I have been out of action for almost a year now and the numerous emails and friend requests I have received in Facebook, Orkut and Twitter is a testimony to the fact that some people are still interested in my blog! Well, a big thank you to all readers and apologies for being in the shadows. But now that I am back to blogging, I wonder where do I start?
I think for all of you who want to do an MBA in Britain and work here after graduation, its vitally important that you know a bit about the history, culture, stereotypes etc of this country. That I hope will help you adapt much better. So I am going to write a three part series starting with a bit about British history.
When I first moved to this country it was quite interesting to observe the distinct differences between people in Scotland, England Wales and Northern Ireland. They differ widely in culture, food, language, political views and the general way of life. I started thinking what is that which makes one ‘British’ and whether it makes sense to talk of a single ‘British’ culture at all? I wondered whether there is a range of shared beliefs, values and behaviours that the majority of people who live in the UK would recognise as being traditionally ‘British’, even if there is an equal recognition that not every person in the UK necessarily shares them.
A good place to begin to understand who the British are is to look at the nation’s history.
For over 10,000 years people have been moving into – and out of –Britain, sometimes in substantial numbers, yet there has always been a basic continuity of population. The original British settlers came from Europe about 7000 BC, while an Ice Age land bridge still connected it to the continent.
In about 700 BC, Celtic peoples began arriving from central Europe. They lived in tribes and included the Gaels, who moved into the northern and western areas of England, and the Brythons, who settled in the south and east. Celtic influences still remain in southwest England, Wales and Scotland. Until the end of the 18th century, people in Cornwall – the county on England’s extreme south-western tip – spoke a Celtic language, and Celtic languages are still spoken in north west Wales (Welsh), and north west Scotland (Gaelic).
As Caesar expanded the Roman Empire, he tried but failed to conquer the Celts. When Claudius succeeded in 43 AD he defeated a multitude of tribal groups, but there is little sign such groups had any sense of collective identity as ‘Britons’. The Romans occupied the lowlands of what was to be England for almost four centuries and by AD 300, almost everyone in ‘Britannia’ was Roman, legally and culturally, even though of indigenous descent and still mostly speaking ‘Celtic’ dialects. Roman rule saw profound cultural change, however by AD400 the Roman legions had pulled out.
Over the next hundred years, Germanic tribes fought and conquered the Celts. These tribes consisted of Jutes from around what is now Denmark, Frisans from the present-day Netherlands area, Angles from the region around today’s Hamburg, Germany, and Saxons from north Germany. The Brythons fought the invading tribes over the next century; however, by 550 the Germanic invaders had conquered and subdued most of England, pushing many of the Celts into what today is Scotland and Wales.
By the 7th century, the Angles and Saxons had established seven tribal states throughout the country. And the Angles gave their name to both the land – Angle-land or England – and the language.
By the sixth century, most of Britannia was taken over by ‘Germanic’ kingdoms. The tribal states, each with its own king, were called East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex and Wessex; all names that you will find on a current map of Great Britain.
During the 8th and 9th centuries, Vikings from Norway and Denmark swept into England. While they did not conquer the entire country, by the end of the ninth century there were large-scale settlements of Scandinavians in various parts of Britain, and they had achieved political domination over a significant territory.
The Norwegians took to the northern sections of England while the Danes occupied the east.
Early in the 9th century, some of the individual Anglo-Saxon kingdoms became united under the Anglo-Saxon kings of Wessex, forming the nucleus of the England we know today. By the time of the Normandy French invasion of England in 1066, both England and Scotland existed as unified territories under a single Anglo-Saxon king. The victor of the 1066 invasion, William the Conqueror, assumed the throne and brought a new aristocracy to England from Normandy and some other areas of France. The Normans also expanded into Scotland and Wales, although in a very different way from the conquest of England. While the concept of being ‘British’
was far from being created, the centuries following the Norman conquest saw the beginnings of growing English nationalism and an awareness that the fate of the various peoples inhabiting Great Britain was interlinked. Despite French manners and names, the English aristocracy in particular became increasingly conscious of their Englishness, while Scotland and Wales also saw the growth of national identity.
In 1455, another struggle for the throne broke out, this time between the House of York and the House of Lancaster. The War of the Roses ended at Bosworth Field in 1485 when a Tudor named Henry killed Richard III of York in battle. He took the throne as Henry VII. Elizabeth I was crowned in 1558, and under her rule England entered a golden age. When Elizabeth died in 1603, James VI of Scotland was crowned James I of England, uniting the two kingdoms. Although England and Scotland had shared a joint monarch since 1603, they were not united politically until 1707.
Following England’s political union with Scotland, the two countries plus Wales, which England had conquered in 1535, formally became the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Ireland was made part of the UK in 1801 and the country became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was at this stage, accompanied by the birth of a new colonial Empire, that the concept of being ‘British’ was actually born. Being British created a new identity designed to merge the diverse people of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and a badge to attach to the new imperial nation.
The Victorian Era marked the height of the British industrial revolution (the first in the world) and the height of the British Empire. Although commonly used to refer to the period of Queen Victoria’s rule between 1837 and 1901, the Victorian period really began with the passage of the Reform Act in 1832, which established the foundations of the UK’s modern democratic system. Queen Victoria had the longest reign in British history, and the cultural, political, economic, industrial and scientific changes that occurred during her reign were astonishing. When Victoria ascended to the throne, Britain was essentially agricultural and rural; when she died, the country was highly industrialised and urbanised, with large manufacturing and financial centres connected by an expansive railway network. By 1897 Britain’s colonial Empire controlled a population of about 460 million people, approximately one-quarter of the world’s population, and covered about 37 million km2, about a quarter of Earth’s total land area. The international influence of the Imperial period remains apparent in modern-day economic practices across the world, as well as legal and governmental systems, society, sports (such as cricket and football), and the English language. A significant North-South split in England came about during the Victorian era and still exists to a certain extent today.
The reign of King Edward VII succeeded the Victorian period. Although Edward VII’s period as King lasted just 9 years from 1901 to 1910, the Edwardian era is often assumed to include the period up to the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the start of World War I in 1914, or even the end of the war in 1918. Socially, the Edwardian era was the period during which the British class system was at its most rigid, although paradoxically, changes in social thought, particularly the rising interest in socialism, attention to the plight of the poor and the status of women, expressed in, for example, the issue of women’s suffrage, together with increased economic opportunities as a result of rapid industrialisation, created an environment in which there could be more social mobility and people would become more liberal. These changes were to become more obvious following the end of the First World War in 1918. Although Britain emerged victorious from World War I, it marked the beginning of the end for the British Empire. In Australia and New Zealand, the First World War became known as the nations’ ‘Baptism of Fire’, as it was the first major war in which the newly established countries fought, and it is one of the first cases in which Australian troops fought as Australians, not as subjects of the British Crown. When Canada entered the war, it was a Dominion of the British Empire; when the war came to a close Canada was an independent nation. In 1921, Britain gave up control of Ireland except for the northeast corner where the English and Scottish Protestants had settled. The UK’s name underwent another change as it became today’s United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The First World War also saw absolute losses for Britain’s economy. It is estimated that she lost a quarter of her total wealth in fighting the war. Failure to appreciate the damage done to the British economy by the war plunged the country into economic dislocation with high unemployment and sluggish growth. In the 1930s, Britain suffered from significant economic problems and relative decline in comparison with the US and Germany, particularly as the cheap resources, labours and vital strategic locations provided by Colonial possessions were no longer readily available. At the beginning of the Second World War in 1939, Britain was militarily under-prepared and economically weak, however the early years of the war in which Britain “stood alone” and the Blitz spirit which developed as Britain suffered under aerial bombardment helped pull the nation together, and still represent a psychologically important symbol of national spirit for many older UK residents.
The end of the Second World War saw a landslide General Election victory for Clement Atlee and the Labour Party. They were elected on a manifesto of social justice and left wing policies such as the creation of a National Health Service and the provision of public housing. The UK at the time was poor, relying heavily on loans from the United States of America (which were finally paid off in December 2006) to rebuild its damaged infrastructure. Rationing and conscription dragged on into the post war years, and the country suffered one of the worst winters on record. Nevertheless, morale was boosted by events such as the marriage of Princess Elizabeth in 1947 and the Festival of Britain. The 1950s and 1960s were relatively prosperous times after the Second World War, and saw the beginning of a modernisation of the UK, with the construction of its first motorways. The 1970s and 1980s saw the UK’s integration to the European Economic Community and the traumatic modernisation of the economy instituted by Margaret Thatcher, and known as the Thatcher revolution. The 1980s were a time of high unemployment.
Deindustrialisation saw the end of many of the country’s manufacturing industries, including most notably, following the miners’ strike of 1984-1985, the end of centuries of British coal mining. In 1997, the Labour Party swept to power with a huge majority in the House of Commons. Since 1997 the British economy enjoyed an unbroken period of economic growth, with British per capita GDP exceeding that of either France or Germany. (http://www.economist.com/countries/
Britain/index.cfm). Recently however Britain went through a period of recession – the worst of its kind since World War 2. It is however officially over and Britain once again is in the path of recovery. Growth is still sluggish and predicted to be not more than 3% till 2015. The new Conservative government is trying to ensure that a double-dip recession does not hit Britain and that the recovery is continued. On 22nd June an emergency budget was presented to outline the spending cuts in the public sector and a higher tax structure to reduce the deficit within British economy.
So, hopefully we will see more jobs being created in the next 5 years, a revitalization of the financial sector and an upbeat market. Fingers crossed!
Thursday 24 June 2010
Saturday 30 May 2009
Is it a good time to do an MBA in UK?
Hi folks,
I always wondered if this blog would serve its purpose and if it would actually be of any use to anybody. My intention as I have mentioned earlier was to provide info about SBS to help you make a decision, to provide insights which I never had when I decided to shift to UK. Let me tell you at this point, I am overwhelmed by the response from the readers. Since my last post in Nov 2008, I have recieved over 3000 mails from across the world. I had taken a break from updating this blog since I was finding it difficult to squeeze out time from my hectic work schedule in London. But I have realized that it's unfair on my part to not respond to the numerous queries since I was the one who started this with a mission to help all who want to become a part of the SBS family. So please accept my sincere apologies for not being around all this while. And hey, I am back now!
There's a lot of catching up to do and let me start by answering a very common question - Is it a good idea to do an MBA in UK given the financial crisis?
The answer is yes and no.
For me doing an MBA was a major investment and a great risk. When I say investment I am not just referring to money. Typically someone joining an MBA program in a good business school has about 3 to 5 years of quality work experience. The average age in my class at Strathclyde Business School was 29. It takes great courage to leave a well paying job and invest one year of your life (2 years if you are not doing it from UK) to chase a dream for a better future. And it's risky since you don't know if you will be able to cope up with the pressure and even if you do what lies on the other end of the year can never be predicted. Let's take my example.
I was a brand manager in one of the largest media coglomerates in India and simply loved my job. But I wanted to push myself further and see how people do business around the world. I wanted a career shift into consulting. Thats the reason why at the age of 28, I decided to give everything up and do an MBA from Starthclyde. I spent all my savings to pay for the course. Mid 2008 when I was well into my MBA program the global economic crisis started getting worse and by the time I graduated most of the firms I wanted to join were reducing headcount to stay competitive. To be honest with you, I was extremely distressed. However I decided not to give up. I shifted from Glasgow to London since I felt the city offered more opportunity in the area of my interest. For 5 months I applied for positions in all the firms I was interested in and recieved nothing but rejections. The unemployment figure in UK crossed 2 million in March 2009. So here I was in one of the most expensive cities in the world with two MBA degrees, 5 years of work-ex in a mid-management position and no job! My savings were all gone and to sustain myself I did part-time jobs at retail stores. I even worked as a traffic surveyor for Transport for London for a few weekends ! Not so long ago I could dine with my girlfriend at any 5-star restaurant in India and now there were days when I had less than £5 in my wallet. It might sound dramatic but there were times when I had no money to buy cigarettes and trust me it hurts...it breaks your morale.
But I didn't give up. 5 months after graduating from Strathclyde I finally got the break I was looking for. I got an offer from the consulting division of Deloitte in London.
So, if you asked me whether it is a good time to do an MBA in UK, I would ask you to weigh your options. UK is going through a very difficult phase right now. The markets may improve and there are some early signs of the same but to my understanding it would not be before well into 2011 that we can breathe easy. If you do choose to join an MBA program in UK it may be prudent to return to your native country or start something on your own or take up a job anywhere in the world which is less affected by the recession. However if you want to build a career here I suggest you prepare yourself for a lot of struggle. In case your plan is to work in UK, there are a few things I would advise you to consider:
1) Do you have a specific skillset which has a global appeal? So for example if you are a SAP expert or have experience in high finance (derivatives market, hedge fund etc) you have a better chance of getting a good job.
2) Some industries are less affected as compared to others. So for example if you have a solid background in Oil & Gas or experience in a niche area within IT or Management Consulting you might find it easier.
3) If you have prior experience of working with an MNC preferably in Europe its a good advantage. Prior UK experience is a great bonus.
4) More than level of education, UK places emphasis on years of experience. So if you have substantial years of mid-management level experience it will help.
5) If you are eligible to work in EU countries without requiring a visa it is a great advantage.
6) If you are fluent in a few major european languages like French, German, Spanish or Italian apart from English its a great selling point.
I hope this post gives you a few useful pointers. Keep mailing and putting up comments on the posts and I shall try my best to resolve your queries.
Sunday 30 November 2008
Part Time Jobs
Dear reader,
Many of you have mailed me in the recent past asking me about working part-time while doing the MBA course in Glasgow. So let me discuss a little bit about that.
The full-time MBA program in Strathclyde is a very intense course. Classes start at 9AM in the morning and usually go on till 5PM. Once classes are over you would need to engage in group work in allocated teams as a large part of assessments is on team-based projects. So after classes its usually a few hours of group work preparing for presentations, solving cases or writing up assignments. Since most students in the course are bachelors and live in university halls, tasks like shopping for food and essentials, cooking, cleaning, washing etc also take up some time. Then there needs to be some time for personal study. The weekdays thus are usually very hectic.
This schedule goes on throughout the year. However there are pockets when the pressure goes down a little bit. Thats the time when many of us did part-time jobs on the weekends. The ideal time is during christmas break when the exams get over and the summer break.
The first thing you need to do when you come to Glasgow is apply for your National Insurance Number. This is mandatory to apply for any part-time job. Its a fairly easy process where you need to call a number and setup an appointment. You then need to go for a short interview on the date of appointment where the authorities check your passport and UK visa status and take photocopies of the same. In about 3 weeks a letter arrives at your address with the NI number and in a week from then you get your NI card. Every job you apply would require you to quote the national insurance number so you should ideally get it sorted first thing when you reach Glasgow. For more details on this visit: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/ni_number.asp
Its quite easy to find part-time jobs in Glasgow. The minimum national wage for people aged above 22 years is £5.73 per hour. Some firms offer a little more. Check this link for more info on minimum wage: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Pay/DG_10027201
The easiest place to find part-time jobs are in high street retail stores. Glasgow is a major retail hub in UK and there are plenty of stores in the city centre especially on Buchanan Street, Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street. The work can vary from managing till points, handling cash, taking stock of merchandize, managing warehouse logistics, handling customer queries etc. During christmas there is a large intake of 'temps' in these stores to cope up with the increase in seasonal shoppers. The roles are usually for 6-8 weeks which should suit you fine given the duration of your christmas vacation.
The other alternative is to work in contact centres like BeCogent. There are a lot of call centres for banks like Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland. The pay is higher (approx £7.5 per hour) in the contact centres and it also offers incentives.
Before I end this post I want to share a word of caution. Please budget for all expenses you would incur in the one year before you come to Glasgow and DO NOT count on part time jobs to support you. This is mainly because the course pressure might not allow you to work or not work enough to make money that can pay your bills. Your focus should always be on the course and not part time jobs. Such jobs are good to do for a couple of months and only on weekends to get some add on cash to spend on partying or travelling across Scotland.
Many of you have mailed me in the recent past asking me about working part-time while doing the MBA course in Glasgow. So let me discuss a little bit about that.
The full-time MBA program in Strathclyde is a very intense course. Classes start at 9AM in the morning and usually go on till 5PM. Once classes are over you would need to engage in group work in allocated teams as a large part of assessments is on team-based projects. So after classes its usually a few hours of group work preparing for presentations, solving cases or writing up assignments. Since most students in the course are bachelors and live in university halls, tasks like shopping for food and essentials, cooking, cleaning, washing etc also take up some time. Then there needs to be some time for personal study. The weekdays thus are usually very hectic.
This schedule goes on throughout the year. However there are pockets when the pressure goes down a little bit. Thats the time when many of us did part-time jobs on the weekends. The ideal time is during christmas break when the exams get over and the summer break.
The first thing you need to do when you come to Glasgow is apply for your National Insurance Number. This is mandatory to apply for any part-time job. Its a fairly easy process where you need to call a number and setup an appointment. You then need to go for a short interview on the date of appointment where the authorities check your passport and UK visa status and take photocopies of the same. In about 3 weeks a letter arrives at your address with the NI number and in a week from then you get your NI card. Every job you apply would require you to quote the national insurance number so you should ideally get it sorted first thing when you reach Glasgow. For more details on this visit: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/ni_number.asp
Its quite easy to find part-time jobs in Glasgow. The minimum national wage for people aged above 22 years is £5.73 per hour. Some firms offer a little more. Check this link for more info on minimum wage: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Pay/DG_10027201
The easiest place to find part-time jobs are in high street retail stores. Glasgow is a major retail hub in UK and there are plenty of stores in the city centre especially on Buchanan Street, Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street. The work can vary from managing till points, handling cash, taking stock of merchandize, managing warehouse logistics, handling customer queries etc. During christmas there is a large intake of 'temps' in these stores to cope up with the increase in seasonal shoppers. The roles are usually for 6-8 weeks which should suit you fine given the duration of your christmas vacation.
The other alternative is to work in contact centres like BeCogent. There are a lot of call centres for banks like Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland. The pay is higher (approx £7.5 per hour) in the contact centres and it also offers incentives.
Before I end this post I want to share a word of caution. Please budget for all expenses you would incur in the one year before you come to Glasgow and DO NOT count on part time jobs to support you. This is mainly because the course pressure might not allow you to work or not work enough to make money that can pay your bills. Your focus should always be on the course and not part time jobs. Such jobs are good to do for a couple of months and only on weekends to get some add on cash to spend on partying or travelling across Scotland.
Thursday 27 November 2008
Cost of living
Dear reader,
As you decide on a UK MBA, I am sure one of your prime concerns is the overall investment you have to make. Indeed the cost of living is a very important factor and also one which varies widely depending on the lifestyle you prefer.
The major cost is the rent. In a private accomodation with 2 people sharing the cost, rent per head should be £300 if you take an apartment close to city centre. If the flat is in the outskirts the rent may be £50 less but it would get compensated by the cost of travelling. Add to that bills (electricity, gas) of another £50 per month. You would pay the bills once every quarter.
The other costs would include internet (£15 per month from virgin with phone-2mbps, £15 per month from O2 without phone-8mbps). Virgin deal which includes phone and internet is not available at all parts of Glasgow. So if its not available in your postcode then the option is to go for a BT Landline and an O2 broadband. The installation charge for the BT Landline is £125 if the flat did not have a previous BT Landline connection(so check before signing a tenancy agreement). The monthly charge is £11.50 which offers free calls to landline numbers starting with 01 and 02 after 6PM everyday and on weekends. Any other calls are charged extra. The telephone bills need to be paid once every quarter.
As a student you would get a council tax waiver which otherwise is payble by any tenant to the council house. Once you complete your registration in the uni, collect the council tax waiver letter from the university registry and submit the same at the council tax office in George Square. If you extend your stay in Glasgow after graduation you would however have to pay council tax since you would not get the waiver anymore. It can be anything between £80-£200 per month depending on the location of your flat and tax band.
You might need a cell phone. There are two options - pay as you go and contract. If you have a phone then you can take a pay as you go for as little as £10 per month. A contract can cost you anything between £25 to £75 per month which gives you the option to choose any phone you want. The best deal is perhaps the Apple iPhone from O2 at £35 per month if you have the cash.
The other important expense to budget for is booze money! This is very important since it is highly unlikely that in Scotland you would not want to drink whisky. The MBA course is intense so you need to party hard on weekends to de-stress. And parties cost money. So depending on whats your poison and how much you drink budget for the expense. The most common party whiskies are Bells, Famous Grouse, White & Mackey and Grants the cost of which vary between £10 to £16 for a 70cl bottle. If you can afford it then there is a whole range of single malts which are just heavenly (more on that later). The most common beer is Carling, Grolsch, Carlsberg, Tennets, Guiness and Stella Artois.
The other cost is that of food which should amount to approx £100 per head per month if you are cooking and depending on your food habits. There are a lot of restaurants and small eateries but the cost of eating out can be quite high. The non-veg options are definitely more than veg options. The most common snack is fish and chips, chips and cheese and burgers. If you are from India remember chips in UK is the french fries you get in India. What you know as chips in India is called crisps here.
Well I will end this post here. Please feel free to ask questions and along with the other contributors on this blog I will try to answer all your queries.
As you decide on a UK MBA, I am sure one of your prime concerns is the overall investment you have to make. Indeed the cost of living is a very important factor and also one which varies widely depending on the lifestyle you prefer.
The major cost is the rent. In a private accomodation with 2 people sharing the cost, rent per head should be £300 if you take an apartment close to city centre. If the flat is in the outskirts the rent may be £50 less but it would get compensated by the cost of travelling. Add to that bills (electricity, gas) of another £50 per month. You would pay the bills once every quarter.
The other costs would include internet (£15 per month from virgin with phone-2mbps, £15 per month from O2 without phone-8mbps). Virgin deal which includes phone and internet is not available at all parts of Glasgow. So if its not available in your postcode then the option is to go for a BT Landline and an O2 broadband. The installation charge for the BT Landline is £125 if the flat did not have a previous BT Landline connection(so check before signing a tenancy agreement). The monthly charge is £11.50 which offers free calls to landline numbers starting with 01 and 02 after 6PM everyday and on weekends. Any other calls are charged extra. The telephone bills need to be paid once every quarter.
As a student you would get a council tax waiver which otherwise is payble by any tenant to the council house. Once you complete your registration in the uni, collect the council tax waiver letter from the university registry and submit the same at the council tax office in George Square. If you extend your stay in Glasgow after graduation you would however have to pay council tax since you would not get the waiver anymore. It can be anything between £80-£200 per month depending on the location of your flat and tax band.
You might need a cell phone. There are two options - pay as you go and contract. If you have a phone then you can take a pay as you go for as little as £10 per month. A contract can cost you anything between £25 to £75 per month which gives you the option to choose any phone you want. The best deal is perhaps the Apple iPhone from O2 at £35 per month if you have the cash.
The other important expense to budget for is booze money! This is very important since it is highly unlikely that in Scotland you would not want to drink whisky. The MBA course is intense so you need to party hard on weekends to de-stress. And parties cost money. So depending on whats your poison and how much you drink budget for the expense. The most common party whiskies are Bells, Famous Grouse, White & Mackey and Grants the cost of which vary between £10 to £16 for a 70cl bottle. If you can afford it then there is a whole range of single malts which are just heavenly (more on that later). The most common beer is Carling, Grolsch, Carlsberg, Tennets, Guiness and Stella Artois.
The other cost is that of food which should amount to approx £100 per head per month if you are cooking and depending on your food habits. There are a lot of restaurants and small eateries but the cost of eating out can be quite high. The non-veg options are definitely more than veg options. The most common snack is fish and chips, chips and cheese and burgers. If you are from India remember chips in UK is the french fries you get in India. What you know as chips in India is called crisps here.
Well I will end this post here. Please feel free to ask questions and along with the other contributors on this blog I will try to answer all your queries.
Sunday 23 November 2008
Temporary Accomodation in Glasgow
Dear Reader,
Sorry for not posting anything in the past few days. Was really caught up in some work.
Now that I'm back let me share some important info on finding temporary accomodation in Glasgow. Why would you need a temporary accomodation you ask? Well the reasons may vary.
You may decide to reach Glasgow a few days before the classes start to get accustomed to the city, its weather and way of life. The university acco will only be available a couple of days before session commences. So you would need a place to stay till you get your halls. Another time you might need temp acco is after the session is over when you wait for the graduation ceremony. You would need to vacate the halls and would need a place to stay for a couple of months. In a rare but possible circumstance you might want a temp acco because you have been partying too much in your private flat and your landlord decided to throw you out!
Whatever the reason is getting a temp accomodation in Glasgow is not a big hassle. The easiest and cheapest option is staying in a Youth Hostel. I stayed in one called the Blue Sky Hostel for about a month after completing my course and it was a fantastic experience. Blue Sky Hostel is on Great Western Road which is a posh locality in west Glasgow. The rent was £10 per bed per night and rooms were in the form of 4/6/8 bunk bed dorms. The hostel was 2 mins walk from Kelvinbridge underground station, it was really clean, rooms were ensuite, there was a shared kitchen and a lounge and the rent included heating, breakfast and fast wi-fi internet! There were 2 bed private rooms at £35 pounds per night too. The biggest attraction of this place however was that I got to meet people from almost every country possible - even Kazakistan.
The other good youth hostel is the Glasgow Youth Hostel also in westend. You can book these and any other online from the Scottish Youth Hostel Association website. Blue Sky has its own website too. Be sure to do a bit of research before booking any hostel since not all are safe especially for newbies.
There are several hotels in Glasgow and prices vary from £60 to £100 or more. A reasonable hotel to stay for a couple of days would be Premier Inn on Argyle Street. Check their website for current rates but it should be about £60-£70 including breakfast. If you want a room for your parents if they are coming to Glasgow to attend your convocation, you might look at Radisson SAS Hotel which is also on Argyle Street and is absolutely at city centre.
In my previous post I mentioned private accomodation in the form of apartments. You may also look at non-university private accomodation for students at 'Unite Students Accomodation' in Glasgow. Follow this link to know more about this option:
http://www.unite-students.com/student-accommodation-glasgow/
Some of my friends chose the above acco in Blackfriars and it was a pretty decent place.
Sorry for not posting anything in the past few days. Was really caught up in some work.
Now that I'm back let me share some important info on finding temporary accomodation in Glasgow. Why would you need a temporary accomodation you ask? Well the reasons may vary.
You may decide to reach Glasgow a few days before the classes start to get accustomed to the city, its weather and way of life. The university acco will only be available a couple of days before session commences. So you would need a place to stay till you get your halls. Another time you might need temp acco is after the session is over when you wait for the graduation ceremony. You would need to vacate the halls and would need a place to stay for a couple of months. In a rare but possible circumstance you might want a temp acco because you have been partying too much in your private flat and your landlord decided to throw you out!
Whatever the reason is getting a temp accomodation in Glasgow is not a big hassle. The easiest and cheapest option is staying in a Youth Hostel. I stayed in one called the Blue Sky Hostel for about a month after completing my course and it was a fantastic experience. Blue Sky Hostel is on Great Western Road which is a posh locality in west Glasgow. The rent was £10 per bed per night and rooms were in the form of 4/6/8 bunk bed dorms. The hostel was 2 mins walk from Kelvinbridge underground station, it was really clean, rooms were ensuite, there was a shared kitchen and a lounge and the rent included heating, breakfast and fast wi-fi internet! There were 2 bed private rooms at £35 pounds per night too. The biggest attraction of this place however was that I got to meet people from almost every country possible - even Kazakistan.
The other good youth hostel is the Glasgow Youth Hostel also in westend. You can book these and any other online from the Scottish Youth Hostel Association website. Blue Sky has its own website too. Be sure to do a bit of research before booking any hostel since not all are safe especially for newbies.
There are several hotels in Glasgow and prices vary from £60 to £100 or more. A reasonable hotel to stay for a couple of days would be Premier Inn on Argyle Street. Check their website for current rates but it should be about £60-£70 including breakfast. If you want a room for your parents if they are coming to Glasgow to attend your convocation, you might look at Radisson SAS Hotel which is also on Argyle Street and is absolutely at city centre.
In my previous post I mentioned private accomodation in the form of apartments. You may also look at non-university private accomodation for students at 'Unite Students Accomodation' in Glasgow. Follow this link to know more about this option:
http://www.unite-students.com/student-accommodation-glasgow/
Some of my friends chose the above acco in Blackfriars and it was a pretty decent place.
Friday 14 November 2008
Student accomodation in Glasgow
Dear Reader,
Once you get your confirmation letter for the MBA program, the next biggest question is where and how to find accomodation in Glasgow. Well, there are the following two options:
1) Staying in the university halls (hostels)
2) Finding a private accomodation
Each of the above mentioned options have their merits and de-merits. Let us explore them in detail.
1) Staying in the university halls
Strathclyde Business School provides 4 choices to students who want to opt for university accomodation. The choices are as follows:
a) James Goold Hall: This is the most expensive accomodation (check with the university accomodation service for current rates) and available only for single students. However it is also the most comfortable. Each person is put up in an apartment with 4-6 rooms. So you would have a room for yourself but would share a common lounge and kitchen in the apartment with 4-6 flatmates. Each room is ensuite (attached toilet, shower and wash basin). The rent is inclusive of all bills (electricity, gas heating). This is also closest to the university (about 4 mins walk!) and within a complex called the Campus Village. So if you not a morning person this is the best place to be if are to be in class by 9AM.
b) Andrew Ure Hall: This is second to James Goold in terms of cost. Its only for single students and again each student would have a room in an apartment with 4-6 flatmates but the rooms are not ensuite. So you would have to share the bathroom, kitchen and lounge. Usually there are two bathrooms in each apartment. It would take about 15-20 mins to reach the university depending on how fast you walk and you would need to tackle a steep uphill climb (till you discover the lift system! ask around when you join classes and you would know what I am talking about). The rent is not inclusive of bills. This place however houses the most chilled out people and is the best place to stay if want to party hard. Me and my batchmates used to party here almost every weekend. We even had a resident DJ and a fancy speaker system which we bought by pooling in money! And ofcourse there is the all purpose shop named Chowdhury's just across the road for anything from calling cards to the yummiest biryani in Glasgow.
c) Patrick Thomas Court: This is the cheapest of all the university accomodations and once again is for singles only. The rent is not inclusive of bills and rooms are not ensuite. However some room sizes are bigger than the other two accomodations. It would take almost the same time to reach the university as from Andrew Ure or maybe 5 mins more. This place is good for those who want to study hard since it is really quiet! We did have occassional dos here but its definitely my first option to party.
d) Accomodation in Cumbernauld: This is only for students with family and is in the form of a furnished flat (usually 2 bedrooms). However Cumbernauld is about 30 min away from Glasgow by bus. So you need to get up really early to attend classes! The cheapest way to travel is by taking a monthly bus pass with a student discount. Its very quiet and comfortable for families and even has schools nearby which is useful if you have kids.
In each of the first 3 accomodation facilities there are separate flats for guys and girls. So if your mom is scared of you getting naughty...this should give her some peace of mind.
If you are uncomfortable staying in a hostel, the other option is to find a private accomodation. Following is a lowdown on how to look for the same:
2) Finding a private accomodation
Finding a flat in Glasgow is quite easy especially if you are booking it for 11 months. When I joined my MBA program, I got my private accomodation sitting in Kolkata! The rent depends on location and number of rooms. A furnished 2 bedroom flat in central glasgow should cost between £500-£650 plus bills. If you prefer to stay away from city centre then you might get a better bargain. Try to book by early July since closer to the joining date (in September) it becomes difficult to find a flat. Also make sure that you take the flat till November of the next year. Even though you would finish dissertation by mid-September, graduation happens only in early November. So unless you have your contract till then it would be really difficult to find a place to stay for a month or two waiting for graduation. No one wants to give out flats for such short occupancy. A private accomodation can be a good alternative if you are with family and don't want to stay as far as Cumbernauld. Also if you are single and share the flat with one or two more guys it becomes quite cost effective. A private accomodation definitely gives more freedom.
The university has a website called Private Accomodations Database (PAD) which lists all landlords screened and approved by the university. Its a good place to start house hunting. You would need a username and password to access the site which can be obtained from the university accomodations office after you have a full offer for admission. The other good site is http://www.gumtree.com/.
Tenants in UK need to pay Council tax to the government every month. However as a student you are exempt of Council Tax. To get the waiver a letter needs to be collected from the University Registry and submitted to the Council Tax office in Glasgow. Details of how you can collect the letter will be given in your welcome pack during your induction.
The contact details of university accomodation service is as follows:
Heather Robertson
Admissions Coordinator
University of Strathclyde
Graduate School of Business - Admissions Office
Phone number - 00 44 141 553 6049
Fax number - 00 44 141 553 6162
Once you get your confirmation letter for the MBA program, the next biggest question is where and how to find accomodation in Glasgow. Well, there are the following two options:
1) Staying in the university halls (hostels)
2) Finding a private accomodation
Each of the above mentioned options have their merits and de-merits. Let us explore them in detail.
1) Staying in the university halls
Strathclyde Business School provides 4 choices to students who want to opt for university accomodation. The choices are as follows:
a) James Goold Hall: This is the most expensive accomodation (check with the university accomodation service for current rates) and available only for single students. However it is also the most comfortable. Each person is put up in an apartment with 4-6 rooms. So you would have a room for yourself but would share a common lounge and kitchen in the apartment with 4-6 flatmates. Each room is ensuite (attached toilet, shower and wash basin). The rent is inclusive of all bills (electricity, gas heating). This is also closest to the university (about 4 mins walk!) and within a complex called the Campus Village. So if you not a morning person this is the best place to be if are to be in class by 9AM.
b) Andrew Ure Hall: This is second to James Goold in terms of cost. Its only for single students and again each student would have a room in an apartment with 4-6 flatmates but the rooms are not ensuite. So you would have to share the bathroom, kitchen and lounge. Usually there are two bathrooms in each apartment. It would take about 15-20 mins to reach the university depending on how fast you walk and you would need to tackle a steep uphill climb (till you discover the lift system! ask around when you join classes and you would know what I am talking about). The rent is not inclusive of bills. This place however houses the most chilled out people and is the best place to stay if want to party hard. Me and my batchmates used to party here almost every weekend. We even had a resident DJ and a fancy speaker system which we bought by pooling in money! And ofcourse there is the all purpose shop named Chowdhury's just across the road for anything from calling cards to the yummiest biryani in Glasgow.
c) Patrick Thomas Court: This is the cheapest of all the university accomodations and once again is for singles only. The rent is not inclusive of bills and rooms are not ensuite. However some room sizes are bigger than the other two accomodations. It would take almost the same time to reach the university as from Andrew Ure or maybe 5 mins more. This place is good for those who want to study hard since it is really quiet! We did have occassional dos here but its definitely my first option to party.
d) Accomodation in Cumbernauld: This is only for students with family and is in the form of a furnished flat (usually 2 bedrooms). However Cumbernauld is about 30 min away from Glasgow by bus. So you need to get up really early to attend classes! The cheapest way to travel is by taking a monthly bus pass with a student discount. Its very quiet and comfortable for families and even has schools nearby which is useful if you have kids.
In each of the first 3 accomodation facilities there are separate flats for guys and girls. So if your mom is scared of you getting naughty...this should give her some peace of mind.
If you are uncomfortable staying in a hostel, the other option is to find a private accomodation. Following is a lowdown on how to look for the same:
2) Finding a private accomodation
Finding a flat in Glasgow is quite easy especially if you are booking it for 11 months. When I joined my MBA program, I got my private accomodation sitting in Kolkata! The rent depends on location and number of rooms. A furnished 2 bedroom flat in central glasgow should cost between £500-£650 plus bills. If you prefer to stay away from city centre then you might get a better bargain. Try to book by early July since closer to the joining date (in September) it becomes difficult to find a flat. Also make sure that you take the flat till November of the next year. Even though you would finish dissertation by mid-September, graduation happens only in early November. So unless you have your contract till then it would be really difficult to find a place to stay for a month or two waiting for graduation. No one wants to give out flats for such short occupancy. A private accomodation can be a good alternative if you are with family and don't want to stay as far as Cumbernauld. Also if you are single and share the flat with one or two more guys it becomes quite cost effective. A private accomodation definitely gives more freedom.
The university has a website called Private Accomodations Database (PAD) which lists all landlords screened and approved by the university. Its a good place to start house hunting. You would need a username and password to access the site which can be obtained from the university accomodations office after you have a full offer for admission. The other good site is http://www.gumtree.com/.
Tenants in UK need to pay Council tax to the government every month. However as a student you are exempt of Council Tax. To get the waiver a letter needs to be collected from the University Registry and submitted to the Council Tax office in Glasgow. Details of how you can collect the letter will be given in your welcome pack during your induction.
The contact details of university accomodation service is as follows:
Heather Robertson
Admissions Coordinator
University of Strathclyde
Graduate School of Business - Admissions Office
Phone number - 00 44 141 553 6049
Fax number - 00 44 141 553 6162
Choosing a UK MBA
Dear reader,
Taking a cue from the post by Goks, let me tell you a bit about how you can go about choosing a B-School in UK.
The first thing that comes to mind when you think of doing an MBA is what are the post-MBA job prospects. I am sure at this stage when you are researching B-Schools you are reading up almost every available info on how much the last batch in each of these schools netted as post-MBA starting salary. Let me tell you that the median salary for a Strathclyde full-time MBA after 2 years of graduation is about £65,000 per annum (this is amongst the top 1% of salary earners in UK). The median salary for executive MBA may be higher since the students in the course have an average work-ex of 10 years. For the full-time MBA on the other hand the minimum work-ex required for making an application is 3 years.
Post-MBA salary varies due to several factors like industry sector, location within UK and most importantly your previous work-experience. If you want to work in UK after your MBA, be aware that the firms here lay a strong emphasis on previous UK work-experience. It would be advantageous if you have prior UK work experience. If you are from any other country without UK-experience it would be good to have experience in a large MNC which has presence in UK. I am not saying that the work you did in your previous company is not important and its all about the brand. What I am trying to emphasize is an employer here feels comfortable if they know the name of your previous company simply because they then understand the metrics used to evaluate your performance. So for example if you were working for HSBC as opposed to some regional firm they would immediately understand the nature of your work and the applicable standards which dont differ much from country to country.
Choice of industry also plays a big role in the post-MBA salary. Typically the banking and Finance sector pays the highest followed by Management Consulting. However if you have special skill-sets (eg. SAP, 6 Sigma) or experience (eg. in Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy) then you can claim higher salaries in other industries.
Choice of location is also very important. You would hear from people that jobs in England pay higher than in Scotland. However thats not entirely true. If you are in the Oil and Gas Sector, Aberdeen is the place to be. London and Edinburgh are better for jobs in Banking and Finance. Manchester is good for advertising jobs. If you go to monster.co.uk or reed.co.uk you can access industry wise / location wise salary trends in UK.
While earning potential is a very important criteria for choosing a B-School over another, there can be several other considerations like course structure, fee, location etc.
For course structure and fee refer to individual websites of B-Schools. How much you are willing to invest and what kind of course structure you are looking at is a very personal issue and I can't guide you there. Take location into consideration too since Scotland is colder than southern UK and the weather is filthier with constant rains and gloomy sky. But then if you ask me I loved my days in Glasgow and I know someone who swears by Lancaster. So do some background research before you finalize.
One last thing you should be aware of is the relative ranking of B-Schools according to Financial Times. Opinion expressed by FT is taken very seriously in the corporate sector so the ranking is a good thing to refer to.
You can access 2008 FT rankings here:
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings
Taking a cue from the post by Goks, let me tell you a bit about how you can go about choosing a B-School in UK.
The first thing that comes to mind when you think of doing an MBA is what are the post-MBA job prospects. I am sure at this stage when you are researching B-Schools you are reading up almost every available info on how much the last batch in each of these schools netted as post-MBA starting salary. Let me tell you that the median salary for a Strathclyde full-time MBA after 2 years of graduation is about £65,000 per annum (this is amongst the top 1% of salary earners in UK). The median salary for executive MBA may be higher since the students in the course have an average work-ex of 10 years. For the full-time MBA on the other hand the minimum work-ex required for making an application is 3 years.
Post-MBA salary varies due to several factors like industry sector, location within UK and most importantly your previous work-experience. If you want to work in UK after your MBA, be aware that the firms here lay a strong emphasis on previous UK work-experience. It would be advantageous if you have prior UK work experience. If you are from any other country without UK-experience it would be good to have experience in a large MNC which has presence in UK. I am not saying that the work you did in your previous company is not important and its all about the brand. What I am trying to emphasize is an employer here feels comfortable if they know the name of your previous company simply because they then understand the metrics used to evaluate your performance. So for example if you were working for HSBC as opposed to some regional firm they would immediately understand the nature of your work and the applicable standards which dont differ much from country to country.
Choice of industry also plays a big role in the post-MBA salary. Typically the banking and Finance sector pays the highest followed by Management Consulting. However if you have special skill-sets (eg. SAP, 6 Sigma) or experience (eg. in Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy) then you can claim higher salaries in other industries.
Choice of location is also very important. You would hear from people that jobs in England pay higher than in Scotland. However thats not entirely true. If you are in the Oil and Gas Sector, Aberdeen is the place to be. London and Edinburgh are better for jobs in Banking and Finance. Manchester is good for advertising jobs. If you go to monster.co.uk or reed.co.uk you can access industry wise / location wise salary trends in UK.
While earning potential is a very important criteria for choosing a B-School over another, there can be several other considerations like course structure, fee, location etc.
For course structure and fee refer to individual websites of B-Schools. How much you are willing to invest and what kind of course structure you are looking at is a very personal issue and I can't guide you there. Take location into consideration too since Scotland is colder than southern UK and the weather is filthier with constant rains and gloomy sky. But then if you ask me I loved my days in Glasgow and I know someone who swears by Lancaster. So do some background research before you finalize.
One last thing you should be aware of is the relative ranking of B-Schools according to Financial Times. Opinion expressed by FT is taken very seriously in the corporate sector so the ranking is a good thing to refer to.
You can access 2008 FT rankings here:
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings
Thursday 13 November 2008
MBA in UK vs. MBA in India
With regards to the university, it is a good place, but you first need to understand the teaching system. It will not be like India. you might have heard from many of your friends doing their MBA in India that they have to cram up a lot. That will not happen here. Here it is a guided teaching system. You will first feel that they are not teaching you anything. Many people do not understand the reason for it and feel that it is of no use. The companies in India (Goldman sachs, Meryll Lynch, PWC, JP morgan, Accenture etc) hire Indian MBAs due to their number crunching skills which you get by repeated workouts of problems and scenario's. Here they will be trying to make you a manager who has knowledge of all sectors of management and not just the number crunching skills. Many of the Indian students, if you contact them, will tell you that the univ does not give enough of teaching. The reason for that is as above. They are still expecting to be spoon fed like in India. I am stressing on this point because, initially I too felt the same. Many of my friends doing their MBA from India kept telling me how they could not sleep for weeks due to assignments. You will have to learn to utilize the lecture. That is very important.
With regards to the comparison between Strath and other universities around here, it is very simple. Firstly look at the FT ranking. Secondly many of the other universities are changing their teaching style to suit Indian students to suite the multitude of Indians coming there. Such courses are no different from any MBA course in India. You might as well spend less and do the course from India. People come here to get the international exposure. I do concede that there will be a majority of Indian students in Strath as well, however the teaching systems will not be compromised. They continue to maintain a level of teaching which is superior to many other universities, and hence in the industry, the Strath name is well recognized.
With regards to the comparison between Strath and other universities around here, it is very simple. Firstly look at the FT ranking. Secondly many of the other universities are changing their teaching style to suit Indian students to suite the multitude of Indians coming there. Such courses are no different from any MBA course in India. You might as well spend less and do the course from India. People come here to get the international exposure. I do concede that there will be a majority of Indian students in Strath as well, however the teaching systems will not be compromised. They continue to maintain a level of teaching which is superior to many other universities, and hence in the industry, the Strath name is well recognized.
Doing an MBA from Strathclyde
Hello reader,
The fact that you are on this blog is a proof that you are interested in doing an MBA from UK and perhaps contemplating on doing it from Strathclyde Business School. Well thats a good start!
Trust me I know exactly know what you are going through. I was in your position a little more than a year ago. I was born and brought up in India. In Kolkata to be precise. Like many of you I had a humble background but great dreams. After working with the ABP group (the people who own Star News) in Brand management for about 4 years, I decided to leave my comfort zone and the prospect of organic growth. Hence the Strathclyde MBA...
It was a bold decision to leave a cushioned job and venture out to study in a foreign country which called for an investment of over 25 Lacs INR. But having been here and done that I can look back and say it was a wise decision.
As I see it now, the journey through my last 2 years can be divided into 3 phases:
Phase-1: Researching on the Strathclyde MBA
Phase-2: Pursuing the Strathclyde MBA
Phase-3: Life after a Strathclyde MBA
In this blog I would take you through each of these phases and try and give out the tips to overcome the problems I faced. Joining a top MBA program is difficult, but it is even more difficult to complete the program successfully. Keep visiting this space as I tell you how to secure an educational loan, the best strategy to apply for the Strathclyde MBA, how to find a suitable accomodation in Glasgow, how to tackle the assignments and dissertation, how to find a part-time job while you are studying, how to apply for a Visa extension after completing the MBA and so on...
Change is never easy, but then it promises a better tomorrow. Now that you have embarked on the journey of your lifetime, use this blog as your routemap. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!
The fact that you are on this blog is a proof that you are interested in doing an MBA from UK and perhaps contemplating on doing it from Strathclyde Business School. Well thats a good start!
Trust me I know exactly know what you are going through. I was in your position a little more than a year ago. I was born and brought up in India. In Kolkata to be precise. Like many of you I had a humble background but great dreams. After working with the ABP group (the people who own Star News) in Brand management for about 4 years, I decided to leave my comfort zone and the prospect of organic growth. Hence the Strathclyde MBA...
It was a bold decision to leave a cushioned job and venture out to study in a foreign country which called for an investment of over 25 Lacs INR. But having been here and done that I can look back and say it was a wise decision.
As I see it now, the journey through my last 2 years can be divided into 3 phases:
Phase-1: Researching on the Strathclyde MBA
Phase-2: Pursuing the Strathclyde MBA
Phase-3: Life after a Strathclyde MBA
In this blog I would take you through each of these phases and try and give out the tips to overcome the problems I faced. Joining a top MBA program is difficult, but it is even more difficult to complete the program successfully. Keep visiting this space as I tell you how to secure an educational loan, the best strategy to apply for the Strathclyde MBA, how to find a suitable accomodation in Glasgow, how to tackle the assignments and dissertation, how to find a part-time job while you are studying, how to apply for a Visa extension after completing the MBA and so on...
Change is never easy, but then it promises a better tomorrow. Now that you have embarked on the journey of your lifetime, use this blog as your routemap. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!
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