Onami

Please forgive the off-topic post, but I thought there might be some good opinions from the finance folks in the group. My Son is going into grade 12 next year and is considering finance as a career. Not sure exactly what area yet, so I can't get more specific. Gifted kid, low 90's average without killing himself, thinks he can get a 94-95 average for grade 12. That should get him into most business programs and he is thinking about doing an MBA. In the finance world, does the school ranking really affect ability to get hired? My thoughts are that his undergrad school choice would be less import than his MBA program choice, but I work in manufacturing and where you went to school has little impact. Thanks in advance.

wc11

For commerce?
Rotman

Pags993

Lots of really good schools to choose from in Ontario with respect to his BBA (Queens, Waterloo, Ivey, Schulich, Rotman, Laurier etc) they are all top notch. At the end of the day its about the overall quality of the candidate for me vs school rankings but that's just one guys opinion.

Does he intend to complete an MBA as well as a professional accounting designation?

Also keep this in mind (from Schulich website)

gsxr_fvr

Co-Op program's will have a better overall success rate down the road given the added "real work" experience along with the undergrad degree.

CamsPorsche

You should investigate whether the combination ​of degree and MBA is worth it considering he won't have any professional experience to dwell upon.

I'm glad to have worked a number of years before obtaining my MBA as you're challenged to apply critical thinking based upon experience. Sure there are market fundamentals that he is required to know and learn however, I still feel he needs that experience first.

Just my $0.02...

Bacura

My son is graduating from Rotman with his MBA next month. He "interned" at General Mills between first and second year and was offered a great job by them at the end of last summer. He starts in July. I am biased because I went to U of T for 12 years. He got scholarships from U of T and York ( the only 2 schools he applied to) but I insisted he go to U of T because it has a world class reputation which York most certainly doesn't have. His best friend got his MBA at Kellogg in Chicago so there are some excellent US schools but his GMAT will be very important. If price is a consideration then you should know that Rotman is by far the most expensive. Tuition is 100K (less if he gets a scholarship). I'd be happy to talk further at cars and coffee but the process was quite an education for me. BTW he did his undergrad at Western. IMHO going to different universities might be an advantage. You should also know that if he gets an undergraduate business degree from IVEY he doesn't need to do the GMAT to get into their MBA program.

vern1

Doing an undergrad in finance/commerce and then an MBA is too narrow as far as I am concerned. I have always found it more valuable to get an undergrad degree in some other discipline (engineering/geology/whatever) and then layer on an CFA or MBA

TONS of smart kids out there with commerce/MBA degrees. Having a different skill set helps set you apart and make you more versatile.

Muskoka

To me, it's where do the schools come to recruit. The end game is a good job.

Western (Ivey), Queens Commerce were the top 2 for Finance/Business, and have very strong business faculties with lots of companies coming to recruit.

If he's choosing to go to an MBA afterwards, McGill is probably the most reputable school in Canada for an undergrad. Then an MBA at Ivey, Schulich, Queens or masters of Finance at U of T, would all be good.

It's Canada, so second tier isn't so far back, but I would assume Laurier and Waterloo (for business) would fall into that camp.

IMO.

CamsPorsche

Agreed! I'll take me for example...Degree in Supply Chain Management & International Business plus an MBA from the Manchester Business School (UK).

I've created a niche role that I'm exploiting madly at the moment within the Nuclear industry. So much so, that I'm struggling to figure out how I exploit my advisory work to other energy producers...demand, demand, demand.

Onami

Thanks for your thoughts guys. Please keep them coming. My Son had thought that he would get an engineering degree and MBA like his dear old Dad and work running a manufacturing company. However, two things happened that made him reconsider. He watched me get downsized twice and is learning that great manufacturing jobs in Canada are difficult to find. He also took grade 11 chemistry and absolutely hated it. To be honest, he loves politics, business, math and history, so leaving the engineering dreams behind is likely the right move for him...regardless of how much I got a kick out of him wanting to follow in my footsteps

DDzPorsche

Agreed, manufacturing is difficult these days (I too have been downsized).

However, U of T offers Minor or Masters Engineering degrees specializing in advanced manufacturing, which I believe will be the near term future degree to have for someone interested in manufacturing.

Engineering plus an MBA is still viewed as a strong combination. Getting some work experience prior to the MBA would be my recommendation, some companies will even pay a portion of the tuition.

I got mine at Schulich.

petee_c

I'm looking to be a kept man. Any school you'd recommend in particular?

UofT 9t5

BioBanker

+1

i did an MSC at a medical school in Physiology, worked for a few years, did a top notch MBA and have been doing well for almost 20 years since because few have the combo of science and business.

An MBA is not a special degree. If he is doing one he will need to find some way of standing out.

Id do something different than commerce for undergrad sure. An MBA after a commerce degree is not learning much new.

Yu Alan

whatever the school he picks, make sure to find a coop program.
So many of my classmates works as teller due to lack of work experience.

Bacura

There is no doubt that job opportunities are school dependant. If you think you will get equal opportunity as a Ryerson vs Rotman grad you would be wrong. Do you know what the Harvard placement rate is? For anyone giving advice based on their own personal experience it would be useful so say where you got your MBA. Some do it on-line.