MBA degrees are seen by many business students in Russia as the ticket to a successful career and a good salary. But how true is this? And are MBA degrees received from foreign insitutions really so much better than domestic ones? This week, The Leader’s Lucas Romriell investigates the ins and outs of getting a graduate degree in the art of doing business, what schools are best, what exactly the benefits are — and aren’t — of hopping on a plane to attend some program in Europe and just how many bucks all this will take from your wallet.

While the general consensus is that an MBA is essential in today’s rough and tumble business world, two questions remain for Russian business students: Is it better to earn this extra qualification at home or abroad, and is it really necessary in the first place?
Most experts say it all depends on what you want to do. For students who are interested in working overseas, then a degree from a foreign university is essential to success. But for students who already have a job, or aren’t interested in leaving the country, then obtaining a degree from a qualified institution in Russia is the best option. However, recruiters are careful to point out, that what really matters nowadays is experience, not academic qualifications.
"Right now it’s a very fashionable degree to have," said Zoya Zaitsova, acting director for MBA Consult, an business-school-education consulting service. "People have very personal reasons for studying for an MBA and where they go depends on what they want to do."
Her company specializes in assisting students in finding jobs with major MBA programs in the United States, which she believes is essential.
"If you want to work for a Western company, you need to have an MBA," she added.
Unfortunately for graduates, there is no guarantee that the degree will ensure a higher salary.
According to Tatyana Baskina, a consultant specializing in financial and legal sectors at ANCOR, a recruitment company, there are no certainties in the job market, only tendencies.
"Sometimes, I have someone who’s been studying their MBA overseas call me up and say I have such-and-such an education, I’m coming back and I want to make no less than $5,000 a month… Pretty soon they call back asking for $3,500, and so on," she said, but added that it was difficult to say which jobs require that an employee have an MBA.
"Sometimes companies insist on it, but usually not. I’ve had several companies tell me that they would be interested in the candidate, regardless of whether or not he had the degree."
She added that most companies who feel their employees need an MBA will help them to get one and said that "training programs are often more useful."
Alexander Tumanov, administrative director of the MBA Center for the Moscow University of Management, admitted that there were no official statistics regarding how effective an MBA is at raising an employee’s salary.
With no guarantees of a higher salary, many students are afraid to spend the upwards of $160,000 it can cost to earn an MBA overseas. However, locally based programs help to pick up the slack There are more than 40 schools offering MBA programs in Moscow with price tags around $6,000-$10,000 for a two-year program.
In many ways, the programs are ideal for Russians who don’t want to give up their homes. A number of the programs are internationally accredited and are taught by qualified professors from abroad.
"Our clients are people who already have careers here, or who simply can’t find the money to go away for education," said business-law professor at Moscow University Touro Michael Glatt.
"Not many people can afford to raise the money they need to study overseas, nor can they commit to the two years that they need," he added.
His school is one of two American-accredited institutions in Moscow and he said it offers the same level of education as in the States.
"We bring all our teachers over from New York, but here our program costs $10,000 for two years, while the exact same Dowling program in New York costs $28,000."
He conceded that degree from a school in Moscow is less prestigious than one from New York or Chicago, but said that for students who were looking to save time and money it was a good option.
The low price of Moscow programs means that most Russians pay themselves, plus, the country’s underdeveloped banking sector means that most students couldn’t obtain loans even if they tried.
The programs are also beginning to attract more than just native Russians. "Thirty percent of our clients are foreigners," said Galtt, "some are Americans, Spaniards, Indians and lots of others."
Not all students are worried that the degree won’t automatically ensure a higher salary or more important position.
"If it does something good for my career then that’s great," said Andrei Smerdlov, who studies at the Hayward, California State University MBA program in Moscow, "but I’m interested in expanding my experience and knowledge more than in increasing my salary."
He said that he had already lived for a long time in Vietnam and had spent enough of his life working abroad.
"I want to stay here with my family and my children."