Examining the claim "Canadian South Asians love education more than the Black community"

 Have you heard these comments before?

1. South Asians are the model group. Look how many of us get into university! We value education!
2. If only Blacks got educated more! There's hardly any black students on university campus!

Recently, out of interest, I started to look into these claims. I found out two things.

1. Black Canadians only make up 3.5% of Canada's population (2016 census), so obviously you will see a low percentage of university students being black - this is reflective of their population percentage.
2. TDSB is the only board that tracks race based data on students and their university / college progress. One board out of ALL the education boards in this country. When they published their data, I took a look (I will link to the article below).

THE CONCLUSION FROM TDSB DATA IS PRETTY STARK:

1. We South Asians (desis) are starting to go less and less into universities and more into colleges. Yes, a lot of South Asian kids still go to university, but the percentage is decreasing every year. That means since this is now our 3rd or 4th generation's data, we are no longer driven by high achievers (usually immigrants or children of immigrants), and we are more approaching the general norm where college is seen as a viable option (and not bringing bad reputation to the "khandan"). It's a significant drop - almost 10%.
2. More and more black students are going into university, despite many challenges. These challenges include poor families (economic disadvantages), poor schools in poor neighborhoods, single parent families, low averages coming into high school, racial discrimination from education staff, etc. Even despite getting into university, many black students face significant racism and other challenges. And yet, most graduate and finish the degree.

I love data, so I am going to link to some data. These data show that it's incorrect to say we South Asians love our education (as an overall statement) and black community does not value education (in Canada). What is likely is that South Asian community here is the descendent of smart and hard working immigrants who did not face the hard poverty and racism to the same degree as black Canadians.

Data and sources:

1. TDSB report: https://brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/black-students-still-face-major-hurdles-getting-into-university/
   
   It should be noted that TDSB itself isn't really the best example as despite blacks and visible minority making a significant higher amount of Toronto's population (51%), TDSB staff is still 70% white.
2. Being black on campus: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/anti-black-racism-campus-university-1.5924548
3. StatCan: Canada's Black Population - Education, Labour and Resilience: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-657-x/89-657-x2020002-eng.htm

Should You Go For an MBA Today?

Should I get an MBA?
 
As a double major MBA alumni from one of Canada's top universities, as well as a class rep, I get asked this question a lot, especially by prospective immigrants from Bangladesh. It's often looked at as a quick way to get Permanent Residency (and eventual citizenship) in Canada. It's relatively easier to get into an MBA program in a Canadian university as a foreigner, it's quick (2 years) and job prospects seem promising. 

First thing I would advise you is to see whether you need it for your career. An MBA is most useful if you want to set up your own business or you are in the financial or stock market area. It's a must (I feel) if you are going to start your own business here in Canada. It's probably useful if you are a manager or going to be one. If you want to go into HR, it could be helpful. 

After that, it's usefulness starts to decline rapidly compared to other options, especially getting a PMP certification, or a booster course at a community college.

Second, it's very, very costly. Rotman, for example, is the costliest in Canada, and an international student (depending on courses) can easily be looking at $108,000 in tuition alone (domestic fee is around $99,000). There are far cheaper ways to get PM into Canada. And definitely far cheaper ways to get educated.

Third, the job prospects around the world are dull. An MBA doesn't have the lure in a down market as it used to, except for some specific job sectors. If you have been working as a programmer, for example, and you want to become a manager, an MBA will not help you, but dev lead experience and technical expertise will.

Those are the downsides. However, I have also experienced the upsides. Alhamdulillah I had a consulting job that was a direct result of the MBA. It also gave me great connections (provided I leverage the alumni network). And of course the knowledge you get from an MBA itself is excellent.

If you do decide to do an MBA, based on your career path and affordability, here's some guidelines.

1) Stay away from 1 year MBAs. They are not worth it. You will not learn anything in 1 year.

2) Some schools, such as Rotman, have morning or evening part time MBAs (3 years). They may be suitable if you have a job. Ryerson also has a cheaper part time MBA for IT, which is unique in Canada.

3) Do not go for MBAs that are not in the original campus (such as a visiting MBA course in another city). You will not get the best instructors then.

4) If you are in full time MBA, look for co-op opportunities as interns. They are the best way to get into the career track you need.

5) Some universities also have an exchange option (so you can do a course or two for a term in another country's university). Take advantage of that if you can.

6) GMAT is really, really, really important.