Ask Stacy Blackman

Greetings,

I'm a 30 year old entrepreneur in the automotive industry, and I'm trying to upgrade my business skills by doing an MBA or a specialized Master's in Marketing. However, I'm confused whether to do a Full-time MBA, Executive MBA, or a specialized Master's in Marketing. I currently have 7 - 8 years of experience in a managerial role, so my profile suits both the MBA and EMBA.

My career goals are to either to continue building my automotive business further and expand it, OR relocate to another country and start my career there in the automotive or marketing field. Therefore, the brand name and reputation of the program I'll do will be important for global mobility.

Now my choices for the Executive MBA are London Business School, Cambridge - Judge or IE Business School. However, when I looked at the class profile of the EMBAs, I find candidates are much older than me, and I'm concerned I might not be able to enjoy the experience and networking due to the age differences. The EMBA is also intensive and I need time to absorb the MBA material. Therefore, I thought of doing it full-time, but this requires GMAT, and I'm having a dilemma scoring high on the GMAT.

For full-time, therefore, I choose University of Edinburgh, Durham and Nottingham, as they're well-reputed one-year programs in the UK, which gives possibility for applying to scholarships.

Finally, I applied to Northwestern University for Masters in Marketing (Brand Management and Digital Marketing) as the not-too-distant future of marketing is all digital. I also got accepted at NYU for the same degree. There's a possibility to apply for a scholarship for these programs too.

Now I'm in a dilemma: Should I go Executive MBA? Full-time MBA? or Masters in Marketing (Digital Marketing)? If I'll go full-time MBA, should I do the GMAT and aim for higher-ranking schools like LBS?

Thanks in advance, and waiting for your replies