Advice needed! Suggestions for Higher Education possibilities please ! - Page 2

Shorrick Mk2 · #21 31.01.2012, 17:05

	Quote:	misr
	Related to MBA Studies I asked colleagues who studied MBA as discussed earlier and here are the info I got 1) You will need first to apply 2) They interview you 3) If you pass, then you are accepted in the course. 4) Course is 15 month, which is taken in almost a year and half due to few breaks. 5) Costs differ between a university and another for example this upcoming course at Laussane costs 34,500 CHF, can be paid on two portions. 6) Some other Universities like IMD may reach 120,000 CHF - which I was told that it is considered the most expensive, maybe then comes Saint Gallen (around 70,000 CHF).

What is the point of going through an (expensive) MBA with no Bachelors / Masters / experience in the field whatsoever?

Even entertaining the thought that one has a chance at being accepted at the interview lacking the above is rather ludicrous.

It befuddles me that people think a 2 year weekend study will give them the wherewithal to "administer businesses" they have no idea about either from theory or practice.

nigelr · #22 31.01.2012, 20:01

	Quote:	misr
	And why you think it is not possible ? I am collecting these examples from the internet, about people whom changed their career after either failure or getting bored from what they do, if you search you will find more Henry Ford: While Ford is today known for his innovative assembly line and American-made cars, he wasn't an instant success. In fact, his early businesses failed and left him broke five time before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company. Soichiro Honda: The billion-dollar business that is Honda began with a series of failures and fortunate turns of luck. Honda was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation for a job after interviewing for a job as an engineer, leaving him jobless for quite some time. He started making scooters of his own at home, and spurred on by his neighbors, finally started his own business. Bill Gates: Gates didn't seem like a shoe-in for success after dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data. While this early idea didn't work, Gates' later work did, creating the global empire that is Microsoft. Walt Disney: Today Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked. Albert Einstein: Most of us take Einstein's name as synonymous with genius, but he didn't always show such promise. Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social. Eventually, he was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. It might have taken him a bit longer, but most people would agree that he caught on pretty well in the end, winning the Nobel Prize and changing the face of modern physics. Winston Churchill: This Nobel Prize-winning, twice-elected Prime Minster of the United Kingdom wasn't always as well regarded as he is today. Churchill struggled in school and failed the sixth grade. After school he faced many years of political failures, as he was defeated in every election for public office until he finally became the Prime Minister at the ripe old age of 62. Abraham Lincoln: While today he is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of our nation, Lincoln's life wasn't so easy. In his youth he went to war a captain and returned a private (if you're not familiar with military ranks, just know that private is as low as it goes.) Lincoln didn't stop failing there, however. He started numerous failed business and was defeated in numerous runs he made for public office. Isaac Newton: Newton was undoubtedly a genius when it came to math, but he had some failings early on. He never did particularly well in school and when put in charge of running the family farm, he failed miserably, so poorly in fact that an uncle took charge and sent him off to Cambridge where he finally blossomed into the scholar we know today. Reference I think the only issue will be to detect a clear vision, I read a book titled Vision to Results, where it states that something with that meaning: - Always people start to look for a vision, and start moving towards achieving it. - A spiral is formed between their current reality and the vision they want to achive, where this spiral expands (extending the distance between current reality and vision) or contracts (reducing this distance) depending on the circumstances and people's attitude until they reach their vision - If after sometime Vision is not achieved, people tend to make it easy for them and look for another vison where a new spiral is formed, then another vision and another until they feel lost - The reason they feel lost here is not because they have no energy or their mindset is not able to change or to do more, it is simply because they don't know what do they need ... meaning they don't know their vision That is why I believe everything is possible, if we plan for it right - our life will be easier towards having things done regardless of any complexity.

How many of the above had an MBA?

nigelr · #23 31.01.2012, 20:04

	Quote:	misr
	Related to MBA Studies I asked colleagues who studied MBA as discussed earlier and here are the info I got 1) You will need first to apply 2) They interview you 3) If you pass, then you are accepted in the course. 4) Course is 15 month, which is taken in almost a year and half due to few breaks. 5) Costs differ between a university and another for example this upcoming course at Laussane costs 34,500 CHF, can be paid on two portions. 6) Some other Universities like IMD may reach 120,000 CHF - which I was told that it is considered the most expensive, maybe then comes Saint Gallen (around 70,000 CHF). 7) The study is 2 days a week - full day Friday and Saturday, from 8:00 am till 6:00 PM - there are 3 full weeks aside by that - one at start then middle then at the end.

There was an article in one of the US papers (don't ask me which) stating basically the MBA schools are interested only in making money.

How many fortune 500 companies (US) or FTSE 100 (UK) are run by people with an MBA. I believe it is less than 5%

I have never met anybody with an MBA who could tie his own shoelaces let alone run a business.

Don't waste your money.

cyberkizin · #24 31.01.2012, 20:31

Not sure if this what you are looking for, but here is a link that may help you narrow your options.

Study Programs in English

"Various Swiss Universities offer Programs taught entirely or partially in English. English programs are mostly offered on the Master’s level; however Swiss Universities are starting to offer more and more Bachelor programs in English as well. From year to year Programs that are taught in English are constantly expanding.

The following links provides a comprehensive list of study programs at Swiss universities fully or partially taught in English. For more information about specific programs please contact the respective university directly."

Scottydog · #25 31.01.2012, 20:57

if you are still employed or have contacts at the International School could you ask if you could do some days in the offices there, explain your dilemma, and see if you could have some "work experience" in other areas, and then once you have more of an idea of an end goal you can look to find the qualifications to get there.
At least it might rule out a few of the possibilities, which is also helpful in decision-making!
Or if you have some other career possibilities in mind, why not ask here if anyone is doing that sort of job and could you shadow them for a day or two? That would also give you a better idea of whether or not to pursue the related course.
I also like Odile's idea of focussing on the German for a solid amount of time - that would definitely open up more doors for you.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and definitely don't feel you are too old to try anything!

misr · #26 31.01.2012, 21:08

	Quote:	nigelr
	How many of the above had an MBA?

Just a clarification:

What I am trying to do is not to convince people to go and get an MBA

I am trying to state all possible information about:

	Quote:
	- The career choices I have in mind is Business Admin (I would like to be on the other side of things in a school - finances etc...) - I also thought about fitness trainer/wellness something along that line but I get laughed at every time I mention it - they all say but that's a hobby and I guess it is not taken seriously as a career choice here. - Speech Therapist (There is a need of English Speech Therapists in Zurich)

If you are not happy about MBA, please feel free to put your points of concern so Candagirl can make benefit of your opinion - I don't believe critizing each other will add anything to the thread.

At the end, the person who needs to take the decision (in our case Canadiangirl) will take all the information above and build her target and see what she can go for.

I haven't said that Henry Ford or any of those people got MBA, this was an answer to if it is possible to change career after getting elder in age, and the answer is that some people who are marked as successful had that step and succeeded, nothing here related to MBA.

I hope we can use the English forum to help each other as much as we can, if we succeed that is great, if not then we did not do a great sin since our intention was maintly to just help -

and I also hope we do not use the english forum to distract or bother each other and throw negative comments that makes no sense, life is easier than that.

All the best

Shorrick Mk2 · #27 01.02.2012, 09:34

	Quote:	misr
	Just a clarification: What I am trying to do is not to convince people to go and get an MBA I am trying to state all possible information about:[/SIZE]

Next step - moving on to stating RELEVANT possible information.

cranky_expat · #28 03.02.2012, 10:19

Firstly, I sympathize with your predicament--I'm also in Zurich and struggling with career choices (coffee sometime?

)

	Quote:	canadiangirl
	I guess what scares me is the fact I haven't opened a math book in over 10 years.. Do you think it possible to begin a totally different career this late in life?

As for math--maybe it would build your confidence to review a bit, so you remind yourself of how much you know? I recently needed to do this for chemistry and found the instructional videos from the Khan Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org/). They were really helpful, perfect for reviving knowledge from 7 years ago for me.

I didn't look at the math vids, but they have a large selection, from basic arithmetic up to differential calculus, as well as excercises that go from pre-algebra through about pre-calc.

They videos seem to be a max of about 15 minutes each, so I like to watch them as I was the dishes, kills two birds with on stone.

Hope that helps!

Sorry, I forgot to mention that all the Khan Academy materials are free--I'm not trying to advertise for anyone

.

scotty3032 · #29 03.02.2012, 12:17

I'm doing a BA in Business studies through the distance learning program with the open university.

It's all in English, they send you text books etc through the post. There are taster course and entry level courses to get you started.

They also have a range of different courses depending in what you want to do and it's recognised in switzerland.

They have a EU office as well as representatives here in switzerland. They have just started to cut down staff in Europe and now the only exam place is in Zurich so quite handy.

Hope this helps

Kristanez · #30 03.02.2012, 20:14

My only advice is if you want to work in Switzerland, get a degree in Switzerland. It will make your life a lot easier than doing something in Canada in the hopes it will be recognized here. Maybe it will be, maybe it won't be, but even having a Swiss uni on your CV will help open doors for you as a foreigner.