MBA After Graduation Or After Work Experience
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It is natural to have doubts regarding your MBA career. Everybody has them. Nobody in the world actually knows for sure whatever they are doing is going to be 100% successful and will have no drawbacks.
And in this case, it is even more pronounced since there is so much money involved. MBA is one of the most expensive degrees. This is because the value of an MBA, especially from a top B-school like IIM, is simply huge for any corporation.
If you are a free graduate out of your bachelor’s program or are expecting to graduate soon after CAT, you may see that some of your friends are going for an MBA without work experience but some think an MBA must be done only after 3-4 years of work experience. In this article, we are going to see what is a better option.
It is true that going for an MBA after graduation has its own set of benefits. You have more energy and you are in the mindset of learning not making money. This will give you the psychology of experimentation and trying out new things and innovative solutions for problems.
But, on the other hand, people with work experience have practical knowledge and know what works in the real world. They have a proper understanding of the business environment and can learn from MBA based on context.
There are some pros and cons for both situations, whether you are a fresh graduate or someone with work experience. For fresh graduates, there is less competition compared to candidates with work experience since colleges try to maintain a definite class profile with a certain minimum percentage of fresh graduates.
IIM Ahmedabad, for example, maintains at least one-fourth of the class with fresh graduates with 0 work experience. Another advantage of doing an MBA after graduation is that you are in a flow of learning and your education has not been halted by working.
This makes it easy for you to learn in a college environment and do assignments and projects much faster than someone who has a few years of work experience. Also during recruitment, if a company is specifically looking for a candidate with no work experience, you stand a much better chance since there is less competition.
However, there are some benefits to doing MBA after work experience too. Most companies would prefer a candidate with certain years of experience since this makes it easier to train the employee to newer work conditions.
You will also understand concepts faster and better since you can view them in the context of the work. You also know which concepts and classes are more important than others.
During the recruitment season, you can also expect higher pay packages than the candidates with no work experience. As someone with work experience, your mindset would be more professional compared to others.
This will make you perform better in the curriculum as well as a needless transition time between the course and the new job.
These are not all. In order to properly weigh the pros and cons of doing an MBA after graduation or after having some work experience, we have listed the advantages and disadvantages of both situations separately.
You can decide which of them matters more to you so you can make the best decision regarding your career.
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Benefits of pursuing an MBA right after graduation
If you have done a bachelor’s and have a law, B.Tech. engineering or B.A. degree, doing an MBA after that without getting a job may be a good option if you think these benefits matter more to you than the disadvantages.
Personality skills
As a fresh graduate, you have much more to learn from an MBA program since you have no learnings from your work.
You will learn much more and have a better Return on investment in terms of non-tangible skills like personality, work ethic, time management, communication, confidence, and many more.
These skills may already be present in someone who has had considerable work experience in the corporate world.
A great start to your management career
If you are a graduate with a degree other than a business degree, an MBA is a perfect start to your corporate career. If you already know after graduation that you do not want to pursue work in that field, it is better to change it rather than dragging it on for 3-4 years more in the name of work experience. If you don’t like it, you probably won’t perform your best.
Enhanced knowledge
The MBA program will teach you all the theory and even practical knowledge that you need to know and learn in the new field of business management. You can choose whatever seems interesting to you from marketing, finance, human resources, and many more.
Opportunities for networking
If you are studying for an MBA from a top B-school, you will get internship opportunities from the biggest corporations. This will allow you to learn about the corporate environment inside the best companies.
Time-saving
Since MBA is a management degree and you most likely do not have a management degree in bachelor’s, it is better to start early and join an MBA college right after graduation.
Since you have already decided you will leave your field of bachelor’s degree, it is no point in trying to drag that work. you can become an MBA much earlier and save 3-4 years.
Better starting job
Compared to the job you will likely get with a bachelor’s degree, MBA will get you a much better, more suitable, and higher-paying job.
This means you will already enter the job market with an advantage. This will be vital for your later career too when you will peak at a much higher salary than most people.
Longer career
As a young MBA, you will have more years in a management career compared to someone who has joined an MBA after work experience. This will help you reach a much higher salary before you retire.
But also, at every stage in your career, you will have a higher paying job than someone with work experience has at the same age as you. Although it is also true that during the recruitment time, a candidate with work experience is more in demand than one with none.
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Disadvantages of MBA right after graduation
Reduced acceptance rates
Once you have cracked the CAT, work experience gets a candidate more marks before the entrance. If you are a fresher, you need to make the most of your CV by listing some volunteer experience, projects, internships, or any small entrepreneurial experience to make up for no work experience.
This is because people with work experience are more ready as management students and work experience shows credibility that the candidate is serious about the profession and has a plan.
limit to learnings
As an MBA student with no work to show or relate, it will be harder to connect the lessons with actual practice. Also, as a fresher, you have little professional knowledge about your field and all your knowledge has come from other people.
Advantages of studying an MBA after getting work experience
There is no substitute for experience. And when it comes to professional matters, experience is necessary. It shows that you have learned about how and where things fit in the big picture.
Working also gives you insight into the work field and you know better and deeper. This helps you plan your career better. It is often the case that experienced candidates have precise requirements and plans from and after the MBA program.
They know how the teachings at the college application to the practical world. They’d know which elements of the course are more important than others.
Clarity
Work experience gives you clarity about your career plans. While working you understand different aspects of your industry. You understand how your skillset and interests fit in the field. You get a goal. Once you have a clear goal, it is much easier to plan.
This also helps you in formulating specific goals and requirements you want out of an MBA degree. You will learn things with a vision to apply them in your career.
Soft skills
Soft skills refer to interpersonal skills like communication. Technical colleges do not train students in soft skills. But as a professional, this ability is just natural. without proper soft skills, it is not possible to have great work experience.
It is important to be polite and likable, especially to your junior employees. A candidate with no work experience might have to put extra effort to learn these skills before joining the MBA.
Salary packages
This is the most tangible benefit of work experience. Since the candidate with work experience has already learned many work-related lessons that can only be learned in the practical world, their transition from college to a new job is faster.
They also take less time to be trained. Whereas, a student with no experience may take a longer time and may be confused for a long time after joining.
This will cause a waste of resources of the company since the employee will not be working at their full potential. They already have a network and a proven track record in the professional world.
Disadvantages of pursuing an MBA after gaining work experience
Except for a few minor ones, there are no major drawbacks to doing an MBA with some years of work experience. The management schools give more weightage to the professionals compared to freshers. Once the candidate is inside the college, they are going to learn and experience mostly the same things.
Not every work experience is the same. As far as recruitment is considered, if the candidate who has worked before, has no experience in any related industry for which he/she is seeking a job, then that work experience is not going to matter much.
The work experience must be in the same or related industry, for the recruiting company to consider it as valuable.
These were the pros and cons of an MBA after graduation or work experience. As an MBA is probably going to be the final degree for many candidates, and it is also very costly, it is important to weigh the pros and cons.
Choose which points matter to you more than others. Take your time and then make a decision.
Also, try to have clarity in your goals. Answer a few questions first before:
- Why should I do an MBA?
- What are the benefits of an MBA?
- Do I have a clear goal of what I want from the MBA program?
- What are my motivations to study MBA?
Once you answer these questions, you can look at which benefit or which case is consistent with your goals. MBA is not a guarantee of success. You need to work very hard once you are in.
MBA graduates have highly responsible jobs, this is why they are paid so much. It is important to first know what you want in order to decide whether to do an MBA after graduation or not.
Why should you get an MBA from IIM?
There are benefits for both your professional as well as your personal life, after an MBA. Some of these are expected but some are surprising.
Learning about these benefits may help you reach a decision about whether to do an MBA after graduation or after getting some work experience. You can reach the decision faster.
Benefits of doing MBA from IIM
Whether you do an MBA after graduation or after some work experience, the benefits of the degree remain the same.
The foremost and the most obvious change or benefit that the student, as well as people around him/her notice, is self-confidence. This effect is pronounced in both the professional as well as the personal life of the student.
The reason for the confidence in the sense of accomplishment. We know that the MBA is not an easy degree to complete, especially if you do it at an IIM.
You need to be on the go all the time. This develops many different skills in you and as a result, you feel more in control and more productive. Maintaining the work-life balance at an IIM is a feat in itself and makes you feel assured and confident.
Credibility
In the corporate world, there are multiple ways to show credibility. you can show it through some volunteer work, a project in your college, an entrepreneurial experiment, or being in a club or college committee.
These are proof that you have been in the roles of leadership. But for a company, the ultimate credibility is when you have an MBA degree.
Because all the activities mentioned above are experienced at one place in a management college, as part of group projects and assignments.
Transferable skills
Transferable skills refer to skills like leadership, communication, interpersonal skills, strategic thinking and effective planning, critical thinking, innovative thinking, and so on.
These skills are required in every business. Unlike technical skills of engineering, or law, or medical, that can only be used in their respective industries or profession, the skills you learn in an MBA from IIM are transferable across industries.
And not only that, but they are also useful in your personal life.
IIM has the best talent pool in the country and has people who have cracked one of the toughest and most competitive selection processes for any college in the world.
Curiosity
MBA from IIM is done by only those students who have a desire to know more and learn more about the business world. We are living in exciting times in business, especially in India.
There are many start-ups coming up and young people are becoming successful entrepreneurs. It is natural for students to be inspired by these icons and create something similar or even better.
MBA education gives these curios candidates many skills and facts to learn about the business world. These will surely help them achieve their own goals in the future.
Strategic thinking
Strategic thinking refers to the ability to plan effectively and implement perfectly. Strategic thinking is important in many business decisions. It helps in the smooth flow of various functions and avoids unpleasant surprises.
It is a great skill to know a potential challenge beforehand and avoids it altogether. With strategic thinking, a person can effectively weigh the pros and cons of any decision.
The way you are deciding whether to go for MBA after graduation or after work experience. Whatever decision you take impacts the long-term operations of the company as well as the individual.
Better communication
Communication is essential for every human being. Even a child’s first skill is to learn to communicate, with or without words. As a manager, it is important to be able to convey your ideas and thoughts effectively.
This helps your colleagues know where do you stand vis-a-vis the things that are going on. But also, it is essential in your persona life, to communicate effectively with your friends, spouse, family members, and society.
Self-discipline
Self-discipline is something that is a rite of passage for an MBA student. There will be times when you will feel out of control and will not be able to handle everything. This is when you will realize the value of self-discipline.
There are so many things to do in an MBA. There are classes, study sessions, assignments, projects, internships, networking events. This takes a toll on your personal life and you may feel trapped.
It is important to priorities things at this point. To only do things that help you reach your goal or truly make you happy. You will have to quit other things, which may include social media or hanging out with friends every day.
Better time management
This is a result of discipline. Without time management, there is no manager. There is no time to waste. You are being paid a very high package. You have to learn to be professional and productive.
There are so many things to do inside the college, that you will need to manage your time properly to complete them all. Because there are only 24 hours in one day.
Broader worldview
The internships, projects, and other work that you do helps you learn many things about the world especially, the socio-political and economics of the world. Inside a college, you meet many different people.
These people have different backgrounds, different experiences, and different goals. This helps you gain a broader worldview.
Network of colleagues
An MBA college like IIM is the best place to network. And the network that you establish here is going to help you all throughout your career.
There many notable people to meet in an IIM- industry leaders, renowned economists, accomplished professors, policymakers, even your friends who are going to take important positions in the future.
There is no place like an MBA college to network.
Revitalized career
Many people feel stuck in their careers. they only have one degree, which is technical. They feel that they have reached a peak and it seems very difficult to get promoted and land more significant roles inside the company.
A lack of an MBA may be the reason who they are not getting leadership roles with a larger impact. An MBA will teach them the required skills so they can revitalize their career and make a new beginning.
Higher-income
There’s no don’t that MBA graduates from IIM are paid one of the highest packages in India. The salaries for an MBA are higher than any other degree.
This is because IIM provides the most valuable business degree due to its unique curriculum and the presence of great faculty and learning atmosphere.
Increased innovative thinking
Innovative thinking helps you find out-of-the-box solutions to complex problems. There are many times that a problem occurs, that is totally new and has never been handled before.
To solve this, you cannot take advice or lessons from how it was previously solved. To solve this, you need innovative thinking and creativity. You learn this by doing numerous assignments and projects inside the business school.
We believe this article helps you decide whether to do an MBA after graduation or after work experience. For more such articles on CAT preparation, visit our online CAT exam blog.
