Coding Becoming a Priority for Columbia Business School MBAs
Like every other elite business school worth its salt, Columbia Business School (CBS) has seen a huge surge in student interest in programming and analytics courses.
It started three years ago when Costis Maglaras, the chair of the Decision, Risk & Operations division of CBS, oversaw development of a new analytics curriculum with the goal to ensure that students were being trained in quantitative, data-driven decision-making.
Maglaras couldn’t help but notice a major gap: There were few courses in computer programming, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
He took it upon himself to help develop a series of MBA-level programming that included analytics-focused classes to give MBA students the digital tools they needed to become tech-savvy managers. In tandem with Maglaras’ efforts, the student-run Technology Business Group helped develop courses around the programming languages of SQL and Python.
Now more than a dozen elective programming courses have been launched across CBS, helping MBA graduates land management positions at Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft. And the popularity of these courses is only growing.
“Taking those classes gave me a lot of confidence for my interviews,” says Neha Bansal, MBA ’18. She credits the new curriculum for helping her land a job at Google as a product manager due in small part to her Python expertise.
Bansal is far from the only student who’s reaped the benefits. There are now more than 300 MBA students at CBS who have signed up to learn Python—a highly marketable skill. The only problem: The classes have now become almost too popular.
More than a dozen coding language programs have recently launched for business school students at CBS, thanks in part to the student-run Technology Business Group.
The division hired additional faculty and to figure out how to integrate the new analytics programming more intricately into the overall curriculum. Across the board, CBS is seeing more MBA students interested in programming because, simply put, it’s what employers want.
For example, Citigroup recently announced it would train all incoming analysts in Python. Goldman Sachs has asked its traders to learn how to code. According to a recent Financial Times survey, “understanding digital impact on business” is one of the most important skills for an MBA and one of the most difficult skills to recruit.
“The reality is we’re living in a very data-centric world, and whether we like it or not it’s going to be an important factor in any decision-making process down the road,” Hardeep Johar, of the CBS Engineering School, says. “We need people to be savvy about how to use data analytics and artificial intelligence on all the important decisions of today.”
To read the full article and all about what Columbia Business School is doing to help prepare MBA students to embrace data analytics, visit the CBS website.
This article has been edited and republished from Clear Admit.
New MBA Jobs: McKinsey, AT&T, Barclays and More
Big time companies are hiring in some the world’s most bustling metros. Check out the hottest new MBA jobs at top consulting companies, supply chain departments, and financial institutions across the country below:
Morgan Stanley Still Loves MBAs and the Feeling Is Mutual
Though interest in finance and accounting careers may be decreasing, gaining a job at an investment banks such as J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley is still attractive for many MBA graduates. In 2018, a career in finance is the third most sought-after industry, according to a recent Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) study. Part of that reasoning is due to the high annual base salary ($115,000), which is this third highest, only behind general management ($125,000) and IT/MIS ($120,000).
So, what does it look like to work for a company such as Morgan Stanley as an MBA graduate? Is it your golden ticket to the future in 2018? We’re taking an inside look. Continue reading…
New MBA Jobs: Morgan Stanley, Google, Nike, and More
Every MBA’s goal is to land their dream job, but why limit your choices to the United States? With so many great companies recruiting MBAs to develop businesses in markets across the globe, it’s hard to stay on top of all the opportunities out there. Here’s a selection of some of the most exciting open positions out there right now in the US, Europe and Asia: Continue reading…
What Exactly is the “Target Effect”? NYU Stern Prof Looks Deeper – New York News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
Why It’s So Hard To Buy “Just One Thing” At Target – Refinery29
Speaking with Refinery29 writer Cait Munro, New York University’s Stern School of Business marketing professor Tom Meyvis elaborated why consumers have such a strong impulse to buy more things than they intended when shopping at a big-box store.
“Stores have an idea about the path [shoppers take],” he says in an interview. “Walmart was once famous for doing things like putting like Band-Aids next to fishing hooks and things like that. Something you don’t naturally associate, but once you see them there, it makes sense. So when people come in for something in one category, you can cross-sell, you can sell them something that compliments in the next product category by making sure they’re right next to each other.”
What is the so-called “Target Effect” that makes people buy more products than they intend to?
“Meyvis also notes that stores like Target have extensive data on which products customers typically buy together, and they’ll often employ those numbers to decide what should go where within the store’s layout. Some are obvious, like placing flip flops next to sunscreen, while others are so subtle that you might not even notice what’s going on when you pick up hot sauce and Pepto Bismol in the same motion.”
You can read more of Munro’s piece with Refinery29 here.
A Masters in Governmental Accounting? Five Reasons It’s Time to Make the Investment – Rutgers Business School Blog
Offered completely online, the Rutgers Business School Master of Accountancy in Governmental Accounting program may be perfect for working professionals “in the field of public financial management or transition to the public sector from private industry.” The school outlines five the biggest reasons why you may need to consider it, too:
- Opportunities – Projections indicates that there will be governmental vacancies galore due to the fact that “nearly a third of the government workforce will qualify for retirement.”
- More than just numbers – The interdisciplinary degree combines “public policy, public administration, ethics, government accounting, and auditing.”
- Quality instruction – Instructors include former New Jersey State Auditor Rick Fair and Dean Michael Mead, senior research manager at the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
- Valuable connections – Rutgers “works hard to build connections with local, state and federal employers who can provide job opportunities and advancement to students and graduates.”
- Uniquely accessible – The online program means “you can benefit from the quality of instruction and the Rutgers connections … no matter where you are.”
You can read more about the RBS program here.
5G mobile Communication in China: From Imitator to Innovator – Johnson Business Feed
Baohong Li, an Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Management at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and visiting scholar at the Emerging Marketing Institute, recently wrote a piece for the Cornell Johnson Businessfeed, in which they discussed China’s incredibly rapid mobile technology advancement and the future of 5G connectivity.
Specifically, Li laid out five reasons why China has an vastly important role in the implementation of 5G, including:
- Institutional innovation and reform
- Strategic planning and policy innovation
- Imitating innovation and gaining advantage
- Encouraging patent and international standardization
- Creating co-opetition innovation ecosystem
Click here for a more in-depth review of Li’s work.
Monday Links: New MBA Jobs at Wolters Kluwer, BMO, and More
The ultimate goal of all MBA candidates is to get the best possible job following graduation. With so many great companies recruiting so many talented MBAs, it’s hard to stay on top of all the MBA jobs out there! Here’s a selection of some of the top open positions out there right now:
