MBAs in China

[opper567]

I'm planning on getting an MBA after completion of a bachelor's in Chinese language. Which concentration would be most useful (high opportunities and high pay )?

MBA in Finance, IT, Management & Global Business, Marketing, or Supply Chain Management?

[KWinShanghai]

I'm only going to talk about Shanghai...

If you want a high quality MBA in Shanghai I'd say the Fudan-HKU programme http://www.fbe.hku.hk/programs/imba/index.asp (ahem, bias alert). Hong Kong professors offer the degree certificate and many advanced courses. Fudan professors offer you many of the core courses (and plenty of mandarin practice). English exams (phew). They also have a Finance version.

If short term it's cash you're looking for then I believe CEIBS has the best perceived post-graduation salary.

I personally don't believe what specialism you take is going to make much difference. The quality of school and how it will help you get a great job is probably more important.

[opper567]

Would I be able to get a business job in China with a US MBA?

[KWinShanghai]

If you don't speak Mandarin, then I'd suggest that your job options are limited, unless you are a certified specialist like an accountant. Or you fancy teaching business english. Then it's really easy to get a good job.

There are some MNCs that use English for communication and internal documentation. HSBC for example. In these you may be able to secure an internal position, but difficult if the role is client facing.

[novemberfog]

An MBA is a degree that is supposed to prepare you for management, and many top schools in the world (London Business School, IMD in Switzerland, Harvard, etc.) require at least 2 or 3 years of professional work experience. Now for the MBA concentration, pick the one you are most interested in. Chances are you won't find work in that field anyway. The MBA is a "general" graduate degree. While most graduate studies in other fields focus on more in-depth subjects, the MBA is a "breadth" degree that is supposed to prepare professionals for being able to see things from a management viewpoint. You take classes like accounting, but it does not focus on core accounting skills and how to prepare financial reports, rather it focuses on analyzing financial and accounting reports for use in making business decisions. If you don't know which concrentration you like, then try to imagine what would be useful around the time for your expected graduation date, and what matches your career/life goals. If you want to work in China, think about what you could do to make yourself valuable to a multinational company or a Chinese company. Ask professionals working in multinationals what skills they think would be valuable for global business.

Having a B.S./B.A. in Chinese, and then going directly into an MBA is not going to get you a high paying management/analyst job in most industries without work experience. Having said that, it is probably a good thing to get though rather than just a B.S. in Chinese. If you can, do your Chinese degree (which I think is a good degree -- foreign languages are quite analytical), and also try to pick up a minor in marketing or accounting or finance or what not.