5 Things To Consider Before Doing Your Masters

 

Taking the decision of going abroad is never an easy one, it usually requires some planning and some decision making to make sure it’s the best fit. When choosing to do masters program abroad you should consider the following:

 

The Program:

Choosing a suitable masters program is one of the toughest decisions I had to make. It’s the kind of decision with the point of no return ( especially if you paid your tuition at the beginning).

When considering a business program apart from the general MBA which requires some years of experience, you have 3 options.

1. Choose a continuation program of your major. For example: If you have a bachelors in finance you can continue a masters degree in finance, get more knowledge in the field and do your research accordingly.
2. Choose a program under the umbrella of your bachelors program. For example: Mastering in corporate finance if you have a bachelors in finance or international marketing if you studied international business or marketing.
3. Doing something completely different! For example: If you have a a bachelors in management but with a twist for an entrepreneurial spirit, doing a masters in entrepreneurship is always a great option

 

The School:

When looking for a good business school, you will be drowning in options. The choices are many, but the ones who attain certain qualities of education are a different story.

It is recommended to take a good look at the accreditations a business school has. The definition of accreditiations is:

Accreditation is a process of validation in which colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning are evaluated. The standards for accreditation are set by a peer review board whose members include faculty from various accredited colleges and universities.

Make sure the school has at least 1 accreditation and a good reputation. This will definitely influence your job opportunities later on

 

The Courses:

Once you settle on a program, take a quick look at the courses offered for your program. The difference between what you have in mind and reality might come as a shock and influence your performance if you have no clue what to expect.

The Country:

 

Do your research on the country you plan on living in for it will be a year minimum. Check the visa requirements if you need one, the cost of living there (including food, rent and transportation). Take a quick look on the culture, things to do and student life. You are not going to be working 24/7!

Countries like France for example offer students help in rent expenses and is a great place to have fun and check the area and culture (Also, the wine is amazing)

 

The tuition:

When looking for a suitable business school, you will be surprised that many schools offer almost the same programs while having relatively the same reputations and accreditations. The only difference would be a sizable sum of tuition especially if you are interested in going to Europe. Choose wisely!

 

Stay tuned for more articles on how to choose the best business program for you!

 

 

 

 

Our trip to Paradise: The ecstasy of imagination

As kids of the 1993 generation, I remember when we used to play “kitchen”, “firefighters”, “cow boys”, “husband-wife & kids” and all these games that were spurred by our imagination. I remember when we had no access to technology, and when watching a movie meant we were going to be the characters for the next couple of months. I was Ash from Pokemon, the father in the patriot; I discovered that my Nintendo could actually make me part of the Digimon world. It was all so beautiful. That stayed the case till 9^th grade. Then the games just leveled up. I won an Oscar, a Grammy and noble prize all in the walls of my room in front of my mirror and it was announced by my deodorant pack. That beautiful one million deodorant pack was always my companion when I imagined myself singing and reading my poetry aloud. Some-how and even though I was bombarded with all this new technology, I managed to keep my dreams till I graduated university. Once I started my career, social media (what I like to call imagination inhibitors) kicked in.

 

Last month, one of my partners in Mindfortinc (Ahmad) took us to see his house in a village in Lebanon called “Jeb Jeneen”. It was all greenery and farms. We walked around picking fruits from trees (apples) and isolating ourselves from social media. It was a great experience being able to connect with nature. Somehow I felt like every breeze of air was giving me back my soul again. I felt like young Yahya was back. Lucky for me we spent a night there eating the best food and breathing the real essence of oxygen. Days later, I had the chance to roommate with my roommate when I was back in University (also one of the partners at Mindfortinc “Hamed”). The conversations we had sounded like our old selves. We were dreaming again, we re-set our goals and somehow our vision of our future clarified. It dawned on me here that maybe social media has enough toxicity to overweigh its pros. Maybe we all need to take a step back from social media and isolate ourselves every now and then just to be in-touch with our 5 year old selves so we can remember the taste of imagination.

 

This brings me to a bigger concern. If our generation is starting to forget what imagination felt like, what about the generation that hasn’t tasted it in the first place? A generation that learned to play with ipads & iphones before they even learned talking. I think it is worthwhile to take a minute and think of how this impacts the future of business & the world. Would Thomas Edison have created the light bulb if there were no imagination? Would Steve jobs create the iphone
? Or Henry Ford create the car?

 

 

Get Out Of Your Head!

Have you ever felt so bored and helpless? Of course you did. Remember some occasions where you just wanted time to pass and get done with it. For students and people seeking a good experience, feeling bored and being stuck, counting seconds is part of the package.

Whether you are in a boring class or you are just having a dull day in your internship, you conclude that you just aren’t feeling it! I remember attending certain classes where I spent half of it staring at the wall and the other half scrolling through my Facebook page.

This mental  system is something I have devised to help get me back on track. It is very simple and will help you re-motivate and reset. After you’re done daydreaming or scrolling through your social media ,just ask yourself a couple of questions

1.Why am I here doing this?

2.What will be the end results after all of this is over?

3.Who am I doing this for?

4.What value will it add eventually?

Thinking about the answers gets you into a state of awareness. That new state will help you acknowledge that pulling through this class is a must to get your degree, or getting through this certain project will help you add a valuable experience on your resume. When you feel too comfortable or stuck in your comfort zone, ask yourself these questions, re-invigorate yourself and get to work!

 

The Art of Picking Professors

No matter what university you pick, everyone goes through the same hassle. The hassle of picking professors. As I was going through my university years I had my experiences with professors & picking them. So here is an unbiased perspective of some things I learned:

Don’t Listen to the voices around you

I was told by some friends that  finance professor X was the best & that I should avoid professor Y. To my surprise, professor X failed me & I repeated the course with professor Y getting a grade I didn’t expect. Moral of the story don’t listen to the voices around you & search harder than just student gossip.

Seek knowledge, not grades…

There are always professors that go by the book, who tell you what to study & facilitate the searching process therefore giving you grades. Avoid these professors as they will make you lazy in your search for knowledge & they won’t teach you the necessary out of the box skills that you will need in your jobs.

Instead,

Go out of your comfort zone !

Go for professors that won’t tell you what to study. Ones that will give you case studies every week while rotating you into different groups & have long open book exams. These professors will not give you the grades you want, but their lectures will be the ones that stick with you for life.

Go the extra mile

Visit professors in their visiting hours before you register for them, ask them about the curriculum, the assignments & what their program looks like. That should give you the proper insight on whether to pick them or not.

Experts Differ from Novices

Avoid business professors with no business experience in their bags & pure academia backgrounds. Business is a hands-on skill & can only be taught if you have your hands in it.

Expand your knowledge

Go for electives that you aren’t familiar with in both humanities & social sciences. Your business degree could be a tool to sustain the existence of a service or product that is out of your major. Always remember that the first creative idea in Apple computers was the calligraphy fonts in the typing program that was due to Steve Jobs dropping into calligraphy classes at his university.

Finally, remember that the money you put in your university is an investment in your future. It is your legitimate right to hand pick your professors & to make sure you’re attending classes aligned with your visualization of your future. Make sure you pick these professors for the right reasons. Grades will not give you the experiences and skill sets you will need in your business career. Don’t always get mad when you don’t get the classes you want, it could be a hidden blessing.