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sriram · Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:46 am

I have been admitted to University of British Columbia - Sauder School of business. Before I accept the offer, I wanted to know about the job opportunities for international students in Canada.

As per their website, placement is 94% and the Avg. starting salary is around CAD 80,000. UBC is ranked 92 in 2008 FT rankings and is ranked higher than McGill and Katz.

I heard that the employers do not prefer to hire from UBC as its the only major city in West Canada and away from Business hubs like Toronto and Montreal.

I have not got any scholarship. The total cost works out to be around CAD 40,000.

Can someone please share more information on Canada and particularly UBC?

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rajmirra · Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:48 am

Congratulations Sriram. I am interested in Sauder too, but yet to take my GMAT and decide when to apply. As for as I know UBC is one of the top ranked schools for Business in Canada and overall it is a prestiegeous university. The advantage of doing a post graduate program in Canada is you will get a two year post graduate employment work permit ( 1 yr if the MBA is one yr and also if you have studied in a metro and prefer to work in Metros like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver). The salary you said may be + - $10000. But on an average UBC grads are getting $70,000 ( please note this largely depends on your previous experience and skills). I would re-emphasise getting a work permit after MBA in Canada is easier than getting in US. And if you are interested you can become a permanent resident while in job. I came as a Masters student from India and immigrated too.

Toronto Employers may prefer from Rotman, Schulich and Richard Ivey. But Vancouver employers prefer Sauder and Vancouver is one of the best cities in the world. Go for it. Its a wise investment. PM me if you have more questions.

Good Luck
~R

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sriram · Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:16 am

I heard about a 480 miles highway that starts from Detroit and connects cities like Toronto, Montreal & Quebec. Maximum density of population is settled along this highway and therefore employers prefer to travel along this higway and recruit students from the major B-schools located here. Because of this advantage, it is better to study in either Montreal or Toronto.

Is this true? Can someone please answer this?

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sudhar · Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:06 am

Hi Sriram,

I have been admitted to UBC as well Smile

I heard that the school is one of the best in terms of ROI. However I am not sure of the job scenario at this point in time with all the recession fears Sad

I have mailed few of my friends to get some insight on the ground realities both in US and in Canada. Will post here once I get the information. Meanwhile it would be helpful if someone can throw more light on this school...

Regards,
Sudharsan

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Stuart Kovinsky · Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:45 pm

I attended law school at UBC and, although I can't comment directly on Sauder, I can comment about UBC in general.

UBC is very highly regarded in Canada. It's also very well regarded in the Pacific Rim business community, so if that's an area of interest for you, UBC would be a great choice. UBC has very strong ties to Asia-Pacific businesses.

If you're interested in working on the East coast, especially in the US, then I'm not sure how good of a fit UBC would be.

A good tip for anyone applying to any B-school is to check out that school's career centre and see which businesses and industries recruit from the school. You could also contact companies' recruiting departments directly and see if they recruit from your school of choice.

As an aside, I had a great time at UBC; Vancouver is a great place to live, especially if you enjoy the outdoors (mountains on one side and ocean on the other!).

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wagoboy · Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:52 am

I was a UBC undergrad and minored in their commerce program (before it was renamed the Sauder School of Business). The campus is wonderful, the people are great, the city is beautiful, I am sure you will enjoy your studies there.

As for the MBA/business program itself, I really can't give an opinion because I don't know enough other programs to make a fair comparison. But the University is really making a push for its business school, and have been actively promoting it in Asia. I have actually met the Dean of the Sauder School and the University's President at various Alumni functions last year, and they are very enthusiastic about the direction of the school.

Anyway it is definitely a school that I would recommend, and hope your experience will be rewarding!

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jimmy23 · Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:52 am

Congratulations Sriram on your success.

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michelsmithm · Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:38 am

One more congrats from my side. Razz

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salmanr · Mon Apr 07, 2008 3:07 pm

i have got an admission into Sauder-2008 aug batch.
The school has a good reputation and the internet and articles talk good things abt it. My only two concerns are - 1. the school accepts people with really low GMAT scores (something like 560-570 for three yrs exp). I have 700 in GMAT and have about 3 yrs of exp.2. vancouver- can i find something that i can in Mumbai, bangalore or chennai - I am talking about high paying jobs that help me save about - 3-4 K dollars per month

I kinda like what the school looks like and sounds like... but i hope its not a mirage

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cjiang16 · Wed Apr 16, 2008 6:08 pm

Congratulations Sriram on your being admitted!

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blueprint · Sun Aug 03, 2008 1:31 pm

Hey,

Congratulations on being accepted.

If your GMAT is in the 700s you have a shot of being accepted anywhere so before someone can really judge if UBC is right for you, can you tell us where else you've applied or where else you are considering attending?

As for UBC, it's a great school, one of the best in Western Canada. Vancouver is a great city to live and work in and you should be able to find a job after you complete the program without many problems. Also, I see you are from India and it might help knowing there is a large Indian community in Vancouver as well and it is a community with strong business ties.

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aki_rocks22 · Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:44 am

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Bubba · Sun Apr 05, 2009 8:28 am

Hi there,

First, congrats on the acceptance, did you end up going, how's the program so far?

I'm a US citizen with my spouse in Vancouver for at least the next three years while she earns her PhD. I've been attracted to UBC's MBA programs but I don't know how well the school is recognized by companies in the US.

I am trying to pursue one of two paths: to either work my way up the finance ladder to a CFO position or work at investment strategy and eventually work as a portfolio manager or CIO.

I wonder if the UBC MBA is worth it right now or if it would be better to wait another three years and try to get into a higher-ranked school in the States? The problem is that my job right now doesn't offer much room for advancement so I feel like I'm wasting my time and all of the good jobs require an MBA. I'm also looking at eventually writing the CPA and/or CFA depending on which path I can eventually lock in.

Any advice/opinions/comments?

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seans · Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:30 am

Firstly, I'd like to congratulate you on the hard work you put into your application for Sauder.

As to your question about job prospects after graduation from Sauder, I'm sorry to say that most of their graduates chances are pretty bleek.

I graduated from Sauder's BComm program and can atest to the rather poor job prospects offered. Factually speaking, the problem with Sauder is that it's on the west coast of Canada where there's barely any corporate headquarters so hiring is mostly for the branch offices out in Vancouver and the positions will ofcourse be limited.

Second, the MBA program at Sauder seriously lacks a strong local alumni network to help you get your foot in the door into most industries. As most MBA students at Sauder are either international students or recent landed immigrants, their career footprint in Canada is either very limited or non-existent, thereby depriving the alumni network of any strong business traction.

Third, very few Sauder alumni that went through the MBA program have made it to the upper echelon in the Canadian business community. My observations have led me to realize that Sauder MBAs settle into middle manager jobs as oppose to corporate leadership roles.

This is in no way a rant of Sauder's MBA program, but purely the facts that I have been presented with. I encourage you to find a copy of the Trek, which is a magazine published by Sauder that high lights their graduates. As you will find, Sauder's lack of shining alumni have led them to even have to highlight a broker from a small Vancouver brokerage as a "high flying" alumni.

If you wish to live and work in Canada, I'd suggest a school out east where the pulse of the Canadian economy is, and where the b-schools out there are actually reputable on a national scale. Business Week or Financial Times rankings do very little in providing you with the actual ROI of your MBA. The jobs that graduates get before graduation speaks vasty more. You should speak with people currently in the program and ask how many in their class have job offers lined up. Be wise and make your b-school decision on something tangible like job prospects as oppose to the great mountain and ocean views offered by Vancouver.

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