Hi everybody!

First, I will try to sketch my profile, after I will point my doubts

PROFILE:
25, Spanish Architect. First Class.
1.5 years experience after graduate+1 before graduate
Interested in pursuing a career in international management or entrepreneurship in building related business.
Spanish+Portuguese speaker. (English, Ielts 7.0).
GMAT (not scoring high yet, maybe because my medium English level)

OBJECTIVE:
I want to study a programme to acquire, in the short term, business knowledge and skills, which I have not acquired in my degree, in order to start a career in international management or set a new venture in the sustainable building field.

I?d would like to do ( A ) and/or ( B ):

( A ) Work for a company and get a high salary, whether in Europe (first option) or Latin America (due to the great perspectives in the construction business).

( B ) Start a business, whether in Spain or Brazil (I have some network there)

CHOICES:
The ideal program would be this:
_Entrepreneurship focused, but with a high salary perspectives (just in case...), and of course, that one I can get in (with a no high GMAT score)

I will list my choices, with the strong and weak points that I think they have for me
(different opinions are welcome):

1_Already accepted in:

Msc in Management in Nova SBE Lisbon + Exchange in a Brazilian top school
(+)good network in Brazil; low fees, wide range of tracks and electives
(-) medium ranked. No good salary perspectives.

MBM in Strathclyde
(+) good rank. Possibility to conversion in MBA(=>good salary). English speaking country.
(-)no entrepreneurship focused. Short network focused in my country preferences. No choice for customizing (virtually no electives)

Msc in Entrepreneurship & Intern. Business in Aston
(+)good rank. Good entrepreneurship prestige.
(-)Short network focused in my country preferences. No data about prospective salaries because it is a new master.

Msc in Entrepreneurship & Mangement in Henley
(+)good rank. Focused towards entrepreneurship.
(-)no city campus.No information because it is a new master.


2_ Not accepted yet. (if I get good GMAT results next month, planning to apply for)

MiM in IE Madrid // MiM or MEI in ESADE Barcelona
(+)top schools of Europe=>amazing salaries, entrepreneurship prestige, broad network in my country and Latin America
(-)fees. Difficult to entry?(No data about GMAT score requirements for MiM, anyone who knows what they ask for getting in Masters levels?)

Msc in Intern. Manag. SME in Maastricht
(+)really good value for money, entrepreneurship focused, good salaries; large programme
(-)Short network focused in my country preferences

Maybe others: Henley, Warwick, LSE, EADA, CBS...?

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In Short:
I have ranked my choices like this:
1-IE / ESADE
2-Nova SBE + exchange
3-Strathclyde / Aston / Maastricht
4-others? What do you think?

Well.. I would like, if it was possible, get opinions and advice about what I should choose.
If you think there is better options not taken in consideration yet, please don't hesitate to point them.
If you need some further details about my profile, just ask me back.

Thanks so much.

Good choices. The north European schools should be a last resort. Focus on the Iberian schools.

You need a great network, not just a good one, to tap into the Brazilian market. It's a lot of work. Why not study in Latin America?

Thanks for your answer Duncan.

I am completely sure that, as a first option, I will try to get into one of the Spanish top B-schools. But I think I need a high GMAT, and it will be difficult to get a good score by this year...

I am also sure that I want to start the master next year, in order to focus my career in management/business.
However, I need some help in order to clarify my other choices, if I finally don't get the first option(quite possible):

_Do you think it is a good idea to do the MBM in Strathclyde, according to my profile and considering I am not interested in Indian related markets? (the main reason would be the prospective conversion to MBA)

_Where Aston networking is focused in? Do you know if the school have, indeed, a good entrepreneurial environment?

_ I also have a choice from Henley, Msc in Entrepreneurship & Management, any opinions?

Latin american education is not in my ballpark for the moment... just a gut feeling....

Thanks so much for your help :)

I think you need to reflect a little. There is some uncertainty in what you write about your goals: entrepreneurship or a salary "just in case". If you are not sure that you will go into a start-up straight after the degree, then you might be better off doing a more general masters in management.

Perhaps use this approach (http://www.find-mba.com/board/33571) to see what sort of business roles that architects move into most easily. I think that architects work really hard, for long hours, for very little money. It's a little bit like art or theatre.

Also it's hard to change role, function and country. Perhaps there's an architecture or real estate role for you in Brazil (Athie Wohnrath? Arquitetura e Urbanismo? CBRE?). Look at the FIA in Sao Paulo if you want to change region.

However, a much safer route will be for you to pick a country where you might be able to get a good job (sadly, not a Mediterranean one) and find a job there while you develop your business skills and lay the foundations for a later start-up?

Henley, Aston and Strathclyde are all good in this respect. Don't rule out Henley because of location: remember that you will be taught at Reading, not Henley, which is the centre of the technology industry in the UK. It's the size of Valladolid or Cadiz. One quarter of the population is foreign. It is just half an hour to London on the train.

In terms of content, I think Aston looks a little more flexible than Henley, but Henley is an upward-moving and prestigious school right now. Strathclyde seems to be the best, both in terms of salary and employment (http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-management-2012).

Thanks again Duncan, I really appreciate your opinions.

Sorry if I mixed up the ideas, I will try to express them again more clearly.

First step: Get a good job (with a good salary) and get more experience.
As you imagined, my goal is to start a business, but in the long term future. Before, I would like to get some more experience in companies as you cited. And again, as you stated before, the safer route could be to pick a country where I can get a good job while I develop my business skills. I don't mind which country, but I'd rather in Europe. However, as you say, Mediterranean ones don't have the best short term perspectives. Therefore I had thought in UK.
I know that a good way to get a good job could be to proceed the specialization route (something like a RICS accredited program) instead of the general management or simply work in my industry and later on get in a MBA, but my preferences are to try to focus my career in management from now.

For that, I would like to know your opinion about what route could be a good one to get a good job in Europe. I almost know by heart all FT rankings (salaries, employment rates, international %, etc..) and I have spent long hours trying to see the patterns of each program in linkedin, but I need consistent opinions further than this data.

I am also planning to visit some schools to hear my gut feeling, but I need to shorten my list before.

Thanks in advance for your opinions and your time. :)

Do speak any languages in addition to English, Portuguese and Spanish? If not, then the UK is the obvious choice. Things are hard in Iberia and, other things being equal, it's easier for anyone to get into a good school outside the home country because they bring move diversity.

I think that moving directly from architecture into general management at the same time as changing country is a big move. To do that, I think you'd need a really strong programme with an internship.

I think a much easier move will be into real estate investment and finance via one of the IPF backed courses, especially at Cambridge, Cass, Henley or the LSE. There is a full list at: https://www.ipf.org.uk/home/education_and_events/education/recognised_post-graduate_courses/default.aspx

If you did that, then your architecture background would be an asset rather than a neutral factor.

I think this is a much more certain path than an MSc in entrepreneurship, because it minimises the industry and role shift and thus makes the country shift the key challenge.

There is also an excellent RICS-backed programme at HKU http://fac.arch.hku.hk/rec/msc-realestate/introduction/ which has a finance and investment pathway. I think it is very interesting because of the dynamic market in HK and greater China, which could be a nice pivot into Brazil.

PS Comparing the curricula, I think both Cass MSc programmes in real estate look exceptionally strong. I'd also look closely at Cambridge.

Thanks for your comments. :)

Spanish and portuguese are my first languages. If I have to choose a RICS accredited programme, maybe I would choose one in my country. However, I don't feel as a good idea betting on real estate career in Spain for the moment.

Therefore I think a diversifying strategy for my career could be safer (though maybe more difficult) rather than the specialization.

Something like this it would be the middle point:
www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/managementwithin?
However, besides this program is already closed for this year, my desire is to get into one of the best European business schools (in my reach).

Thanks again :)

No, I think it would be much better to do a course in a country with a more dynamic economy. Did you look at the FIA?

The Glasgow programme looks okay, but a top school is much better.

Don't be scared about a programme in Real Estate Finance because it has the words real estate in. In all of the MSc degrees I recommended, you will be learning all the key quant skills that you'd find in an MBA: QM, economics, asset valuation, portfolio building; risk management; capital markets; debt markets, securities.... it's pure finance, but the domain is real estate. You could easily swap those skills into a job in finance or consulting.

PS Applications are still open at Cass and Henley, and maybe at the LSE too: why not try that?

Thanks Duncan.

I am going to take in serious consideration all your comments, and I will research about the programmes quoted.

About FIA, months ago I had contact them but it doesn't seem to have a good reputation:
http://www.eduniversal-ranking.com/business-school-university-ranking-in-brazil.html

Furthermore, taking the latin american way, I would be narrowing my future choices instead of broaden them.

Thanks a lot :)

Well, #8 school in Brazil and an "Excellent" rating looks like a good reputation by some standards but, indeed, since you speak Portuguese why not attend the FGV?