MBA Admissions in GTA

[canuck78]

You are correct. Given the OP's profile (he omitted some important details in his first post) and what he wants to do, I would say that MBA is a good choice.

Even without extensive management experience an MBA is a good idea if your goal is to get into management. Most schools prefer some work experience but not all require it. Depending on what they want to do with their MBA a weekend MBA may suffice while you keep working full-time or usually part-time (Usually 3/4 of your job). The most hardcore programs are the full time daytime studies without working from a top 5 business school in Canada. Those are the most competitive programs and where you’ll find the most recruiters. You will also have a very interesting mix of highly intelligent people from throughout Canada and the world. Those programs are the most competitive.

 

[Deleted member 1083629]

Even without extensive management experience an MBA is a good idea if your goal is to get into management. Most schools prefer some work experience but not all require it. Depending on what they want to do with their MBA a weekend MBA may suffice while you keep working full-time or usually part-time (Usually 3/4 of your job). The most hardcore programs are the full time daytime studies without working from a top 5 business school in Canada. Those are the most competitive programs and where you’ll find the most recruiters. You will also have a very interesting mix of highly intelligent people from throughout Canada and the world. Those programs are the most competitive.

Again, we are talking about different people and different things. What you are talking about (weekend MBA, MBA without management or leadership experience) is fine for non-competitive schools. Even the most competitive programs in Canada are fairly weak and are not that tough to get in. Getting MBA from that school to go into management in the industry you have experience in is fine; in the end of the day it's just a piece of paper that is part of "yeah, he has it" formality.

What I was talking about is Top of the Top MBA programs. For example, I had 0/7 interviews when I applied to competitive schools with my software engineer profile. I got myself a mentor and we went over my profile. Following that, I left a large and awesome company and joined early stage startup where I took a lead role. That allowed me to have a leadership experience that I utilized during motivation letter stage. I got 5/7 interviews (Harvard and Wharton passed on me). During the interview stage, EVERY QUESTION was about that experience. No one cared about the rest. Why do people go to those schools? To get into a super competitive field; investment banking, portfolio management. Can one graduate from weekend Canadian MBA and get into those fields? 0 chance. Can one graduate from Rotman and get into those programs? Possible but not in the States; maybe in Canada (MAYBE). OP would not stand a chance on getting an interview for a top program and he would have low chances to go into IB with his Canadian MBA; but that's irrelevant because OP doesn't want that. He wants to go back into pharm industry and a piece of paper will help him (in yours and his opinion).

In regards to intelligent people; MBA is not academically rigorous program. As a matter of fact, it's super easy to graduate from MBA. The trick is to get in. If you want to meet intelligent people, go to meetups; no point in spending a lot of money on a degree.

 

[canuck78]

Again, we are talking about different people and different things. What you are talking about (weekend MBA, MBA without management or leadership experience) is fine for non-competitive schools. Even the most competitive programs in Canada are fairly weak and are not that tough to get in. Getting MBA from that school to go into management in the industry you have experience in is fine; in the end of the day it's just a piece of paper that is part of "yeah, he has it" formality.

What I was talking about is Top of the Top MBA programs. For example, I had 0/7 interviews when I applied to competitive schools with my software engineer profile. I got myself a mentor and we went over my profile. Following that, I left a large and awesome company and joined early stage startup where I took a lead role. That allowed me to have a leadership experience that I utilized during motivation letter stage. I got 5/7 interviews (Harvard and Wharton passed on me). During the interview stage, EVERY QUESTION was about that experience. No one cared about the rest. Why do people go to those schools? To get into a super competitive field; investment banking, portfolio management. Can one graduate from weekend Canadian MBA and get into those fields? 0 chance. Can one graduate from Rotman and get into those programs? Possible but not in the States; maybe in Canada (MAYBE). OP would not stand a chance on getting an interview for a top program and he would have low chances to go into IB with his Canadian MBA; but that's irrelevant because OP doesn't want that. He wants to go back into pharm industry and a piece of paper will help him (in yours and his opinion).

In regards to intelligent people; MBA is not academically rigorous program. As a matter of fact, it's super easy to graduate from MBA. The trick is to get in. If you want to meet intelligent people, go to meetups; no point in spending a lot of money on a degree.

The question wasn’t getting into an MBA program not getting into Wharton or Harvard. There are tons of people who have graduated from the top business school in Canada either at a bachelor level or MBA who are working in the top banks in IB or the top management consulting firms throughout the world. I know many. I even have family members that would be included in that group. The big firms do recruit especially at the top business schools in Canada. Yes getting into a top MBA program is the hardest part same as med school and many other competitive programs. I did mention that the full-time programs at
school ,especially top schools, are more rigorous programs than the weekend programs that people attend while working. They are viewed differently. You don’t need to go to a top business school in the world for an MBA to be beneficial. Many employers will want you to have an MBA in order for you to qualify for certain jobs, to progress through the ranks, etc. The combination of pharmacist and MBA opens up a lot of doors although the fact that the pharmacy experience is not from Canada is a slight drawback compared to a candidate who has pharmacy experience in Canada, US, etc. Yet again speaking from personal experience. If the licensing exam to work in Canada is not going well because it is quite challenging then an MBA is a good option. There is a surplus of pharmacists in Canada, except Quebec,vso the job opportunities aren’t great at the moment for community pharmacists.

 

[Deleted member 1083629]

The question wasn’t getting into an MBA program not getting into Wharton or Harvard. There are tons of people who have graduated from the top business school in Canada either at a bachelor level or MBA who are working in the top banks in IB or the top management consulting firms throughout the world. I know many. I even have family members that would be included in that group. The big firms do recruit especially at the top business schools in Canada. Yes getting into a top MBA program is the hardest part same as med school and many other competitive programs. I did mention that the full-time programs at
school ,especially top schools, are more rigorous programs than the weekend programs that people attend while working. They are viewed differently. You don’t need to go to a top business school in the world for an MBA to be beneficial. Many employers will want you to have an MBA in order for you to qualify for certain jobs, to progress through the ranks, etc. The combination of pharmacist and MBA opens up a lot of doors although the fact that the pharmacy experience is not from Canada is a slight drawback compared to a candidate who has pharmacy experience in Canada, US, etc. Yet again speaking from personal experience. If the licensing exam to work in Canada is not going well because it is quite challenging then an MBA is a good option. There is a surplus of pharmacists in Canada, except Quebec,vso the job opportunities aren’t great at the moment for community pharmacists.

Correct. That was my interpretation. I spent so much time preparing for MBA and spending time on the dedicated subreddit that the second someone says MBA, boom, I get Top 10-20 schools in my head.

Interesting that you said that about IB in Canada. I had an interview with a large investment group for a software engineer position and I asked about their IB positions. The recruiter mentioned that they rarely hire someone with Canadian MBA and instead offer Canadians an opportunity to study in the USA (fully funded) and then work at the organization for at least 5 years.

I guess there are different requirements for the same positions; same as with software engineering (FAANG with their 24/7 leetcode grind vs. other companies)