Top 5 MBA Specializations in IndiaChoosing an MBA Specialization can be as difficult and confusing as the decision to choose a career for yourself or deciding from where you want to pursue your MBA Degree. Though MBA institutes keep coming wit…
Top 5 MBA Specializations in India
Choosing an MBA Specialization can be as difficult and confusing as the decision to choose a career for yourself or deciding from where you want to pursue your MBA Degree. Though MBA institutes keep coming with highly specialized courses and programmes, such as MBA in Sports Management or MBA in Hospitality & Tourism, most Indians are wary of their credibility and reputation in the job market.
Here are the top 5 MBA Specializations that strike a chord with Indians:
Finance
MBA in Finance does not lead only to investment banks and securities firms. It offers numerous possibilities in the corporate world too. Finance Managers can become Accounting Managers who prepare finance reports for the company, or Financial Analysts who focus on developing financial strategies and go about money management for the company.
Finance MBA coursework can provide a solid background for the prestigious CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exam or the equally venerated CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) exam.
Those who do MBA in Finance can go on to become:
· Cash Managers
· Risk and Insurance Managers
· Credit Managers
· Management Consultants
· Investment Banking Associates and later Investment
· Bankers
· Treasurers and Finance Officers
· Controllers (who prepare budget reports for regulatory agencies and business management, do audits and prepare cash management strategies)
· The 'C' Position: 'CFO' or Chief Financial Officers supervise all financial and accounting operations, strategies, and policies of the company.
Marketing
The single most popular specializations amongst MBA graduates in India, Marketing is a hard-core front-end job and is meant for leaders. MBA Marketing is very dynamic and competitive. You need excellent communication skills, resource mobilization skills and an undying zeal to excel to make it to the top-level positions in the field of sales and marketing.
If you have an outgoing and spontaneous personality, can influence people with your words and actions, and live in the moment, marketing management might be your cup of tea.
MBA in Marketing can lead you to fat pay packages as Brand Manager, Project Manager, Sales Manager, Marketing Manager, Market Research Analyst, Area/Regional Manager and even to the position of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
A large chunk of CEO positions in top multinational companies are dominated by people from the Marketing background.
Operations
MBA in Operations equips you to deal with Production Management or Shop Floor Management. You learn how to come up with and maintain process flows, develop vendor and inter-departmental relationships, do ancillary management etc. to ensure smooth and efficient business operations. With Business Operations as your MBA specialization, you may start off as Product Manager or Technical Supervisor and reach the position of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or General Manager of a company, especially in manufacturing, engineering and IT sectors.
Business Operations offers a varied and fast-paced work environment. Operations Management specialization can be further sub-divided into:
· Production or Manufacturing Operations
· Service Operations
Most candidates with engineering backgrounds go for MBA Operations, as it gives them an edge over their peers in product development and designing, intranet development and process optimization. Companies too give preference to MBA Operations students with technical or engineering backgrounds during campus placements.
Information Technology (IT)
Information Technology (IT) or Management Information Systems (MIS) has recently emerged as one of the most important MBA specializations. For those who have IT background (as a software engineer or IT graduate), MBA IT can open up positions like System Analyst, Technical Systems Manager, Technical Consultant, and Business Development Manager - all the way upto the position of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Chief Technology Officer (CTO). IT, ecommerce, and related industries often offer good placements to MBA IT graduates.
In the high-tech environment of today, MBA IT opens up several career opportunities for you as:
· Business Analyst: where you can interact between customer requirements and document them properly for developers.
· Pre-Sales or Business Development Manager: where you prepare presentations for clients and basically, translate technical innovations of your company in terms understandable by laymen.
· Sales or ERP Consultant: where you deal with customizing ERP solutions (like SAP) to suit client requirements.
· Project Manager: where you are directly involved with implementing a project - right from planning and estimation to managing resources to time management.
· QA Manager: where you are responsible for assessing and controlling the quality of the software solutions being provided to clients.
· Functional or Process Consultant: where you configure and re-configure processes and chalk out verticals to complete efficient operations within an IT company.
· Management professionals with technical skills gain tremendous respect among their peers in today's world.
Human Resources (HR)
Human Resources or HR is one of the trickiest jobs in the corporate world. From Recruitment and Selection of personnel to deciding Compensation to Employee Training and Development to Job Analysis and Performance Appraisals, an HR manager is the ringmaster in the business jungle. Besides, those who choose MBA in HR can also develop themselves as Industrial Relations Manager or developing cross-cultural working environment in multinational and global companies, which are highly specialized jobs.
Human Resources Management is concerned with internal marketing of a company. The credit for how your employees work for you and how well they understand HR policies of the firm depends on HR. Recently, India has noticed a big change in the way people view HR professionals. Salary packages are getting fatter, and educational institutions known for their Human Resources programmes are getting adequate support from the corporate world.
XLRI Pune, IIM Lucknow, TISS and MDI Gurgaon reported 100% placements in their HR programs. The average salary for MBA HR at MDI Gurgaon was Rs 8 lakh per annum! Since only 10% of MBA aspirants choose HR as their specialization field, it seems that Marketing and Finance has higher level of corporate interest. But the truth is that if you do MBA in Human Resources from a good B-school that offers high-quality curriculum with an expert faculty programme, you will find several good career options in the global marketplace.
Conclusion
Your MBA specialization basically depends on your personality, skills, and career goals. The traditional fields of Marketing and Finance will always remain popular. Those who prefer to crunch numbers and are comfortable relegating to the background with balance sheets may do well with Finance specialization. Those who love to interact with clients, are creative and innovative, and can influence people easily can choose Marketing as their specialization.