MBA: USA vs Canada for a Canadian PR
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29 Sep 2014, 04:18
Hi Guys,
I am facing a dilemma concerning the MBA programs I could apply for. I am really hesitating between US and Canadian ones. I will explain why below.
I am French and Canadian Permanent Resident (I only got my PR 3 month ago) and I am working in France in the Aerospace Industry (Project Management and Configuration Management for Airbus) for 5 years. I would like to do an MBA for a career switch and move to Management Consulting in North America. I am just at the beginning of the process and I started to work my GMAT 1 month ago (700 score target)
I was thinking first of doing an MBA in California (Berkeley Haas, UCLA Anderson or USC Marshall) for ultimately working there (It’s a personal goal) but I will have to find an employer who will be OK for getting me a H1-B visa. I know that there are only 20,000 H1-B visas which are delivered to students who complete an MBA / JD / PHD program and the lucky ones are then selected by a lottery system. The other ones have to leave the US…with a $150K debt…
Therefore, doing an MBA in the US is a risky bet for an international student. Moreover, I will probably also lose my Canadian PR as I will not stay in Canada for the minimum period. That’s why I am quite reluctant for this plan.
The second option is to do an MBA in Canada (Rotman, Mc Gill, etc…). These programs have a lower international reputation than American ones (even if they are still good ones) but they are very good for the Canadian Market. So, the plan would be to start working in Canada after the MBA and then move to the US with the NAFTA TN visa which is granted for Canadian citizen. The only issue is that will not be easy to move in the SF / LA area as my network will be located in Canada.
Could you please advise me? If you have other options in mind, do not hesitate to let me know.
Thanks