[srinivasans1305]

hi guys
im srinivasan. i have got thru a 2nd rung b-school and an important decision troubles me. shud i give CAT again this yr while doin my MBA or shud i complete my MBA from my present college (GIM) and aspire for a US MBA say after 6-7 yrs of relevant work-ex.
one more question, do b-schools resist giving admissions to ppl already havin completed an MBA or they favor them?
i personally want to join the music industry and my dream would be policy making for the same.a bigger dream is to own a label that promotes indian classical and rock! i have had associations with the music industry, which includes working on projects like pricing of copy-proteted discs, innovations in product offerings, etc. im familiar with the entire structure and have also helped bands promote their albums.
these are my aspirations, what shud i do?
PG oldies (including PG himself) pls help
thanks
rock on
srinivas

[prasunc]

Hi Srinivas ,

Although I am a PG newbie , but I have certain thoughts about this ,since I am kinda in same situation as urs. Although the final decision rests on our own situations and priorities, the lack of funds and time have meant that I have to move into fwd gear , for short term growth, whatever the MBA school I get. Since I am not so sure about the exposure/quality of education/peers , I am looking to follow up with a double MBA from an ivy-league school later on. In the meantime I'll have the time to organise my life/funds/preparation much better than I had now.

For me , A bird in hand is better than 2 in the bush for now...but maybe 3-4 years down the line following it up with a double is not such an out of the world idea....

Plan is this par Aage zindagi mein kya hai...Allah malik hai!

Cheers!!

[lakshya_iim_ahd]

Hey dude,

Getting a double MBA is of no use. I am saying this coz one of my friends did it. he got thru to IIM B and then after 4 years of weorking, he went to Wharton to do his second MBA> He finished it but now, 2 years down the line. he feels he made a mistake. He says everywhere people want to know that y u have done dual MBA. AN MBA and then a PHD from a good institute makes more sense than doind double MBA. ALso, at the end of it, what will u gain out of 2 MBA's other than the tag of some XYZ univ...??

Sio methinks, dual MBA is not worth it. Go ahead and do ur PhD in say finance or Supply Chain Management. that makes more sense and will also show a value additio in ur
resume..!!

All the best and God Bless..!!

[desperado.]

Originally Posted by lakshya_iim_ahd

Sio methinks, dual MBA is not worth it. Go ahead and do ur PhD in say finance or Supply Chain Management. that makes more sense and will also show a value additio in ur
resume..!!

Value addition to ur resume??? do u have the slightest idea of how much time it takes to do a Phd in US...

a Phd in us is not a 3-year fraud like it is in india, even the nost talented ppl (read true Genius) take 5-6 years completing Phd in the US.

Why would you want to do that if you are not looking for management research.

[lakshya_iim_ahd]

Originally Posted by desperado.

a Phd in us is not a 3-year fraud like it is in india, even the nost talented ppl (read true Genius) take 5-6 years completing Phd in the US.

Why would you want to do that if you are not looking for management research.

i don't think it takes that much time. Coz my cousin's done a PhD in Supply Chain from Wharton(he was a IIMA passout) and he finished it in 2 and a half years...!!

I m not saying that doing double MBA is bad, just that it does not make much sense...!! that's all..!! And u don't need to do management research after the PhD. u have a whale of options open..!!

[ValtoRulez]

Hi Srinivas,

My two cents on the dilemma

• Join GIM and give CAT again - This is if you are not the risk taking type and want to play it safe
  • Can be done, Know of some one who continued with FMS but gave CAT again this year and has gotten into IIM A. His name is Ashish Dagga
• Ditch GIM and give CAT another shot - High risks, High Gians
  • again very much possible, depends on how ur performance was this yr..if it was in a 90+ percentile range..u can give it a decent shot
• Whether a double MBA counts or not is very debatable
  • Justifying it can or cannot be difficult - depends on how clear you are in your objectives, aspirations
• Value addition need not only be in terms of qualifications - If you have a good work ex, sure you can rise in any organisation
  • Flip side is that in a lot of firms you will not grow beyond a certain level if you do not have the requisite qualifications on ur CV (read Institute)
• At the end of the day - your ability matters
  • Ex - Rajat Gupta, McKinsey. For three years he did not get promoted at all and people were wondering why is he not being fired. Today, he is the youngest guy to head McKinsey.

This was all gyan. Now, if I was in your place this is what i woud have done

• If I was in last yr college - Ditch GIM
• 1 yr work ex - Ditch GIM
• 2 yrs+ work ex - Take GIM and give CAT

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Shobhit

[srinivasans1305]

thanks yaar

but i'll tell u my real dillema. i have already taken a break after my final year to give CAT(%tile:- just 95), so there appears a hole in my resume already. now if i ditch GIM, take up a job, give CAT and dont get thru... i'll be in a huge soup! so i decided either i give CAT this yr or give GMAT later.
my real dillema is shud i waste an yrs work-ex for an IIM? know ppl will say im crazy to even ask such a question, but i do believe that i can come up from where i am. and maybe 6-7 yrs after my MBA at GIM, when im ready to shift to upper-middle mgmt, i can refresh my knowledge by doing a second MBA! again US MBAs are just 1 yr courses(correct me if im wrong), so i end up saving 2 yrs in the making i.e. 1 yr at GIM and the 2nd yr bcos of the 1 yr MBA. also it would be the right time for me to get a good brand name, so as to get promoted to higher positions!
do u guys endorse this view
pls advice.... need to start prep for CAT otherwise

srinivas

[Catalytic]

My 2p on this topic.

if somebody can get hold of last years BusinessWorld B-School special magazine, u will find quite a few articles discussion this. According to my POV if a person has done a MBA i.e general business Administration of 2 yrs then going for another 2 yr would not help his cause. most of those equipped with MBA go to 1yr programs and have their courses tailor made so that they can superspecialize in a particular field. There is always a possiblity that career growth becomes stunted forcing a person to move higher in the field of knowledge.

Second MBA is good only when u know ur goals clearly and are sure that this step would really enhance ur job profile.

For Just value addition it is a Tad to expensive

[desperado.]

Originally Posted by srinivasans1305

again US MBAs are just 1 yr courses(correct me if im wrong)
srinivas

No there are no good one year MBA's in US the smallest program according to my (rather limited) knowledge is of 16 months duration. but there arnt any one year MBA degrees.

Besides most universities wont admit you into a second MBA if you already have an MBA degree.. (read MBA degree and not management diploma.)

one more think that you need to consider is that more and more US schools are now inclined towards admitting young ppl who are just entering the management cadre say (arnd 4 yrs exp) and 6-7 years experience might be a bit too much for most school's liking.

[ValtoRulez]

Originally Posted by srinivasans1305

thanks yaar

my real dillema is shud i waste an yrs work-ex for an IIM? know ppl will say im crazy to even ask such a question, but i do believe that i can come up from where i am.

At this point in your career a 1 yr here or there would not really make a decision..trust me.

This is the phase in your career were the time span of ur decision making shud be with a 5-8 yr perspective.

So wasting an yr shud not be a consideration but taking a gamble is again ur perogrative.

What u hv said makes some sense..so maybe it is better for you to join GIM and then, if possible, gve CAT this yr..and take it from there..

But dont let things like a yr spent preparing bother you too much..

I mean..a lot of us switch carrers after the first couple of yrs n then ur previous work ex counts for essentially zilch..so this does not hv an impact..

Chill
Shobhit