The Gold Standard in Post– Graduation: MBA

Everyone talks about the mantra ‘Maximize Returns and Minimize Risk’ when it comes to investments but only some of us see that even our education is an investment: in terms of time, effort and, of course, money.

So, the most important question that you need to answer for yourself or your children; especially during these uncertain times is: What course should I or my child pursue to optimize both in terms of risk and return?

As automation increases throughout the world, the skill that overrides other skills is the skill or rather the art of management.

Starting with the obvious i.e. management of people to the more exotic i.e. management of campaigns based on text analytics, management is now an essential part of any activity.

Here are some other reasons why doing an MBA should be the next logical step to start or enhance your career.
 

ENTRY OR ADVANCEMENT REQUIREMENTS

To have a corporate career, we need to apply and qualify for a corporate job. If you notice most of the entry-level positions in global organizations is ‘Management Trainee’.

This is not a misnomer; these organizations have the policy to hire candidates with a master’s in Business Administration.

For other companies, even if they hire non-MBA candidates at entry-level positions, they still require an MBA for job promotions, so employees cannot advance beyond certain levels without an MBA.

MBA PAY PACKAGES

Some of the reasons we spend more than half of our day at a job are long term security and salary. Both of these criteria are automatic benefits of an MBA degree.

If you compare the average income of candidates with different educational backgrounds then you will see that employees with an MBA earn more than employees without an MBA qualification.

MBAs do not just earn more they may earn as much as twice the amount that a graduate will be earning on average. (Source: GMAC1) The average starting salary of an MBA in India is Rs. 4.5 lakh per annum.

Considering that the cost of an MBA starts from 3 lakhs, the standard time to recover your investment for your MBA education is 2 to 3 years.

HIGH DEMAND FOR MBAS

Internationally, 77% of the U.S. employers and 87% of companies in the Asia Pacific plan to hire an MBA graduate. Indian Express states that ‘According to survey respondents, demand for MBA graduates by the technology industry is anticipated to increase by 10 per cent in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic 2020 levels.

In fact, with 96 per cent of tech recruiters projecting to hire MBA graduates in 2021, the demand for management talents tops the previous three years.2’ So if you have done an MBA, you do not need to worry about getting a job. The demand for MBAs has been constantly high in the past and will continue to be so.

FLEXIBLE JOB ROLES AND INDUSTRIES

One of the most important advantages is the flexibility that an MBA offers concerning its specialization. This ensures that irrespective of the industry and the job profile that you are targeting there will be an MBA to suit your purpose.

Don’t just believe me; have a look at some of the specializations: Consulting, Strategic Management, General Management, Analytics, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Human Resources, International Business, Entrepreneurship and the list goes on..!

BUSINESS NETWORKING

Networking has been contributed immensely to business success and an MBA is the only educational program that teaches you this skill organically.

As an MBA student, you’ll interact with fellow students, professors and other teaching staff such as doctorate students (all of them have great management experience).

Besides this, most importantly, you will also be able to access the extensive alumni network of that particular MBA programme.

As a part of outreach programs and/or placement processes, you will touch base with industry leaders and interact with them.

You will also go to company visits, which will add to your learning experience. Full-time MBA programs are breeding grounds for friendships that last lifetimes.

If you check the Startup environment, companies are inevitably launched by batchmates which bring us to the next benefit of doing an MBA.

ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS AND RESOURCES

Most of the current start-up environment is driven by individuals with an MBA. This is hardly surprising considering that the culture at a business school fosters entrepreneurship skills.

Be it specialization in Entrepreneurship or Business Plan Competitions, the MBA curriculum and environment encourages students to explore ideas and bring them to fruition.

A lot of MBA colleges in India (including the IIMs) and abroad (including Harvard which has the Harvard Innovation Lab) also have Incubation Centres.

Incubation centres or as they are called Incubators are institutions that assist entrepreneurs in developing their business and solving problems associated with it, especially in the initial stages, by providing an array of business and technical services, initial seed funds, lab facilities, advisory, network and linkages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Munira Lokhandwala has been an educationist in the post-graduate sector for the past twenty years.

She is an alumna of IIM Kolkatta and a Wiley –published author. She has scored 100%ile in the CAT Entrance Exam for MBA in IIMs. She has launched CAT4Sure – First Residential Programme for CAT.