Hi, I'm moving to NY from the UK - my fiancé lives in NY and we'veonly just filed so have sometime before the green card is issued. In the mean time I want to maximise my employability. I work as a marketing manager and currently gaining experience in product management, which is the career path I'm interested in taking when I move to NY. I have two graduate diplomas from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (undergraduate diplomas in the US) and am wondering how far those qualifications will get me and how well they are recognised in the US.

I should get up to two years experience in product management before I move and I'm looking at a postgraduate qualification whilst we're waiting for the visa application to be approved. I'm looking at business management/administration and even an MBA at a low cost UK university. However, I've read that unless it's Oxford, Cambridge or LSB, most UK universities aren't recognised or thought highly of in the US. How true is this in your experience?

Another option is to do do a few short courses and workshops to improve my skills in key areas required for product management.

I'm kind of all over the place at the moment trying to work out what would be best and would love some advice from people living and working in NY and the US. Any help most appreciated

Jo

Honestly there are so many degree-issuing institutions the US, that most of them "aren't recognised or thought highly of", so if you have an opportunity to obtain a "low cost" MBA it will likely be as much use in opening doors from you as an MBA from most US MBA-issuing institutions.

A few years ago, while struggling to find a suitable candidate for a role I was trying to fill, I selected three candidates with (US) MBAs to interview, as I hoped they might have "aptitude" and "drive" and that I could train them up to fill the role. I wasn't at all impressed, as none of the three were able to so much as string words together in a coherent and professional manner. Make of that what you will.

Fiancé visa seems an odd choice for someone who wants to give themselves the best options in the labor market (and kudos to you for thinking long-term). You are going to have a gap of (currently) around 7 months after arrival where you cannot work at all. Gaining experience is all well and good now but you are going to “miss the boat” when you are stuck on the sofa for many months unable to put your experience to good use. Although COVID will hopefully be a distant memory when you get here, the EAD processing times won’t necessarily get any faster. It may still be the case even then that they are taking over 6 months to be approved, maybe even longer? Who knows?

We're in a long distance relationship and decided to get married, hence the fiancée visa. Like you said, I'm just thinking ahead to try and be as prepared as possible with qualifications and experience.

That's not the first comment I've seen about MBA candidates whilst I've been researching this subject 🤔

Please excuse me for not being surprised.

The prior poster may have meant that if you were able to marry right away (of course I understand that travel in the age of Covid might make that moot) you could apply for a spouse visa instead of a fiancée visa and arrive in a position to start work right away.

Oh I see! Yes, I misunderstood that point, thanks for clarifying. We did indeed decide to go down the fiancée visa route because of COVID, and the unknown time frame with travel restrictions.

My experience, just my experience.
LBS for MBA is recognized here (I do hold it hence I know it), however my wife with a Bach. from Bristol University and a Masters in Spain in History of Art, struggled so much to get recognised here.

Despite her master was in Spanish art and she completed in Seville, with some of the best professors in the world for this art type, here they give more value to a person who did the same in Purdue or Iowa State even though they have never seen a spanish painting beyond 2 Velazquez and 1 Picasso in NYC MOMA... silly!!

If you have the option to get a ‘shitty’ Master from an US institution while you are waiting for your EAD do it, on the resume (paper) will open you more doors to get interviewed.

Thanks, that's really helpful and just the kind of advice I'm looking for. Shame about your wife's qualifications being overlooked :/

Find out which qualification translation services your industry prefers, get the translations done, the more time you give them, the cheaper it is.

Something to consider; you can start an online MBA from a UK university. You would have the benefit of attending the induction (maybe not with COVID) and flexibility to complete in your own time. I did a UK MBA while in the US and it worked well for me. My colleague did an MBA at the local state University while I was doing mine; night and day difference between the US and UK degrees with far more academic rigour on mine than his. As an example, as long as you had a Bachelor's you would be accepted on his, the UK one insisted on bachelor's plus at least 3 years in a management position. He had no dissertation, just multi choice throughout, whereas I had to produce 18k words and multiple assignments and written exams.

In terms of commitment, I worked 3 hours in the evening Mon-Thurs, 4+ hours on a Sunday and completed in 2 years.

Edit to add: unless you're getting your MBA from a top school I really don't think it makes a whole lot of difference in all honesty. I view it merely as an entry ticket to a job and maybe a differentiator against a similar candidate. That said, I really liked what I learned.

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Good luck

I have a friend who is a Chief Product Officer out of NY, I'll see what she says - Expat form the UK as well - she was transferred over, but she may have insight into the market.

thanks, will do

Thank you, that's really insightful, I have so many things to consider