Thanks Sempronius for your reply.

I've been thinking about applying for placements first, but at this point I think it would be difficult. The only work experience I have, aside from the teaching thing, is at a start-up in Stockholm. I learned a lot and had some serious responsibility, but although the company is doing well these days, I doubt it's the kind of experience large City firms are looking for. I'm really not bothered with prestige or big starting salaries, but I don't know how smaller companies feel about employing foreigners when there are many unemployed natives already. My English is as close to fluent as they come, but I have few connections and frankly, an economics degree isn't that vocational.

I saw that Chester University offers a business master with two 20-weeks paid work placements at local companies. Perhaps this is worth looking into as a first step to get some UK-based experience? Also the salary, while modest, is enough to pay for tuition and living costs in the north-west. It's a shame there doesn't seem to be more universities offering this.

Dear all,

I'm a Swedish student aiming to study for a masters in management in the UK. My goal is to do a PhD after that, but as I am aware of the job market for academics, I am also looking for a master that could serve as a decent stepping stone onto the UK labour market.

About me:

BSc Economics and Mathematics '16 - Uppsala University, Sweden. Grade: 2.1 (mid 60s) (predicted)
Erasmus Scholarship (one year) '15 - UCL, London. Grade: 2.1, with a 1st (75) in dissertation.
LSE Summer School, Management '13 Grade: A

Wrote my UCL BSc. dissertation on rebranding of non-commercial organisations, highly praised by my supervisors. Won a venture creation competition organized by UCLs management department (a team effort)
Volunteered as a sub teacher at an inner city 6th form college, which I hope shows that I enjoy teaching. Will get good rec letters, but not from high profile professors. I speak Swedish, English and working Mandarin.

Personally I think the likes of LSE, Imperial, UCL and WBS are long shots (also expensive for me). Now, should I look within the rest of the Russel Group (Exeter, Liverpool, Nottingham etc.) or the universities that aren't famous but have good b-schools (Aston, Cass, Lancaster etc.)? How do these groups compare if I want to join academia vs just get a job in England? How 'high' do you think I can dare to aim with my profile? The reasons I want to move are primarily personal (family).