Top Business/Commerce Universities in Canada?

[rien]

Originally Posted by cliffhanger33

Well from stats, is that true? How many sauders students actually come out with a good job ? where do most go to work?

UBC Sauder BCOM employment stats for graduating 2010 class
http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Careers/For...MINI-BCOM.ashx

UBC MBA if anyone's interested
http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Careers/For...-MINI-MBA.ashx

[GabAlmighty]

Nobody cares about your degree. They care about where you did your Masters.

[flagella]

Originally Posted by jameswift

MBA isn't worth the paper it's written on these days unless it's from a top school. Many people make the mistake of taking business as an undergrad and then taking an MBA. The amount you learn is pointless in my experience and the time plus salary increase has been described in magazines for the last few years.

Simply put, the cost and time does not pay itself back to the average graduate of an MBA program.

If you really want to be a big player you have to think about hitting up a teir one school and one that will allow you to network with the right people. Harvard, Yale, and Wharton are great schools not just because of their reputation, but the network.

If your plan is to go to New York and work in the Financial mecca of the world, your chances are much more defined going to a high profile school. The people you meet will blow your mind.

I never went to an Ivy school although I did spend half of one semester with a friend living on campus at Havard. The school was like any other but the drive of the students was unreal. The level of competition in the business program actually made me want to go back to school. It's what inspired me initially to do my CFA.

I'm not bashing UBC because I'm sure there are a lot of great networking opportunities there as well. There are a lot of Asian families with money that are sending their kids to Sauder so the network might still be good for those wanting to work more in the Asia Pacific (an area that is obviously growing).

I think you're better off being a networking machine in general and leave the MBA on the shelf.

How's your CFA going? Writing my level 3 this June and I definitely hate studying for it

[liu13]

uwo is a top 10 party university

[zonda_s]

Originally Posted by cliffhanger33

Well from stats, is that true? How many sauders students actually come out with a good job ? where do most go to work?

Depends what a you would define as a good job and what another would (to each their own). I've noticed that some people with little or no work experience starting from entry level positions (eg. bank teller) and having to work their way up. Of course, some are whiney, get a little arrogant saying the graduated from Sauder and try to flaunt it in an interview/conversation (those are the ones I really hate).

Co-op students tend to get the upper hand in getting "good jobs" because of their experience in the specialization/industry they want to be in.

Originally Posted by rien

UBC Sauder BCOM employment stats for graduating 2010 class
http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Careers/For...MINI-BCOM.ashx

Good find. I find it somewhat misleading though, since it doesn't show statistics on job roles (eg. entry, supervisory, managerial, etc). Someone could be a receptionist in an investment banking firm and be categorized under that area (correct me if I'm wrong).

[Wongtouski]

Originally Posted by le fu

If you're trying to decide which school to go to, just go east.

Nobody really cares about Sauder or SFU. Well, except Sauder students. Most of whom think they're really attending Harvard.

I have to qualify your statement sir and say that many of us who were in the program do not share this sentiment, in fact we all mutually agree that the program sucks balls. We got offered very generic courses that provided no real advantage compared with other universities, and the photocopied case studies from Harvard that has a "DO NO DUPLICATE" watermark do not count.

Having said that, I think many of the people who have drank the kool-aid and think they're in Harvard have people like Dan Gardiner to thank. The unofficial "ham sup lo" of the Henry Angus building is the godfather of BS and I literally wasted my youth attending his Marketing Research and Sales classes. Do you know how I got my final mark for the Sales class? You literally go into his office and negotiate a mark. He gives you a mark, you accept it, or give him a tug if you're a chick and get an A. WTF was the point of all the work that I did during the year then?

My biggest gripe was during graduation, both Science and the Art faculty had banners congratulating their students on graduating, Commerce? We got shit. They also had the audacity to call us not even two years post graduation to ask for money for the remodeling of Henry Angus, and would only provide info on the development if we committed 50bucks. There's UBC Sauder for you.

edit: They're also heavily subsidized (lobbied I'd say) by all the BIG 4 firms. You see their ads in your planner, they sponsor non Accounting events, and are in your face everywhere you go. Result? Everyone vying for Accounting major and little attention paid to other options. Real Estate? Please. HR? You want to be unemployed? MIS? WTF. International Business = Rich boy needs a "degree" and I speak Canto too. Perhaps it's because I'm having a semi bad day, but the more I think about it the more the program feels like a sham.

One more thing: they love to hire people that don't speak English. You should pray to Allah when you get someone from China, fat chance understanding the Korean/Indian Prof.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

the business world is the modern day battlefield. you can get the top training, and still cower at the sound of a gunshot.

rising to a general, takes a particular type of person.

knowledge is only a small portion of the skills you need.

[le fu]

Originally Posted by Wongtouski

edit: They're also heavily subsidized (lobbied I'd say) by all the BIG 4 firms. You see their ads in your planner, they sponsor non Accounting events, and are in your face everywhere you go. Result? Everyone vying for Accounting major and little attention paid to other options. Real Estate? Please. HR? You want to be unemployed? MIS? WTF. International Business = Rich boy needs a "degree" and I speak Canto too. Perhaps it's because I'm having a semi bad day, but the more I think about it the more the program feels like a sham.

To be fair, I'm certain that the majority of business students at every college/university in greater Vancouver are accounting majors trying to become CA's.

And do Sauder MIS students even exist? lol. Most of the people I've met from firms that hire MIS students (Deloitte IT consulting, Accenture, IBM consulting) seem to hire more UBC engineering or comp sci. grads than commerce grads. I know SFU has a really strong MIS program and Accenture recruiters have told me that they love SFU MIS students. In fact, they hired the entire executive team from SFU's MIS club one year.

[Wongtouski]

Originally Posted by le fu

To be fair, I'm certain that the majority of business students at every college/university in greater Vancouver are accounting majors trying to become CA's.

And do Sauder MIS students even exist? lol. Most of the people I've met from firms that hire MIS students (Deloitte IT consulting, Accenture, IBM consulting) seem to hire more UBC engineering or comp sci. grads than commerce grads. I know SFU has a really strong MIS program and Accenture recruiters have told me that they love SFU MIS students. In fact, they hired the entire executive team from SFU's MIS club one year.

The accounting thing isn't a big issue as that's the job that its most readily available in the market, I'm more concerned with people being led to this path without really thinking about what they truly want, because the amount of "brainwashing" (using this term very lightly here) is quite profound.

I actually know ppl who did HR/Real Estate, hard pressed to find MIS people, but it does exist (the two of em lol)

[Z3guy]

Originally Posted by le fu

If you're trying to decide which school to go to, just go east.

Nobody really cares about Sauder or SFU. Well, except Sauder students. Most of whom think they're really attending Harvard.

what's that on your shoulder?.....it's a big chip! hahahaha, who really cares about an undergrad degree....better off doing your undergrad anywhere and then spend your money on a eastern US or Canada MBA......

[cliffhanger33]

How about finance in sauders, I believe it's different from accounting
How do finance students find it there?
Where do these students work in the "real" world?
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[Wongtouski]

Originally Posted by cliffhanger33

How about finance in sauders, I believe it's different from accounting
How do finance students find it there?
Where do these students work in the "real" world?
Posted via RS Mobile

Strictly from the experience of my friends and their's in Finance in Sauder (this is 2,3 years ago), many of them could not find jobs that are on par with the Audit route. Many of them were simply working in a branch and felt that opportunities in Vancouver were not abundant to say the least. In fact, some of them went back to do DAP just so they can be an auditor and get a stable, good paying job.

[f00tzilla]

If you want to do finance and want to stay in Canada I would suggest going to Rotman or Ivey because of their proximity to Bay street.

There are a LOT more career opportunities in finance in Toronto than in Vancouver ..

[cliffhanger33]

Originally Posted by f00tzilla

If you want to do finance and want to stay in Canada I would suggest going to Rotman or Ivey because of their proximity to Bay street.

There are a LOT more career opportunities in finance in Toronto than in Vancouver ..

That totally makes sense, thanks

[AutozamAZ-3]

does anyone know much about uvic's commerce program? their 2+2 program format sounds interesting

[ncrx]

Originally Posted by le fu

To be fair, I'm certain that the majority of business students at every college/university in greater Vancouver are accounting majors trying to become CA's.

And do Sauder MIS students even exist? lol. Most of the people I've met from firms that hire MIS students (Deloitte IT consulting, Accenture, IBM consulting) seem to hire more UBC engineering or comp sci. grads than commerce grads. I know SFU has a really strong MIS program and Accenture recruiters have told me that they love SFU MIS students. In fact, they hired the entire executive team from SFU's MIS club one year.

i gradded from ubc mis.. but i was in coop and had the opportunity to work in large multinational billion dollar orgs since that time. as people have said earlier, its not the school its what you do with it. bachelor's degrees mean shit nowadays.

[heleu]

I think the OP should do a bit more research. MBA and B.COM, no matter the specialization are basically generalist business degrees.

If you want to move up in accounting, you still need your designations (and thus more studying) like a CGA, CMA, or CA.

If you want to move up in finance, you'll want a CFA or something similar.

Of course the university degrees will help, but the industry recognized certifications are what employers really look for.

[chun]

^ While I agree with this, one of the biggest things in the current market situation is that a lot of the younger people, aka the lost generation, don't stand a very good chance without a foot in the door. So in terms of recommending more education, the OP should consider things outside of it as well imho including a proper business school with proper networks, for example.

Also, to the OP, you want to keep in mind what industry specifically you'd like to get into, or which that you're interested in. It was mentioned before but a lot of the finance jobs are out east, where the market is naturally. However, that doesn't rule out that Vancouver is the mining capital of the world and there is a very large, but naturally very risky, small-cap mining industry here. I only bring that up as an example of a possibility in terms of industry/sector choices.

Set that original goal first, as to which position or industry/sector, then plan out your choices accordingly to make it there. Most likely, it's going to be outside of Vancouver so be prepared to move.

[Meowjin]

Man from what I can tell the first 1 or 2 years of school is literally bullshit.

[chun]

^ Yes but it really is what you take/make of it.
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[orange7]

^
you mean by joining clubs, partying, and just being active in general instead of sleeping through classes?

[cliffhanger33]

Originally Posted by AutozamAZ-3

does anyone know much about uvic's commerce program? their 2+2 program format sounds interesting

What is this 2+2 program?

Edit: nvm, the 2+2 program also goes for Ivey.