Tag Archives: executive career

You have moved abroad to take a fantastic new job. Great achievement! Is it time to congratulate yourself and focus on work and work alone or find a new personal development opportunity through school?

People attend executive study programs for different reasons:

• Get an elite school on the resume to improve career prospects or simply satisfy ego
• Meet likeminded professionals to network with
• Personal development: never stop learning
• Learn from professors who are not only academics but also practice your trade
• Finally complete the unfinished education gap by getting a shorter version of that MBA you never got to do
• Intellectual challenge
• Go through a significant career change
• Fill in the gap year
• Work is paying for it. Why not?
• Party and make friends like you are back in college for the first time (usually combined with one or more of the above)

For an expat, an executive study course in the host country can also help

• Get better adjusted in a new country
• Consider new career options  if you are following a significant other to the expat location and do not have a work visa or a job planned yet
• Learn about careers and international adventures of fellow students who most likely are expats, have been expats or are considering an expat opportunity

Besides the field of study, key things to consider are

• Cost
• Commitment

Executive education does mean what it sounds like. It is a high quality product and hence it is expensive. It requires significant investment of money and time. Like with reaching any goal, plan and take actions that can get you there:

• Find out if your current employer will pay for it. Even if the company covers a portion of the program, it helps!
• Research scholarships. Yes, some schools may have subsidies for executive education programs, too.
• Be very clear on the time commitment required. Can you fit it into your travel schedule? How much reading is involved? What kind of exams and projects are you going to be faced with? What if you can’t make a session?

Once you have been accepted, fully commit to the program. If you were not the most diligent of students back in high school or university, now is the time to do it for yourself. You will get much more out of the experience if you dedicate the time required from both personal development and academic result point of view.

By Yelena Mackay

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