Why MBA? Hmm...the trickiest question by far in an interview...seems so simple but the 'jury' never seems to be impressed, do they?
Well dis question was giving me nightmares, cuz i cudnt find a single person who cud answer it correctly...and satisfy the interviewers...i enquired my clg seniors, mba passouts, even from my teachers in a coaching insti...donno y ppl want to evade this question and get on to the next...what guilt do they hold when they're answering this simple qn?
Then i met this senior guy, passout from MICA, am sure he'd be a big shot in a few years...well as my habit goes, i asked him the evasive question...and he loved answering it...
He said...firstly you ask yourself y u wana do it...is it d moolah?career growth?peer pressure?parents?shortcut to the top?
I asked myself wat it is...dwelt on it...and i suddenly knew that talking to urself can do a lot for u...now i know y i want an mba...
But the big question is...how to impress 'them'? the ppl who can make or ruin ur life in 10 mins?
This guy told me one word...elaborate...dont just give an answer like career growth,sir...or change of stream,sir...
if its career growth, give him the details...sir m working in so and so at designation so and so...will rise to so and so posn in next ten yrs...wid an mba and hard work, i can reach so and so position...don't evade the question,enjoy answering it
Say its money...don't hesitate to tell him so...but then dont blush as if u'd just accepted you enjoy sex...come to the figures...tell him ,sir, i am earning 3.4 LPA(say in an IT industry)...in next ten yrs my package could reach X amount...Now if i have an mba, after 4 yrs i'll reach X and after 10 yrs i'll reach Y...6 years ahead...that additional amount Y-X for 6 yrs coupled with an interest of so much would give me so much...y should i leave that money?Believe me, he'd be impressed!
I have answered my questions this way, and rest assured its worked for me...don't evade, just try and enjoy those 15 minutes! I know its very hard,but if u develop the habit, it helps in the long run...

]Below is my point of view. I am joining TAPMI this year after having 3 yrs IT exp at a top IT company.
Why MBA?
1.The way IT industry is trying to move up the value chain, they are increasingly trying to focus on what value they are delivering to clients BUSINESS rather than focusing on mere technology. Technology is no more than an enabler to business. Clients are increasingly raising their expectations from these IT companies and IT companies are also trying to move from mere Service Provider role to a more Consulting role for which they can command increased billing rate from the clients. In fact 4-5 years down the line; it may become the practice that the IT Companys revenue model will comprise of both fixed and variable payment. Variable payment will depend on the business value the IT Company was able to deliver to the customer. Some companies have already started contemplating this model.
Why I am saying all these is to drive home the point that few years down the line, there will be increasing demand for professionals who understand both TECHNOLOGY and BUSINESS and can relate both.
Since I have already a B.Tech degree in IT and 3 years experience in IT industry, I have a fundamental understanding of Technology. What I need is the knowledge of Business to make my profile more complete and attractive.
2.Usually, with only technical back ground, stagnation is bound to happen at Project Manager Level. Post MBA, the career path in IT industry is usually divided into 2 ways. First one is Operational side wherein the typical career path is Business analyst -> Project Manager -> Program Manager -> Delivery Manager -> Account Manager. Second side is the Pre Sales/ Business Development wherein depending upon your performance, you progress. This can lead to a Country Head position wherein you will be end to end responsible for the business of a particular region. I am interested in the Pre sales/ Business Development side because I have always been fascinated by Sales & Marketing and in the Pre Sales role, I will be able to use both my technical knowledge as well as my marketing skills acquired through MBA.
So at least, there will be no lack of opportunities just because I dont have a relevant degree. MBA is the highest academic degree which is required to reach the top of this industry. This in no way means that without MBA, you cannot reach the top but with it, it becomes a little bit easier.
3.Its not about salary I am drawing, its about your dream, your passion and wanting to do what you like to do. I cannot imagine myself as a techie few years down the line in my career (no offence meant to anybody, its my personal ambition).Also the personality I possess and the abilities I have will be best utilized in a business role. Moreover, I am hungry to have Management knowledge and looking forward to have 2 years of very enriching experience.

Double post

hi all,
Lately I don't see any action on this thread, and hence I felt like sharing my thoughts .... although this time I would slightly more specific towards some of the aspects of the question - Why MBA?
Well, recently I was involved with the recruitment of the employees for my organization, and then I went through a hell lot of questions in my mind.....
First, How do people do so much planning so that they come out with a expected number of candidates to be selected for a specifc year (which is atleast a year ahead, specially when it comes to fresher graduates). Who on this earth does such plannings? And how comes they are able to come up with the figures to be selected? This was the toughest question which I faced at that point of time.
Second, we all know that there is an expected slow-down in the IT industry and then also they are recruiting people........so is it not a kind of irony? But since they are recruiting, it shows that they have predictions about things getting better......so who all does those predictions? And on what basis?
Third, and the most important.......there is something called the 'Return on the Investment, 'ROI', when a company is spending money on someone it is also expecting returns (which should be much more than the Investment), so how do they fix this investment?
All in all, it was more of a self-interview for me......I tried to search for the answers to these questions, but all I could think of was that it could only come out with the deep knowledge of planning, strategy, market direction/expectation......and these can come to know these things only when you get to read these things in a holistic manner, and with a group where you get see a set of competiting people.
And all this you will get only if you are thinking of MBA. :)
Hope it was useful......
thanks & regards
Sarsij Nayanam

WHY MBA

Moi reasons are

1)Utmost important for me is awesome campus life.off time classes, late night libraries, eating out at 2 in the morning, buzzing in campus at night.Dis is something which really drives me...

2)SSSSalaryy...(sab ganda hai , par dhandha hai yeh)

3)Switching profile.From electronics engg to IT job.Now will do MBA .So it excites me getting into whole new domain.

4)Also passion for studying.I mean if we guys can compete for all india level exams and succeed, then definitely it would add to our confidence throughout life time.

5)meeting with ppl from diff profile , eg - CA , may be docs.

6)campus activities taken by student.Student driven initiatives really makes me feel that dis all stuff can make us more independent and committed .

7)Also concept of student exchange prog.Globalized perspective , learning with foreigners, dere campus and life.

My aspirations and goals to do something of which my parents can be proud of me in life.

very interesting points put forward...perhaps one of the most refreshing threads currently...

My top 10 reasons presently are :
1. Accelerated Growth..moneywise as well as an opportunity to do what one likes ...maybe research for some,marketing for others etc etc
2. More responsibilites,more intellectual involvement and stimulation and more interaction with others because of the nature of a managerial job which an MBA course leads to
3. An opportunity to diversify/explore other areas and learn about the various aspects of an industry and its functioning and also dicover one's own self in the process as was pointed out by chopsuey and others...
4. A Masters qualification under your belt ==> feel good factor as well as an enhanced CV
5. An opportunity to be a student again..and this time by choice...opportunity to sharpen learning,teamwork and many other skills as well
6. As reaching a point of decision making is inevitable in any industry(and in life 2), MBA if pursued in an open minded and sincere manner would help one become more efficient and effective as a person and at the job....an opportunity to master the theory of management so as to make better decisions tomorrow
7. Partial discontentment with the current IT job because of an acute lack of sustained interest in tech stuff and it doesnt pay that well too
8. "Because its there" factor...... the MBA competition infuses life with some enthu,some challenge,some excitement,something to strive for...without which maybe life might have been less exciting
9. An opportunity to network,make new friends and acquaintances and learn from, and view perspectives from the talented and hardworking peer groups' point of view
10. Money again..


Would like to quote something I had heard in a movie,where the father tells his son "You've got to do what you have to do in order to get what you want to do"..What is it that we want to do?? and what is it that we have to do in order to get it??The answers vary but I am sure many of us like making a difference, financial security,pursuing our hobbies and interests, taking care and helping out our loved one's,peace of mind, maximizing our own potential....the feeling that we experience in the process is what might be called happiness...I dont think its an exaggeration if I say that money could be a possible solution for many of the points listed above provided we manage it well...being an idealist myself,I have learnt quite late that money is not the problem,its how we intend to use it and whether it fits into our broader scheme of things..money is,in my opinion the monetization of the amount of value we are bringing in {luck adjusted :)}(from the payers perspective).... Also while it is worthy to quote and idealize Howard Roark etc etc one cannot ignore the disparity in the contexts of the two societies,the needs,the family expectations and bonds,liabilities,education loans,house loans,health costs etc etc in our society are different......and also remember that Howard Roark was supremely gifted to begin with

I like this discussion because it is nice to see that most of you have a very good head on their shoulders - Sure, there are advantages and 'disadvantages' (the MBA type junta are easily prone to having the most boring discussions in a group , self included)

Theres this debate in every MBA aspirant's mind on whether he shud join an institute on its brand name,thinking about the value addition and blah OR of course salaries! .....read this article it claims that its the students who make the IIM'S and not vice versa....In the author's opinion "If I were an Indian (or multinational) business house, I would recruit people immediately after they pass their CAT exams; what the IIM does to their job market value after CAT is minimal. By recruiting after CAT, companies would not only get cheaper products, but also less inflated egos."
Read the entire article it gives an interesting (not necessarily true) perspective about management education in India.
DNA - Opinion - More ISBs, fewer IIMs - Daily News & Analysis

Finally when u're working nobody'll pardon u if u f*&% up just coz ure from the IIM's, nor will anybody overlook u when u're performing well just coz u're not from a premier B-school.....so I think its all upto u.
Having said that I still obv want to get into the IIM's loll

WHY MBA
What I want to do in life

I looked at the world around me..the world where every parent want their child to be a part of...Study -> Earn -> Marry -> Have Children -> Die cycle...I decided that I should not be just other person in this world

I wanted to do something to improve the lives of people around me..I wanted to be remembered even after I die at least by a small bunch of people

For this I realized that I need power, money and like minded people...even though I am contributing to the society in whatever "small" way I can, I wanted to do it in the way I dream and for that I needed the 3 things that I mentioned just now..

My Career Aspirants

We all get inspired by what we read, by the people around us, by the changes or events happening around us. A guy want to enter IIT because somebody would have told him about the greener pastures one has after he comes out of an IIT or he would have got inspired by seeing or reading about an IITian or his parents/friends would have inspired him to get into an IIT

A Scientist becomes a scientist not because of his interest in Physics in the first place but because of his inspiration towards somebody or something which would have resulted in his interest in physics.
We all say we want to be an I banker or a Marketing guru or an advertising creative only after we read about them or hear about them or see and get inspired by real life stories.

In the same way I read a lot about business success stories and entrepreneurs when I was in my Engineering days. that acted as an inspiration.I had a group of like minded friends and we were discussing about these day in and day out and this increased by inspiration.

I didn't have a flair for electronics even though I graduated as an electronics engineer.
I identified my interest as speaking to people, convincing them, negotiating with them, making them buy my ideas and giving solutions to their problems.
I assume this is what we call Consulting or may be a branch of Marketing in an MBA. I decided to make a career out of it and I got into a role which was more of this and less of coding in my current organization. (I am working for a Software firm now).

I realized that MBA is one of the ways of making a career or reaching a "decision making" level in this field in lesser time and as a rational human I wanted to choose the shortest path:vamp:. Apart from this a top notch B school has a lot of offer interms of the exposure we get, peer learning, World's best faculty's gyaan etc etc.

Now how MBA is going to help me in "What I want to do in life" ...I assume MBA will give me more power, more money, more ideas and more contacts which I believe will help me in achieving my life goals...

What if I don't get into a B school

In this wild competition what if I don't get into a B school...I don't want to have failure as a option because if I realize that I have an option if I don't get what I wanted to, then I might start giving in when the going gets tough. I don't want this to happen. So I will try to enter into a top notch B school (either in India or in the USA) until I reach my threshold.

But to complete this post I would say that if I still don't get into a B school then I have to choose the longer path to reach my career aspirations. Get into Consulting+Marketing roles in the lowermost level, prove myself and grow. But I would never regret for going through the "Prep Phase..the toil from April to November every yr or sometime even until March for exams and interviews" as I have realized that THE JOURNEY IS MORE REWARDING THAN THE DESTINATION

yeah these HR PEOPLE suck big time and their policies :nono:.

why cant they pick grad students for job which r for grads only.

100 of b schools r making money due to this and student and parents r in debt :tellme:.

**** this indian systems .

i mean after putting 10 lacs in many schools people r getting 3 lac jobs wtf

Because of perception.

After being in a B School for 2 years, i've realized that management is what you understand in the field, not in a classroom. While its great to have different viewpoints in a class and learn from your peers, the real feel comes when you're on the job/internship.

However, There are certain jobs for which having an MBA from a 'good' school is absolutely necessary.Front End I banking for example. If you're a CFA/top ranker IITian its different, otherwise an MBA is a de facto thing that you need to make it there.

And that's why even if you don't want/need it, the HR sitting in the company still wants it, and because of his/her perception you'll have to do it.

it may sound absurd to few but this is my view

The foremost thing that a good B-school provides is the learning environment.
You can nurture yourself among the best talent pool of the country varying from the IITians to CA's. After passing through a good B-school you develop
a sense of confidence and pride among yourself which will remain throughout your life and help you not only in your professional life but also in personal life.

Another important thing is the way of living you learn in these B-schools which not only involves handling the work load offered to you but also enjoying the life at the same time. They teach you live the life.

My sole aim of getting into a B-school is to enjoy two years of life and make these years the most memorable days of my life and the rest will follow automatically. Hope I get these in the B-school of my choice.(among IIMI, IIMK and MDI)

Maybe nobody noticed this thread. I found a lot of sense being talked here, though in very general life terms...look out for posts from the thread-starter, desiguru, anupthomas, etc...
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/14065-to-hell-with-mba.html

For the record: the thread starter was not banned coz he started this.... it was what he did elsewhere. :)

My take on why people wanna do an MBA... including me...
NO passionate/great interest in any field in particular, while still wanting to be great in some way. Wanna keep all options open even after the PG course.... no don't tell me u have a great interest in equity markets, stocks, economics, etc. How many of us actually had all these interests before we knew there was a thing called MBA? :)And the irony is that the highest percentage of Ayn Rand lovers emanate from the MBA aspirants group.

Good questions Vicky..

I think there are few main factors that need to be discussed here. I have ranked them in order of priority:

1) The Experience
2) Peer group induced personality development
3) Core functional understanding
4) Brand Value
5) Salary

The Experience: This is according to me the most significant factor in a B School. The pedagogy, approach, implementation and associated interaction is different from any other kind of grad education. The strong focus on real-life modelling in terms of current case analysis and updated study material are significant factors. Equally important is the approach and consequent experience gained in its implementation - strict deadlines, odd-timings, crushing course load, freedom to explore subjects, freedom to choose how good you want to be in a particular subject etc..

Peer Group/Personality Development: Very critical to the success of a B School. The reason behind the soaring success of IIMs and also IITs. A eclectic bunch of focussed and immensely capable students, all dreaming to be the best in what ever they take up. Competition is but immense, and scope of learning and translating it into grades is a big motivational factor. Simply put, influences you to be a strong performer, to dream and to implement - as you did in your 2 years with the best brains..

Core functional understanding: Mentioned already by Ravi. Enables you to explore areas hitherto closed - like Marketing in FMCG, Equity consultant etc..Thanks to a fundamental course work in what it is all about. The course also gives you leverage and confidence that would enable you to take it up as a challenging career. Helps you move out of the herd ambling on the IT path.

Brand Value: Immense boost to profile. Stands out from a regular CV. Expectations are significantly higher and probability of them being fulfilled are also positively correlated. Been through the this crazy 2.3 lakh people exam, survived in the iim -> shows something


Salary: Not to be excluded at all. Comes with the responsibilities though.

Thanks,
Anand

After failing to crack CAT thrice, the feeling that haunts me is Why am I doing all this? Why am I trying to do an MBA? Do I really need to do an MBA?

My path to MBA has not been a one day decision, its over the years. I analyzed myself, what I am good at, where I am maximum efficient and what I love to do. I mean people should take careers where their job doesnt become work but a joy.

Each person has different capabilities, 'Each child is special '. You need to find out what you can do for weeks together without getting bored. And most of us have some special capabilities. Dont say that u dont know what it is, because in that case you havent known yourself and before deciding MBA or anything else you should do that.

Now once you have decided the path you are going to pursue in your life, look for what are the options. Obviously there will be long and short paths and one of such shorter paths is called as MBA.

It is a well known fact that all the people joining in IIMs dont know what their plans are after two years, and many who are deserving enough do not get into their favourite colleges. But this is something which I cant help, luck factor is a big thing because of the large amount of junta joining the bandwagon.

MBA is only a path not the destiny

p.s. This is general gyaan, not directed at anybody

After failing to crack CAT thrice, the feeling that haunts me is Why am I doing all this? Why am I trying to do an MBA? Do I really need to do an MBA?

After lots and lots of introspection, I came to know that I don't have exact answers to any of the questions posed above :

I hope this thread will help many of the future aspirants who are in a dilemma about whether to do an MBA or not.

Vikram.... Im in the same boat as u are... I too dont have any exact reason y i wanna do an MBA...

I wanna know how can a person in our age group decide upon the fact that he wants to be an MBA and study MBA even without knowing what its gonna teach us. I mean fine on the surface level. But do we really know when we are in the 2nd yr of our college and we gear up for the preps for CAT and make up our minds that ya this is it.. This is wat i wanna be... An MBA... :huh:

It was in my 11 th std that i drew inspiration frm a senior of mine who topped his 12th std. I thot i wud do it n I was the happiest soul on earth to have topped my 12th. But then this guy was so close to me that one day I happened to call on him and he told me about IIMs and MBA and CAT and etc.. There was I... Completely brain washed... Ab karna hai toh sirf MBA aur IIMs se... :

1st year college me baapu ki wajah se was forced to join CA against my interest. Bhaag ke aa gaya ek mahine me... Couldnt stand it anymore not cuz it was tough or dry, but cuz I lacked the interest, the motivation and the aptitude. Started preparing for CAt since June 2005 and wrote it twice. N nothing went right. Failed miserably all the time.

But still I tend to carry the same motivation, same enthu, same spirit to give it again. Had I got the same level of motivation I wud have nearly been a CA and could have also given CAT...

My resume could have been grt, in fact amazing.. But I lost those years and the time. N I dont feel like taking up any other course as a back up option with the fear of not doing justice to it. Wish I had done my CA... Kya profile hota yaar

But its still MBA that reigns high in my blood.. MBA karna hai bas... kaise bhi... Reason: Bas ek junoon hai sawaar sir pe.. On a more materialistic angle, Bcom rehkar mujhe peon ki bhi naukri nahin milegi.

its gonna be a third time CAT now... Lets see what fate has in store for us... Par is baar luck ko bhi hamaara saath dena padega...

Vikram bhai... Dont worry.... Let us redefine Murphy's Law...

PS: Make this damn thread STICKY...

MBA is a good experience in life. If someone can manage to get in a decent A class institute and work hard, brain is rewired with all the wonderful theory stuffs.

The ultimate thing in GRAND CAREER is the quality and quantity of work experience. It is very much possible without MBA to rise in corporate career but i always suggest non MBA aspirants to start reading the stuff which MBA guys read to rewire your brain.

Every non MBA aspirant should read this link:

People to Watch in International Business - TIME

The link explains how sangita singh grabbed 'Chief Marketing Officer' at Wipro without an MBA at the age of 32.

Again a thought provoking thread by Vikram

As a guy in the IT industry for 2 years these are things that I observed in many IT guys who turn to MBA....

MBA for most of us is an escape from IT coupled with the salaries it will offer and the responsibilities that will come after being termed as a management graduate from the elite management institutes in the country.

When we come to IT we arent exposed to the ground realities of this field and most of the work in India is of maintenance and support nature with exception of few companies.Initially we will have loads of interest but soon it fades away into frustration of not doing something substantial.So we see many of us writing CAT and GMAT.

Why MBA?
More responsibilities and being more accountable to what you do.

As I have seen in my company MBA grads are given responsibilities more quickly than non MBA grads .Also the work(management work) you do after you have an exp of 8-9 years in the industry will come to you in 2-3 years with an MBA.(MBA+2-3 yrs) and ppl have that perception that MBA grads can manage better than non MBA folks because they had a formal training in management.(This may not be true because managing is an art and it can vary from individual to an individual).

More money and more recognition.

MBA is more of generalisation so you will not be stuck in a profession if you dont like it.
(Here I am talking abt a general MBA as that given by IIMA)

What does a B-school offers?
As we know MBA is an active learning not a passive one.We are rated more by our interactions with our professors/peers than our marks in the written tests.Definitely we can unleash some of our hidden potential which we never knew existed.

Peer group
If we interact with ppl of different kinds we will become more of a multi-dimensional person rather than a uni-dimensional one that we will be if we dont interact with such ppl.
One may argue that we can do the same by interacting with such ppl even by not going to a B-School but the chances of better interaction are more if we go to a B-School.

PS:These are the thoughts that came to my mind abt why an MBA..and what a B-schools offer..

Regards,
Absolute.

hmmmmmm.....

My reason

In 1 word -- Learning
Elaboration -- Acceleration of learning curve

Everything else is just a corrollary to ur knowledge.
Be it career shift, increase in sal, better profile, better opportunities..
This is what one gains fromk an MBA.. but they are just side-effects of the most important thing that one gains .. Learning and a passion to learn furthur..

Of course, we need to be passionate about what we are learning and really want to learn that..

Say a hardcore techie is passionate about technology and wants to move ahead in that line..
Nothing like it..

When I asked myself, it was the requirement analysis + designing end to end solutions for business problems that gave me the maximum kick..
Of course selling the solution as well..

I could have learnt this otherwise as well.. But MBA was 1 platform where I could learn this
and much more and at a faster rate and from the best brains in the industry..
At my work, it wud have taken me 7-8 years at least to learn all this and again it wudn't
have been the best..

MBA was in..

Other realization -- Learning is a lifelong thing and if someone feels that MBA is the end,
I'd advise to rethink..

~Nitin

What does a B School Offer?
Well one thing that i feel one gets in a b school is peer learning.
here is a place where people with 10 years of work experience and a fresher straight from college sit in benches next to each other and learn the ropes of management, no doubt both will have different views on many subjects and everyone will only benifit from such diversity rather than be affected by it.
Apart from this i believe that even if u learn the tricks of management on the job, it might be limited to the sector one is working in rather than general management concepts.
for eg: an IT project manager will be learning the management principles with respect to his line of work and very less in general management.
So the general management we learn in a b school and the peer group we mingle with are 2 reasons why i would prefer a bschool over learning management on the job.

hmm
why mba..
well mba for me is never for field change coz the field i am going work was decided itself in class 10th and i opted for commerce so me gonna remain in finance forever , wheter money in other sectors are 5 times more also..

aftr my b.com from DU , i know i will need a mba to grow in any organisation .
now my target is to do a mba but not get just a degree or that 1st placements after b schools.iut

for me its all about "Studying in one of the finest educational instituion in india "
jab yaha se pad lenge to baki life to maza mi kating

@krsh.vik
eg : if one wants to move out of the IT industry to marketing(FMCG) yes MBA is the only option..i want to make it to marketing not out of frustration in IT but out of pure interest towards marketing..

its great..
but frankly, either interest in mkt or lack of interest in IT, the fact is that an MBA opens up wide oppurtunities for a person that other graduation fields dont offer.
u can c an MBA fitting into marketing of service industry, FMCG procucts, IT services / products & various other domains.
a fin MBA goin to various financial instt, banks, consultancies & working at various profiles.
same for other MBA specializations. the fact here is that an MBA opens up unparalleled oppurtunities for an individual to explore new careers.
no doubt, few ppl can reach tremendous heights even with simple graduation or a one off ambani with no formal education. but the fact remains, that for a majority of average junta, MBA seems to be the only option to switch career & explore options with ease.

well at least this seems to be the scenario in india where there are very few oppurtunities & lot of ppl competing for it. so as far as India goes, MONEY & SWITHING CAREER (mostly for IT ppl) seems to be the most common factor for an MBA.

so far as the question WHY MBA goes, MBA as rightly pointed out should be used as a means to learn new things, aquire new skills & sharpening ur business management acumen.
in foriegn B-school, the average work ex of a batch is as it is high, as ppl who feel they really need the exposure to management education go for it. i feel, its not the only means used by ppl to switch careers as in India.

@krsh.vik
Those were vital questions framed by you..
y mba?
well most ppl consider mba an escape route..to be frank it is not..
i would like to make one point clearly over here..MBA is the only way you can change your line of work completely..
eg : if one wants to move out of the IT industry to marketing(FMCG) yes MBA is the only option..i want to make it to marketing not out of frustration in IT but out of pure interest towards marketing..if u want to stay in IT sales i dont think you require an MBA mandatorily..depends on the skill of an individual.few friends of mine are business analysts in TCS without an MBA..of course it takes some time of ur career..
what value an mba adds?
an mba transforms u into a different individual..again here the b school doesnt teach u how to solve problems.its an individual who interacts with his/her peers with case studies etc to come up with solutions..curriculum and the pedagogy in a b school is completely different from engineering..an mba give u the oppurtuinity to decide what u want to do some time down the line..u get to interact with the best brains in the country..actually i really dont have a precise answer for this question..i would say i would be satisfied with my job after my mba because i will be doing something what i like which i am not doing now..so a mba from a b school gives u a 100% chance to shift ur line of work of your interest..


P.S : views are entirely personal

krsh.vik Says

After failing to crack CAT thrice, the feeling that haunts me is Why am I doing all this? Why am I trying to do an MBA? Do I really need to do an MBA?

Vik, I think you have posed some really important questions, which many of us don't have clear answers to. I am sharing my reasons here...

After having worked for a fairly long time (nearly 6 years) and having interacted with quite a few members of the top brass, I feel I am currently not completely equipped to take on higher responsibilities. Right now, I am handling a team of people, planning projects, managing them, and executing them, but my learning and understanding of the same is only based on experience. I perform a task, make mistakes, go back to the drawing board, and improve. This is a long procedure. Even without an MBA, in 2-3 years, I will be a manager.

However, I still won't be equipped for the role. So, by spending two years learning the ropes, I can accelerate that phase of doing, learning, and then redoing. Of course, I don't really need to do an MBA. But, with an MBA, it will be easier and faster to move up and reach my goals. The ultimate objective I have is to be a part of the decision making and strategic leadership. Without an MBA, I'll probably get there not before another 15-18 years. With an MBA, hopefully, in half the time.

P.S. Salary is not the sole motivating factor, but yes, it surely is one. The brand value that a good b-school provides comes in handy there too.

Please visit the mentioned link to give further direction to yourself. http://www.advancedge.com/hot_links/why_mba/pdf/01_Why%20Shld%20u%20do%20MBA.pdf

After failing to crack CAT thrice, the feeling that haunts me is Why am I doing all this? Why am I trying to do an MBA? Do I really need to do an MBA?

After lots and lots of introspection, I came to know that I don't have exact answers to any of the questions posed above :|

I interacted with many of the MBA aspirants. I feel sad that most of them are not sure why they are doing an MBA and what a B-School has to offer? Salary, Ladder jump, Resume building are the obvious reasons most of them say. Do we need to do an MBA for the above reasons? Not at all. period. So Why MBA? What will I learn in a B-School? What will I do after an MBA? I want to know concrete answers/reasoning for the above .

I hope this thread will help many of the future aspirants who are in a dilemma about whether to do an MBA or not.

Senior & Experienced puys, need your inputs

Hi all, really a nice thread .... well reasons for shifting from techie to MBA could be many .... For me it goes on like this ... If in India you look at the software companies most f them are basically are service providers( however I am wrking in a Product based company fortunately ). That means even if you are a Software engineer you ae not using your skills in the fullest ... wat u r doin basically is fixing a few bugs by altering some LOC's ( Lines Of Code ) or may be designing some UI or something like this ... But what about the platform of all these ... like ... let say... have your organizatio given you a chance to work in a team which is developing some Real time operating system where you along with your team is responsible for all the tasks designing OS processes etc ... Just think if you gonna do that something exicting will you look for a MBA ... may be not ...if you see ppl working at Google or Microsoft R&D; i don think i saw anyone switching to studies for a MBA well MS is an another case If you are talking abt money .... I think if you working in some core research company they will even make MBA's jealous ... that's for sure ... but you had to have enough technical acumen for that .... So simply to conclude I will say lack of oppurtunities compounded with lack of technical acumen along with sight towards a easy way to an intresting work with lot of money is a reason for going for a MBA .... :aditya

A nice thread and wonderful and honest replies from all..

I could relate to sarsij while going thru the post..

Nothin much to add..just a few things..

while in college this MBA thing was never in my mind too..
but in the corporate world now for a lil more than two years..
I hv realised my true potential..I hv realised what all I can do that can earn me love and respect apart from makin big bucks..

How so much you curse the HR guys..I know I can be the best..
coz i know how to listen when one talks..i know how to understand other's point of view, and i also know how to keep myself aside when it comes to others..

IT industry taught me this..
I hv designed,coded, and tested..
but now i wish to undestand and express..

hi all
I am happy to see this thread, although I have not gone through the entire posts, but after reading the first page I got the feel that this thread is one of the most important threads for all those who wish to a MBA degree holders at some point of time in their career.
Well, before I give my piece advice, let me start with my case........
I heard about MBA only when I entered into the Engineering college, and every final year senior was doing something or the other for CAT. It was almost amazing for me to see that even during their final year engineering they are more interested in solving puzzles, simple maths problems and reading english rather than spending time in Computer Programming or learning new things about their brnach of study. This was really bizzare at a times when they started to discuss about the Economy of India (or for that matter even a subscription of Economic Times used to confuse me about its utility for an engineering student). I was simple left amazed. and probably everyone in my freshers batch was amazed to know that there is something called MBA, and its more important to earn an MBA degree, even more important than earning a BE degree.
A few years later I got a chance to know something more about 'Why MBA?', but even then the focus was more towards the 'HOT' Money which you can earn. All the discussions used to condence to the fact that MBA can give you a hell lot of money which Engineers can simply dream of.
I was still confused about What an MBA is all about, and how come it gives so much money without even working in actual things (I am believer of the fact that Engineers do the actual work). I have seen days turning into weeks, weeks turning into months and months into years, but my question regarding MBA still remained the same. Is MBA only about Money? Who on this earth will give anyone so much money without working? The MBA guys just know how to speak good english and use fork & knife while eating, how the hell do these people contribute in working?
With all sorts of possible questions I left for my first job after college, and still standing firm on the notion that 'MBAs are just show-offs, they do not work at all'. And while working in a huge MNC (One of the top 3 in this world) my whole approach towards an MBA started to change. And here goes the metamorphosis.......
While an engineer does a focussed job (be it programming, or designing or somethingelse), but we engineers do only a part of the job (which is the actual brick and mortar of a house), but even we dont have a clear idea about what will be the final outcome of our work, Why? We engineers always get dead-lines from higher authorities, why? We dont know what should be the right strategy of an organization in coming 5-10 years. All the answer to above questions is that - We exist in the organization to do a very-very focused job.....we can at max influence a client to choose some services/products, but engineer can't decide anything beyond that.
I have personally believed that an engineer can at max influence the lives of at max a team working under him, but never define the strategy of an organization. For defining things which are beyond the level of 'actual' work there is a need of a generalist and which happens to be there in MBAs. An MBA person can always give direction to the organization, and at the same time channelize the resources in achieving the same. An MBA has the capacity to become the face of the organization (even when he doesn't do the 'actual' work). An MBA has the capacity to influence the market based on the resources under him. An MBA has the capability to negotiate his resources to do some work.
Finally, an MBA thinks beyond the obvious, and thats why he is paid more than the people working for him.
I guess I have even reasons why one should go for MBA. And I have learnt all this while working. And I guess the best way to gain a motivation for MBA comes only when you start working, else you tend to take MBA as a routine thing which comes after an engineering degree.
Thinking about why you should go for an MBA degree is in itself a huge task, and it requires an immense degree of self-questioning and introspection. The more we question our-selves the more suited are we for this degree.
All the best to all those who are aspiring for this hallowed degree.
Thanks & Regards
Sarsij Nayanam

nice thread !!

My take on the subject is that, ideally, an MBA gives you how to leverage your techie skills so that the project can be managed best.

Consider a scenario where u r a B.Tech.(IT). You then do an MBA in marketing.

Ideally this should mean that If after the MBA you join a Tech company, you will be able to persuade the clients better as

1. You know your tech well. So, you can understand the client's needs better
2. You know your marketing fundas well. So, you know how to show the client that you can deliver what they want.

Well, this is the ideal scenario. But In general, MBA is a different way of life, far removed from the tech field.

Hi,
Profile:
7 years IT, Proj. Mgr, Gmat:700, Avg Acads and Extra Curr.

I was never inclined to be a manager for the first 5 years of my career, infact i never had the opportunity to lead a team till the 6th year.
I saw my friends going for Cat, gmat but it never excited me to follow the herd. Some people are ambitious by nature and do not need a reason to pursue management studies others are different. Till the time they are not pushed to the wall, they do not decide what course they have to take.
I am in the second category.

The first 5 yrs made me a realise that techie skills and attitude do not come to me naturally. In the 6th year i managed a full project and i achieved great success in it.

I was in the mid of the project when I realised that I have good planning and orgqanisational skills, i got it! It became crystal clear that I cannot be happy in a techie career and need to move on away from it to place where I can manage people and business development instead.

It took me too long to realise almost 6 years. Then i started preparing for gmat for 3 months, something i had never done before...i studied after office hours...i could only do it because i got a reason to change my job function to something which would make me happy.

I took gmat and am now applying to indian b-schools.

Ofcourse the reason for me is the need to change my job function from techhie to non-tech field, that would make me happier.

thanks....

Every one has their own reasons for pursuing an MBA... I too was trying to find answers to this question not very long ago ( im in my 3rd month of my MBA).. I still have a long long way to go, but im sure of atleast a few things ... One, it really has helped me look within me as to what i really wanna do , where i see myself say 10-15 years down the line..two, it has ACTUALLY made me realise what my strengths and weaknesses are ... and ofcourse it really is a whole new experience of sharing the same classroom with people almost twice ur age !! If not anything else ..this 2 year stint sure is gonna teach me a whole lotta things ...learnings whose importance i might realise much later in life

On this I want to add that its people's perspective, why they want to do MBA,
Like for me I'll tell you I have been working as a software engineer for past four years, you can say core technical work for four years and the salary I am getting, many MBAs from top doesn't get that, but the the thing is after wrking for four years I feel very saturated and I think I cannot give more then 100% to my job and want to shift to a consulting job, awaty from technical job, as a engineer I tried going away but all my target companies in this case require a MBA degree, thus wanna do MBA.

Regards,

GA

i am sure sahil has voiced the concern of lots of engineers and other techies around....and kaptivate too,has given some really solid justification for pursuing MBA...but ther is stil one question tht bothers me...and i wish if some of the engineers in the site cud reply to it

being an engineer I wud definitly like to work in an environment which relates to my field...however its a fact tht an MBA wud surely help u grow faster in the market....so is it advisable to get a specialisation in yur field by pursuing a MS or M.Tech and then go for an MBA degree sometime later.... for instance being a mechanical engineer i would love to be a manager at Ford or Tata rather than in pepsi or coke.....then,wud my specialisation in automobile help me grow better in such fields?????

waiting for yur reply...

my reason is- i'm a chem engineer n was working on flield n mba is the only way out to white collared job

i would like more view points to be posted here..

thankyou for opening this thread ,i was in quiet a fix as y m i doing mba?the answers above r quiet in context to what i think as to y i m doing an mba.

hi,



too much confusion is good as my friend says,,it sets u thinking
but let not too much confusion delay ur plans,,
everyhting has a time and i guess now is the right time for u to decide which way to go
hope that helps


ps-its "k"aptivate and not "c"aptivate

cheers

Hi Shail,


4 yrs of engineering skills , are really good. But where do you see yourself 10 yrs from now with these skills. See dont do it blindly but understand that with these skills you need some kind of upgradation



In HR , we have this concept of a "market". A market basically means for an organization , that where do its people come from, where do its people go. All of us in a market and this market is dynamic. So you constantly need to change or upgrade



I am anot an engineer , so pardon my lack of knowledge,, but where do these skills take you ??I think MBA will give you the opportunity to move to managerial and more meaty positions than technical ones.



Finally, what are your friends doing? Do you still want to pursue your engineering skills. If yes, maybe we could look for advice in that domain on this forum. I am sure you ll find all the help here.

R u referring to the post Campus-Corporate milap: Why MBA?
even I read that but I've some more points to add to this
1) Nowadays for a bright career........an Engineer Degree is not sufficient.......to get to a position where you can make the difference......You need an MBA degree....
2) apart from that.......taking the money terms......I believe that job after MBA can give you the salary that is not possible in a programmer job.
Also MBA helps you to make a rapid Growth.
I hope these point make you feel better about MBA