Hello everyone, This is my first post, and I hope I can get some guidance here. I'm currently finishing up my MBA in Taipei at Ming Chuan University and am looking to strengthen my marketability by going for a graduate certificate at a recognizable institution say, Stanford or Cornell. My interest is in finding work in product management or e-commerce, but I really don't know which certificate program I should go for (or if I should go for one at all) for a competitive edge and getting the job. Is a graduate certificate worth it, i.e., would a graduate certificate significantly boost my value to my future potential employer? Additionally, which certificate from which institution would be the best option for me? Many thanks!
Stanford and Cornell are both outstanding schools, and I'm sure you'll get good advice from others about their graduate certificates. My impression is that they're both fairly expensive, but I don't much about their offerings. You might also look at the Certificate in Strategic Management at Professional Graduate Certificates | Harvard Extension School , which sounds like it might be a nice complement to your MBA earned outside the US. Unfortunately, earning a certificate at HES doesn't come with alumni status, but the entire program is under $10K and the education is generally excellent.
The University of Virginia offer programs in both of your interest. Definitely not on the same level as Cornell or Stanford name wise, but a solid choice from what I’ve been told. University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Or the advanced project management certificate at Stanford. Though you really should be PMP certified before jumping on that one.
And? Who cares really, I belong to few alumni associations that just keep calling home for money. I don't think being alumni or not makes a difference. I got a Computer Security certificate from Stanford for less than 1000 dollars when they started back in 2006. Standford has few certificates worth looking at. Certificates from good schools look good in your resume, check the thread below about resume boosters http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/29703-online-certificates-brand-name-schools-%93resume-boosters.html A great link for this http://elearningpundit.com/?cat=13
If you don't have any experience in the industry I'd say save the money, try to land an internship, and live off the money you would have spent for the certificate while gaining relevant experience. Stanford, Cornell, UVA, etc. are all excellent institutions, but those cert program are simply cash cows for the school. eCornell is a separate, for-profit spinoff operated independently from the University, UVA's programs are ungodly expensive if you're not a resident of Virginia, I don't know much about Stanford but I assume they are comparable in price to eCornell. What type of product management are you interested in? I know CPG is very tough to get into. The lowest tier MBA program I know of where the big players (J&J, P&G, etc.) recruit at is Georgetown and a cert from any of the programs you mentioned isn't going to differentiate yourself against the grads of those programs without relevant experience. Product Management at the big tech players is even more competitive. Best of luck to you.
Thanks for the reply. I have almost 2 years product management experience in a mobile application company. (However, I'm actually nontechnical) I'm interested in PM positions at tech companies. Is it worth the high cost?
