Time to revive

I know it's been a long time since I've last posted. Thanks for the emails reminding me of that fact. It's amazing to see interest in my blog posts almost 2 years after I penned them. I haven't been writing mainly because I'm no longer a student, although I deem myself as a perpetual one.

I will no longer be writing about business schools and finance education but about more broad subjects that reflect my interests and what's current in the finance world. I intend the new incarnation of this blog to be a logbook my journey as a perpetual student.

I'll try to categorize the posts into a few buckets. Ones I'm thinking of are: macroeconomics, politics, quant finance, risk management, technology, and others (catch all for music, arts etc., should I decide to go off-topic occasionally).

Hopefully some of my good old readers will still find this useful.

Post MIF Answers #2 (U.S. Centric)

1) [...]My current goal is to become a CFO, is that possible?

I totally agree that LBS MiF will help you in that regard. This year has been really tough on LBS graduates. most people had to go back to their original employers, or worse yet, take a job they have not wanted. I think times are getting better though.

What I'm trying to get at is many people coming to LBS had the illusion that the degree would automatically get them a highly desirable job.

2) Do you know if the Milkrounds also include opportunities back in the US?

Very minimal. I tried being proactive and wanted to organize a career trek to the US, but I received no support from career services. Career services have targeted marketing efforts where they sit down with employers and pretty much market the students prior to academic year start. They cannot do that for the US companies, so that's why there aren't many opportunities in the US

3) Are you looking to come back to the states or stay overseas? Do you have a choice?

Not really for the time being.

In general, I think you should assume that there's 80% chance you will stay in London post-grad unless you have/make good contacts and arrangements in the US prior to coming to London. Also, LBS brand name means a lot in Europe, but people in the US are not very aware of it. Many people asked me why I wasn't going to LSE, since they think it's a better business school.

4) How does your healthcare work during the program? Since that is on every news cast here in the states these days.

Good and bad. Your entire family would have free health care, called NHS. You first register with a GP (general practitioner - like PCP in the US), then for any problems you visit him/her. The GP may direct you to a hospital to see a specialist. The service is fast, you don't wait ages before seeing a doctor. There are also a few unpleasant things about it. They don't run enough tests since they are on a limited state budget. Still pretty good.

Post-MIF Answers to some questions

I've been getting quite a few emails recently from people considering whether or not to apply / join LBS. Hope this helps.

A.K.



* Once you have completed the program, could you please explain your overall opinion?

It was great. Biggest complaint was the core (mandatory) course modules in the first semester, especially if you arent into accounting and corporate finance. I wasn't. Smart people, great classes to take.


* Was the Master worthy in terms of personal experience and education received? Did you regret not to have taken an MBA from a top tier Business School?

No. I already have an MBA and MIF was a 1000 times better. Just cut out all the b.s. and get down to business. Reputation wise, there is a problem though, since everyone knows LBS MBA, but not very familiar with MIF. That's not a big problem in London though. Esp. hedge funds and PE shops prefer MIFs rather than MBAs.

* Did you receive offers that fulfill your expectations, despite the current economic/financial situation?

Yes, I work for a hedge fund. I had another offer as a quant associate from a mutual fund, but I chose the hedge fund. I had found the HF prior to MIF thru networking, did a summer internship here, and worked part time during the year. School did not like it, but I didn't care. At the end I ended up with a great job. It took a lot of working, studying as well as sacrifice from the social and family life. It's doable though and I would highly recommend doing so.


* And your classmates, did they receive attractive offers as well?

Not all of them. The ones that got offers were the ones that had laser sharp focus in one area. Being a "jack of all trades" is not a good thing during market downturns. People want employees they can rely on, ones that are proven and has shown dedication to one and only one field. This effect is more pronounced when the jobs are scarce.


* Any additional positive or negative comments about the program that you would like to point out?

MIF project can be a big pain in the *ss, or it can be a great thing fr your resume. Try to make the most out of it. Get a feeling for the people first, and pick someone that is reliable

HSMP: is there light at the end of the tunnel?

I had posted previously about the changes in the HSMP system. This post is part 2 to my earlier post which you can read here.

Since my original post, Home Office has stopped taking HSMP applications completely. They only accept HSMP applications they have received up to June 30, 2008. Any application that was dated after June 30 has to be done under the Tier 1 (General) system.

My main trouble was that I have never received a reference number for my application. Short of tracking the receipt of my application on US Post Office web page, I had no indication that whether Home Office had my application or not. First I sent an email to them. I've got an automated response that said they do not respond to emails anymore. That is very frustrating since they mention email as one of the contact methods on the HSMP contact page. You can reach it here.

So I went on a phone call expedition to find out whether I can get hold of a live human being at the Home Office. After several trials, and waiting on the line for a grand total of 40 minutes, I've found that they've put a new option to their call center. You can call the number, then press 2 for HSMP questions, press 2 for general inquiries, and then press 1 for judicial review. Once I did that, someone picked up the phone instantly. I don't know if that was my luck or not.

Anyways, I've learnt that they are currently processing applications dated March 25th (which is also published on their web site - so what they have on the web site is up to date). The officer looked up my reference number using my name and date of birth. Thank god they had it in the system! He said they've received mine on March 31st, and they should start processing mine any day now. He said processing takes between 1 week to 1 month.

I've also learnt that you can change your contact address by sending a fax to Home Office. I can't publish the fax number here, but it's different than what's posted on the contact page I've linked above. That fax number may or may not work for changing an address, I have no idea. He also confirmed that it is possible to change from student or any other work permit status to HSMP once you receive the HSMP approval letter, and you do not need to leave the UK for that. If you are in the UK under a tourist visa you would need to leave and re-enter though.

I hope that is helpful information to some, as I was not able to find anything similar to this on the UK immigration related forums.

Beeell's Follow-up to my Previous Post (Q&A)

Beeell (author of the LBS So Journ blog which has a link on this page) has took another stab at the questions my reader sent me. You can read them at:

http://lbssojourn.blogspot.com/2008/07/follow-up-comments-to-classmates-blog.html

Enjoy!