Hi to everybody.

I'm 31, have a master's from best ukrainian economic university with GPA 4.5, but not accepted anywhere in Europe or else.

Working experience - 8 years (marketing, export/import, sales departments) in ukrainian middle-size companies.

I want to change career to sustainable/clean energy sectors.

What can you advise - MBA or Masters in that field. For getting job aftewards.

Does my age will be a disadvantage for getting master's (32 in a year)?

Mainly Europe is interesting.

Thanks in advance.

Also my working experience regarding ukrainian realities, could it be helpful in getting to school?

Take a GMAT practise test and come back with your score....

I took once 2 months ago. Just for understanding what is it.
580.
I'm sure, I can take not less than 680 in 1 year of preparing.

I was the 2-nd best student on our course with good math and verbal.

The question is that I can afford $25-30K for studying and not sure that mba with my ukrainian experience will help me to gain job offer (except consulting).

That is why think more about master's.

In terms of management programs in business (master in management programs,) most of these programs recruit students with little to no work experience, so I think that you would quickly find that you are out of your element.

Do you intend to go to another country to study and then to work afterwards? Then usually the best option is a ranked MBA program in the country that you want to work in.

My advice is to think about cost as the final factor, not the first. The reality is, at least for MBA programs, you pay for what you get: the ranked MBA programs are more expensive but they pay for themselves, sometimes in just a few years.

For your career goals I suggest starting by looking at these lists:

http://www.find-mba.com/specializations/51/sustainability-csr-social-entrepreneurship
http://www.find-mba.com/specializations/9/energy-and-natural-resources

A few European schools stand out here; among them, IMD, ESMT, IE Business School, and St. Gallen.

Thank you for information.
Yes, I intend to to stay and work somewhere in Europe afterwards.
May smb. knows whether business schools give some loans for foreign students from Eastern Europe, because in Ukraine there are no such options at all.

Some BS wrote that you need to contact different institutions by your own, but I don't think smb. will give a loan to ukrainian student.

That is why I thought at first about cost of study.

I'll contact list of schools mentioned concerning this matter.

The result of my GMAT - 670.
Is it OK for european schools?

I choose between ESMT in Berlin, Said BS and St.Gallen.

As I understand, for ESMT it's necessary to speak german for future job.

As for UK, I'm not sure that cannot stay there after completing MBA (visa restrictions for students). Am I right? At school I was dreaming about Oxford, but the reality differs.

May be some more suggestions from anybody who knows.
Which countries are the best for career in Clean energy\renewable\sustainability?

Thanks in advance.

Take a look at:-

GMAT Tiers - strong schools for your GMAT www.find-mba.com/board/27082

How to use LinkedIn to find the best school www.find-mba.com/board/33571

I am a full-time student in the IAE - Aix MBA, and we just hosted several Ukrainian MBA students from IIB for a one month exchange. For your price point and GMAT, IAE - Aix could be a reasonable safety school to consider, and France is not a bad place for renewable energy - IAE - Aix has had some people go to work for the international ITER project trying to develop nuclear fusion technology. Not sure they hire people apart from the 6 nations plus EU countries, but France supports other clean efforts. By your scores, I am fairly sure you can get into higher ranked schools, but applying to IAE - Aix is free of cost, so nothing really lost than a little time and effort.

thanks for advise. But I want to change career direction and find a job in Europe, so i think I must take well ranked school in order to achieve it. I can try to get 700 for my GMAT, it's possible I'm sure.
I just really don't know about the country for development in desirable direction.

Hi, I'm also ukrainian. I can recomend you Alberta university in Canada. It's MBA program is focused on energy/ natural resouses. Also, if you want to work there after graduation - Canada is much more flexible than the US. There are many jobs in energy sector in Alberta. Your work experience is more than enough for MBA, but I guess it will be hard for you to find a job in completely new sector after your graduation. Speaking about GMAT - who told you that you need one year for preparation? I imoroved my result from 610 to 730 in one month (2-3 hours a day of serious preparation). Another point is financing your MBA. If you have 50k canadian dollars - you can study in the university of Alberta. By the way, University of Calgary which also has a strong MBA in energy sector, is more expensive. If you are not ready to spend such an amount of money - look for scholarships (which can pay for your education only partly) and look for student loan programs. Also: application deadline for international students in most universities is March 31. Plan your time.

Also: getting a job in Europe is hard both because of economic crisis and because of bureaucratic job permit system. Non-resident is a headache for any employer in EU countries. The US is better, and Canada is much better.

David, thank you for such detailed response. I've been thinking about Canada also. Any case, it will be difficult to find the first job after graduation. I took GMAT and get 670. may be will try to make my best &get at least 700 to have a possibility to get to better school.
As for Alberta, for example, is it good choice for finding job in Canada afterwards or Calgary BS is better (don't take money into consideration)?

For sure, Europe is much more closer to me, but i understand that it can be much harder to stay there for job.
So, may be the answer is in rank of the school or i'm wrong? Top 10 schools in Europe will give me a chance to get a work in any eurocountry.

Country is the first for choosing, not school?

[Edited by Arekusandoru on Feb 08, 2015]

There is a trade-off. If you look at the FT MBA ranking, you'll see that the Canadian MBAs have low salary. It's easy to get a work permit there, and demand and supply work in the way you would expect.

It is harder to place international students but, in fact, the schools that do that well are not in Canada. See Best schools for international students' placement http://www.find-mba.com/board/41143 I recommend you get into one of them.

Thanks, Duncan. I'll do my best for this.

Top business school will give you more job opportunities, but it will not solve your problems with job permits. Of course, those people who realy want to get a job in EU after graduation, most of them get it. But they face serious job permits obstacles, which don't exist in Canada. In Canada you may work for about 2 years after graduation. If you have 1 year of experience in Canada - you have a right to become permanent resident. Concerning U. of Alberta and Calgary. They are ranked at about the same level, but Calgary is larger city than Edmonton, and there are more jobs in energy sector in Calgary. Though, it's colder than Kiev. It's like Siberia.

Top business school will give you more job opportunities, but it will not solve your problems with job permits. Of course, those people who realy want to get a job in EU after graduation, most of them get it.

Though, it's colder than Kiev. It's like Siberia.

David puts forward the view that: "people who really want to get a job in EU after graduation, most of them get it. But they face serious job permits obstacles, which don't exist in Canada". I can't help but notice that the data don't bear this story out. As the post on international placement shows (http://www.find-mba.com/board/41143?_ga=1.81917910.1135327313.1413908577) three-quarters of the schools with the best placement for international students are in Europe. None are in Canada. While regulations make a difference, the much greater difference is the school. If you are able to get into a school that is great at placing international students, then that should also be a factor.

I'm sure who is able to get to best school, will find a job afterwards. I agree about the language, it matters a lot i think. That's what I'm doing now, learning languages.
I decided to get into one of the top european school from the list made by Dunkan. I'll inform in my topic the results of the school and job afterwards.
Thanks to everybody.

I would also add that if you can't get into a great school, then the next-best choice is any good school in a country that is open to migration, like Canada, Singapore or Australia.