too late.
Jobs statistics for graduating class will be out by Aug.