MBA or No MBA? Most people fall into the trap of using the MBA degree for many reasons which are by far different from what it is intended for, so this question needs to be addressed first – Do you need an MBA? and if you can answer this question successfully, you might save thousands of dollars, time and energy and still be successful.
It’s an education for all means and in no way can make you an expert to venture into any industry and advance disruptively. Its a progression. Mostly it’s because of all the hype and boom circumventing the program like global rankings, corporations offering programs, and top jobs for the ones graduating from the top 30 or top 50 business schools. Indeed that’s a fine and logical way to hire some experts but it is the responsibility of us as an individual to understand the need and importance for our own self. Most young minds from India are moving towards getting into a top B-school in the US or Europe and what they intend to do is to become an Investment Banker or a top-notch Consultant but most of us fail to realize our own skillset, interests, and appetite for taking on things and that again lead us to think about this question – Do you need an MBA?
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To be a top Investment Banker or a Consultant or an Entrepreneur, MBA might be necessary to understand a lot of concepts and get a first-hand flavor of things at top B-schools, but its definitely not the starting point. The starting point is when you decide what you want to do and work towards it and maybe an MBA comes along the way and gives you a boost that was needed when your progression is slower. MBA aspirants need to realize if they are looking for a breakthrough in their career, then they might first take a look at what they have done in the past and was it enough to move forward and fulfill what they aim to achieve. This will answer this question – Do you need an MBA?
Some people might argue that sometimes it’s hard to have a vision and understand what you really want to do. It’s true and might happen with many of us as it happened with me as well. In that case, the main point is to use an MBA as a transforming platform and understand what part of business excites you and gets you going. Don’t expect to land up in an amazing job in that field or category, you might have to work towards it even after your MBA sometimes.
Post MBA work stress as I call it for some people is quite common among MBA graduates and they tend to narrow down to a few things which an “MBA is supposed to do”. Some fail to realize that there is still potential to learn and try out new things and get going. This results in lesser job satisfaction. Most of us choose the jobs based on 6 figure salary and a cool work location and that excites us only for a few initial months or maybe 1 year but after that its the hunger for what we really want to do starts taking over and MBA graduates start struggling in their current jobs. Some lucky ones do land up in a great area and align their careers well by luck or by judgment but they seem to be happy and get going. Another pointer that shows this is the number and frequency of job changes MBA graduates are doing post MBA.
Finally, what I intend to convey is that the expectations which are being set or formed for an MBA program are bit misleading nowadays and it’s diluting the actual implications of the rich content and experience gained at the program. Most aspirants are not asking the right questions about to whether go for an MBA or not and then which program to choose? and that’s the reason you need to think through with this question – Do you need an MBA? before jumping on to the conclusion. MBA is not a necessity, rather a catalyst that can fuel your growth if used correctly.
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By DJ (Dhiraj Jha)
Strategy & Innovation – Samsung (S.Korea) | MBA Mentor | Tech Enthusiast | Thinker
