Hello,
I am studying engineering in a top tier school in France. Here, a 5-years master’s degree is the norm, and I’ve been given the opportunity to replace my 5th and final year by a MSc in a US/UK university (in a subject related to engineering, for example MS&E), thus acquiring two master’s degrees without losing time.
Given that I’m planning to work in IB or Management Consulting, that I might want to take a MBA after some experience, and that I don’t have illimited cash, I’d be very glad to hear your thoughts on this matter, and on the kind of MSc you’d pursue if you were me.
(If you need more info about the situation I can provide it, I tried not to overload the OP)
Thanks!
I’m confused. You’d be getting two master’s degrees? Two isn’t necessarily better than one. if you have the opportunity to get one master’s degree and it’s actually in an area you’re interested in working in, then that could be a good plan unless it’s prohibitively expensive. If this is to get a SECOND one, then I don’t think that’s worth it.
Hi, thanks for the reply.
The French system is a bit tricky: here the top schools (‘Grandes Écoles’) provide the equivalent of a master’s degree (5 years of study). But some of them are okay with letting students go abroad on 5th year (2018/2019 for me) and get another master from another university in the US/UK. So in the end I would indeed be getting two master’s degrees: the French one (diplôme de Grande École) and the US/UK one.
In France my school opens pretty much every door, so it is target for either banking or consulting. But like most French schools it’s unknown abroad. Some people told me that if I wanted to work in the US (which is something I consider) I needed to have a US degree. Is that correct?
About the area of studies, I get to choose it within a certain range: MS&E, OR, finance, applied mathematics in the US, econ or management in the UK. I’m not a big fan of engineering*, but I’m wondering if such degrees would give me opportunities to do IB or consulting in the US. I’m also wondering if getting a MBA after 5-10 years of experience is still relevant after already getting a MSc.
- You might be screaming reading that, given that I come from an engineering school. The truth is in France engineering schools teach much more than engineering, and a lot of students are going into business or finance instead.
If you want to work in the US, you would first need a work visa, green card, or citizenship. In terms of someone hiring you in the US, yes, it would be extremely useful to have a US degree, unless you work for a multinational employer in France who is willing to send you to the US.