Only a small part of employers - no more than 10% - express a special demand for job seekers in the form of an MBA diploma from a western business school. But the connection "MBA diploma - guaranteed success" is far from unambiguous. I'll tell you as an example the story I witnessed. We carried out the order of one of the major companies to close the top position. The owner wished the candidate to have a diploma of one of the best European business schools - Lyons.
The candidate found the expected contract of a prestigious American consulting firm, but there was a delay, and so far he decided to work in his homeland. We listened to him, afraid to miss a word, - it is rarely possible to get a free training of this level. Without hesitation they made an offer. We agreed about money easily.
The applicant asked to show the description of the business processes, asked what resources will be available in the implementation of the goals set by the owners. From the answers I understood that business is in a chaotic state. To this fact, the brilliant professional was more or less ready: "Ok, I am inspired by such a wide front of work, I agree. I can set everything up here by building a system. What is the degree of my freedom in the personnel sphere? "They answered him:" Do not touch these people, and these, too, and in general, we will affirm every step you take. " After that the competitor thanked for the conversation, said goodbye and left.
Or another story - a longer one. The same "Westerner", also inspired by the opening of the broadest front of work, accepted the offer and began to work. After the analysis and evaluation, he developed a strategy, which he proposed to the triumvirate of the owners. He ended the presentation with the phrase: "And I need only 10 million for all this." The owners liked everything except the last sentence: "With ten million, everyone can, and you first find the sources of profit, earn it, and then implement your strategies. And do not radically change anything - we will limit ourselves to cosmetic repairs. "
The strategist spoke several times, hoping to convince them, employers are already accustomed to it, the effect of novelty has lost, but dissatisfaction has increased. Meetings grew less and less. And when the specialist decided to break the contract, he was not detained. After all, our business is our business. The systemic Western approach comes into conflict with domestic tolerance for chaos.
Education abroad is only worth receiving if there is a universally recognized world school in your chosen field of knowledge. For example, in Italy you need to learn how to sing. In the US, to study psychology, because only there is still funding for serious scientific research in this area - in Europe, funding has long become modest. In Japan, it is worth getting medical education - there it is an extremely prestigious and respected profession. But what's the point of studying in Japan for 15 years to return to Ukraine?
Seven years ago, I studied for one year in the United States under the FLEX school exchange program. In addition to being fluent in English, I learned to communicate with people of different cultures, got acquainted with their worldview, understood how they solve problems - both small household and global. This greatly expanded my horizons. I met many interesting people and realized that I want to work in an international multinational company, or at least, where knowledge of the language is necessary. Returning to Ukraine, she graduated from the 11th form, entered the International Christian University, where teaching is conducted in English, and at the same time started working at the American Councils for International Low-Cost Education Abroad - first as a volunteer and then in the state. I was very easy to communicate with foreigners, I quickly found a common language with customers and visitors to the center. Americans like to say: Communication matters ("Communication is the main thing"). In Ukraine, even many professional translators lack patience, knowledge of business etiquette, understanding of cultural differences. I had it all. It was thanks to the cheapest education abroad, in the United States, even if it was so short, that I got a job as a receptionist at the international law firm Baker & McKenzie, and grew into a personal assistant manager. After leaving Baker and Mackenzie, despite the crisis, in three days found a new job, and chose from several proposals with a good salary and stopped at where I was offered a career growth prospect. "
"After graduating from the university with a degree in classical philology, I applied for a DAAD scholarship - the German Center for Academic Exchanges. It includes two components: 750 euros monthly plus a preferential payment for tuition at universities in Germany: for example, I paid only about 100 euros per semester (the usual tuition fee is 600 euros). I applied for the program "Master of Art" - this is the level of training that follows the bachelor, and my Ukrainian diploma was enough to be accepted. The competition there is quite large, so it is very important to properly formulate an application, convincingly state your motivation.
I studied at the university for four semesters, that is, two years, got a degree, returned to Ukraine and entered postgraduate study. My professional prospects are still rather vague - but this is not due to education, but to the fact that humanitarian specialties around the world are not too much in demand. And my specialty - comparativistics, general and comparative literature - does not imply employment in a well-defined sphere. Rather, I got skills that I can use in different spheres - in journalism, publishing business ... In Ukraine, in comparison with Germany, I even have the advantage - here my Russian and Ukrainian are in demand.
If we talk about the shortcomings of education abroad, then this is its unsystematic nature - in comparison with ours. There students have a high degree of freedom, you can choose courses, timetables, topics for exams, in fact, completely control the learning process. Because of this, some topics are studied very deeply, while others are too superficial. Thanks to this freedom, I have acquired very useful personal skills - responsibility and ability to allocate the most important opportunities from the sea. "
The better the education, the easier it is to make a good career. This is a universal truth. The more diplomas, internships abroad, the higher the employer will appreciate you. But if we proceed not from general considerations, but from the realities of our market, then specialists with foreign education are almost never ordered. A rare exception is, say, a large international corporation, whose Ukrainian branch is looking for a financial director with an American MBA and work experience in the States. However, if there is adequate professional competence, the employer will not insist on having a foreign diploma. Foreign education has only one undoubted advantage: it allows you to acquire intercultural experience, master the language and better understand the characteristics of the national (say, American) character. This is useful for working in an international corporation. However, from a business point of view, it is better to study in the Ukrainian MBA, where the program is adapted to our economic realities.