Onsite vs. CAT preps

[divyacr]

Hi ,
Same problem here. My cat 05 was a disaster but am keeping fingers crossed for fms and planning to give tiss. Ve close to 1.7 yrs experience in s/w field and now have got an onsite opportunity which mite be anything from 3 months to 1+ yr. I had planned to join whatever institute I can get this year and if i dont get any ,... give CAT 06/xat and all .... next year. Now am unsure whether to stick to my dream or go the practical way and stay back and take the onsite offer. I actually want to specialize in hr very much and I fear next year I might not get the chance. . please help me out

[anupthomas]

Originally Posted by divyacr

Hi ,
Same problem here. My cat 05 was a disaster but am keeping fingers crossed for fms and planning to give tiss. Ve close to 1.7 yrs experience in s/w field and now have got an onsite opportunity which mite be anything from 3 months to 1+ yr. I had planned to join whatever institute I can get this year and if i dont get any ,... give CAT 06/xat and all .... next year. Now am unsure whether to stick to my dream or go the practical way and stay back and take the onsite offer. I actually want to specialize in hr very much and I fear next year I might not get the chance. . please help me out

Interesting! I don't think there is anyone other than yourself to help you out. It all depends on how you want to prioritize. To help you a bit, I can quote some interesting conversation between myself and one of my friends (it was interesting to me at least ).
I am at onsite for the past two months and I am coming back soon to India to attend my interviews. My friend Mr X was of the opinion that I was not doing the right thing. His argument was that, since I am at onsite I should stay back and build up some bank balance and later on, I could look to do an MBA from abroad/ISB/PGPX@IIMA or even IIMs themselves. His argument was that I have something solid in my hand (my onsite tenure) and a bird in hand is always better than two in the bush. He also said, now that I have some calls, I can be sure that I have the aptitude and I can make sure of some calls next time I write CAT/GMAT.
My argument was that I have interview calls now, and I do not want to waste them. I can come onsite any time (provided I stay back in software industry), but IIM calls are not of any guarantee next time I write CAT.
One must agree that MBA admissions and onsite opportunities are repeatable, meaning both opportunities will come back to you. All you have to decide is which one you want first.

Cheers,
APT

[divyacr]

Thanks for shedding some light. its really confusing to decide as i did not do well in CAT this time and i could always study for next year and also take the onsite offer. The major deterrent fact is that am not very happy with the job/team and my light at the end of this life was the fact that i could resign if i need to join a b school. But now i need to wait a year more. I can manage and make myself like what i do but then i will have to wait one more year to join my dream b school which i am surely not getting now due to my wonderful low scores. So the practical idea would be stick , grin and bear the tortures of my PM for another one year and then write cat 06 and do well next year. OH my god! thinking of standing that torture itself makes me want to grab any b school this year !!!

[anupthomas]

Originally Posted by divyacr

So the practical idea would be stick , grin and bear the tortures of my PM for another one year and then write cat 06 and do well next year. OH my god! thinking of standing that torture itself makes me want to grab any b school this year !!!

I agree that you are at some sort of a cross roads, confused as to which way to go. But the decision is all yours!
If you are so badly in need of a change, go ahead and get an admission to any b-school. If you think you cannot compromise on the quality of b-school you wat to study at, quit the job and join a different company. If you think you have stayed long enough in your current company that you deserve an onsite opportunity, take it by all means. The call is yours..depending on what you want the most (onsite/getting away from your PM/studying MBA/Quality of your MBA institute) you can best judge which way to turn.

[divyacr]

thnx 4 ur valuable time and help.

[robinsingh80]

ATP
No surprises, why and how you are at 'A'. probably the best of all replies.

Originally Posted by anupthomas

Interesting! I don't think there is anyone other than yourself to help you out. It all depends on how you want to prioritize. To help you a bit, I can quote some interesting conversation between myself and one of my friends (it was interesting to me at least ).
I am at onsite for the past two months and I am coming back soon to India to attend my interviews. My friend Mr X was of the opinion that I was not doing the right thing. His argument was that, since I am at onsite I should stay back and build up some bank balance and later on, I could look to do an MBA from abroad/ISB/PGPX@IIMA or even IIMs themselves. His argument was that I have something solid in my hand (my onsite tenure) and a bird in hand is always better than two in the bush. He also said, now that I have some calls, I can be sure that I have the aptitude and I can make sure of some calls next time I write CAT/GMAT.
My argument was that I have interview calls now, and I do not want to waste them. I can come onsite any time (provided I stay back in software industry), but IIM calls are not of any guarantee next time I write CAT.
One must agree that MBA admissions and onsite opportunities are repeatable, meaning both opportunities will come back to you. All you have to decide is which one you want first.

Cheers,
APT