MBA - To Do Or Not To Do

MBA is perhaps the most popular degree program across the world. An MBA from a prestigious institute equips you with the skills and knowledge necessary to run your business effectively. An MBA is probably your ticket to success, fortune and a rewarding career.

Here are the many advantages of doing an MBA:

1) It provides you with detailed knowledge and expertise about business and its many policies. This propels your career to a higher designation in a company.
2) You stand a chance of getting a higher package compared to someone who is not equipped with an MBA degree.
3) It keeps you focused. It helps you deal with the competitive business world.
4) When you do your own business, you are less prone to failure. You are well equipped with the necessary skills and expertise of starting and sustaining your business venture.
5) An MBA gives you amazing networking opportunities through the various people whom you meet- i.e. faculty, students and others. It improves your professional credentials.
6) It helps you gain confidence and acquire leadership skills to do well in life.

However there are some disadvantages of pursuing an MBA:

1) It is exorbitant in terms of time and money
2) Small scale, mid sized companies may not hire you since they are bound by budget constraints. You could be too expensive for them to hire.
3) You need to compromise on your personal life. An MBA demands a lot of time, attention and focus. Your social life takes a backseat.
4) Some companies would rather recruit candidates with years of experience than an MBA degree.

The above mentioned advantages and disadvantages will help you make a well informed career decision. It is an important decision that can have serious repercussions on your career. So it makes sense to weigh the pros and cons and take a wise decision of whether or not you wish to pursue an MBA.

Do You Need An MBA?

Every student, business person or executive thinks about pursuing an MBA at some point or the other. MBAs usually land prestigious, high profile jobs and careers at MNCs. The question is- Do you really need an MBA to be successful in business? To do well in life?

You gain a lot by pursuing an MBA- in terms of education, management skills and business competency skills. It prepares you for a promising career in business. You can learn a great deal about careers in marketing, finance, economics, management, etc. You learn to work on group projects, you acquire leadership skills, and you learn a lot of soft skills and experimental skills as well. The MBA environment is very stimulating intellectually. You feel motivated to work along with other students and faculties from diverse backgrounds. A good MBA program also provides you with contact building opportunities, career guidance and in-depth networking. It even helps you with job placements.

MBA candidates are classified into 3 groups. Those in their mid twenties to early thirties, with some years of work experience to their credit, belong to the first category. They can obtain an MBA as a means to polish their educational history. For those belonging to this category, an MBA is desirable but it is not a must unless you want to change your field. In other words, if you want to switch careers, you need to do an MBA. If you can get ahead in your career or further your existing career without an MBA, then you need not spend time and money on it.

If you wish to pursue an entrepreneurial path, you might want to do an MBA. It provides you with the necessary skills, expertise, networking, knowledge and personal experience needed to pursue the entrepreneurial route. Having said that, a truly dedicated and a focused entrepreneur can also excel without an MBA. It also depends on your attitude, skills and interests.

Some circumstances definitely demand an MBA. If your present employer demands an MBA for you to achieve a specific level of management, you definitely need to do it.

The question whether you require an MBA basically boils down to two questions that you need to ask yourself- Is there an alternative route or substitute to your goal? And what is the opportunity cost of doing an MBA?

Opportunities after MBA

Often students opt for MBA in order to sharpen the skills required for being efficient manager. Completion of the MBA program leads students to find an employment where they can apply the gained knowledge. However even after competition of MBA, it is not so easy to get the desired job. But some strategies can drive you till there.

One of such strategies is networking. It is one of the essential techniques as most of the MBA openings are never advertised. Such positions are filled internally, where the management reaches you with their desired qualifications and requirements.

Another way is you can contact companies and mention about your degree and skills. Upon asking for the possible openings, they will get in touch with you as and when there are any vacancy matching to your qualification. For this you need to provide your contact details to them.

Most of the management schools offer career placements and run job fairs too. You can get in touch with college’s career office and check what they have to offer you. However do not rely much on the colleges as they concentrate on offering jobs only, but lack qualities job openings some times.

One of the other ways to hunt the job is recruitment agencies or headhunters. You have to make all your required details available to these agencies. They will help you to find job matching to your profile and expextations. They have details of various openings and it’s their job to find right candidates for the company. So it is easier for them to match your profile with the right company.

Apart from that, now-a-days you can take help of latest technology for hunting job for you. There are many job websites for detailing about the MBA vacancies. The recent development on this front is arrival of “aggregator” job sites, which helps you a lot. In addition you can also take help of conventional methods such as newspapers.

In addition, do not compromise on the salary that you wish to draw. Be sure of what salary that you expect.