hello everyone! ii have got a confirmed seat in IIFT delhi this year(batch of 200 :: . its a considered among top 10 b schools in india, although not in the IIM league. now some of my friends say that in the long run, an MBA from india won’t c…
hello everyone!
ii have got a confirmed seat in IIFT delhi this year(batch of 200
. its a considered among top 10 b schools in india, although not in the IIM league.
now some of my friends say that in the long run, an MBA from india won't count if you aspire to have a global career. and this is precisely where i'm confused. is it better to take up IIFT now or wait for a US b school till 5 years?
my profile-
BE - electrical- 73% (honours)
work ex- fresher
X - 86%
XII- 80%
extra currics- decent,won the national debate in 1999, president of two societies in college
present job offer-- IBM Global Services, application programmer
now most of the people in college say that i'd be a fool to leave IIFT, but my relatives say the opposite. what should i do? is a bird in hand better than two in the bush?
please help ! ;-(
varun
hello everyone!
ii have got a confirmed seat in IIFT delhi this year(batch of 200. its a considered among top 10 b schools in india, although not in the IIM league.
now some of my friends say that in the long run, an MBA from india won't count if you aspire to have a global career. and this is precisely where i'm confused. is it better to take up IIFT now or wait for a US b school till 5 years?
my profile-
BE - electrical- 73% (honours)
work ex- fresher
X - 86%
XII- 80%
extra currics- decent,won the national debate in 1999, president of two societies in college
present job offer-- IBM Global Services, application programmer
now most of the people in college say that i'd be a fool to leave IIFT, but my relatives say the opposite. what should i do? is a bird in hand better than two in the bush?
please help ! ;-(
varun
Firstly, congratualtions!!!
Okay, now coming to your problem, the way I see it Varun, you have to make your own choice. The choices you are faced with:
1> MBA@IIFT, right now
2> MBA, abroad, after 2-5 years
3> MBA@IIFT, right now; then one from abroad (maybe a 1yr one), after 5 years or so, if you need it.
What I could probably help you out with is, in giving you a set of factors could probably be used in making this decision.
1. What are your long-term plans like? Are you okay to living in the US, or Europe? You'll need to work there for around 2-4 years, to pay off your loan. Doesn't make much sense to then dump it all and then come back to India and start afresh. (Though many ppl do this). The value of a good MBA also lies in the network you make.
If you want to do an MBA, and then come back to India asap, then you're probably better off not going in the first place. Consider the loan-payoff time factor too.
2. Will your job (offer) help you move into a team management role within the next year or two. Good bschools look for managerial experience, not just coding stuff. And know that you'd be falling in the Indian/IT/male genre. Too many of this category apply to the bschools.
You'll have many more options in terms of jobs available for you post-IIFT, than right now. If you are unnecessarily slogging it out here, then an IIFT-MBA seems much more attractive.
3. Personal issues now: Do you want to settle down asap? The reason I ask this is, I hav seen ppl who are dependent on their children. If you have dependents, then it makes sense to complete your studies asap, and then start working. If not, then you could get a job now, and then go for a foreign MBA later.
You decide. My take on this: Go for IIFT. If later, you ever want to go for an MBA, go for a 1yr one. Maybe 5-7 years after the IIFT one.
Consider the opinions of others too, and see if you have a fourth option, or maybe more. Other factors maybe. Tough choice, by the way
??:Keep us informed on whatever you choose. Helps us clarify our life out too.
Congrats again!!! :smilecol:
PS: Am not a techi gu, so wouldn't be sure of wht you'd get in ur current job (offer), and what u'd be doing in 2-3 years.
hello everyone!
ii have got a confirmed seat in IIFT delhi this year(batch of 200
If you join IBM, you risk getting into a narrow IT related field for quite a while, one which you might find hard to leave later on. IIFT will bring the opportunity for a managerial role far sooner than you'd probably get if working for IBM, where you'd be progressing rank by rank. Secondly, you might get an opportunity to work abroad (& live abroad) for a length of time if you are an IIFT topper and swing an overseas placement immediately. The opportunity is definitely broader out of 2 years of IIFT now, than IBM.... Hard decision nevertheless - personal factors count a lot.... Good luck
hello everyone!
ii have got a confirmed seat in IIFT delhi this year(batch of 200
now some of my friends say that in the long run, an MBA from india won't count if you aspire to have a global career. and this is precisely where i'm confused. is it better to take up IIFT now or wait for a US b school till 5 years?
present job offer-- IBM Global Services, application programmer
now most of the people in college say that i'd be a fool to leave IIFT, but my relatives say the opposite. what should i do? is a bird in hand better than two in the bush?
please help ! ;-(
it seems to me that you`re not very excited about your job offer. which in turn implies that this is not something you WANT to do, but might take it up as a "compromise job" until your time for a US mba comes. the minimum work ex for US mba is 2 years, for a good school, you might need 3-5 years. now, will you put your life on hold and do something that you dont love for 3-4 years, for the sake of an MBA that you dont even know is worth all that waiting or not? this option might be worth considering had you got some kick-ass job with McKinsey or Merrill Lynch or something like that, but this is a pure coding job! i`m not saying coding is small-time work..i`m talking about your lack of differentiation from other coders when you apply for your MBA. The worst case scenario would be if you left IIFT now, worked in a not-so-satisfying job without much leadership/managerial exposure, and got into an average or below-average US school after a few years...that would be bad!
As a psychological factor, you may not be able to focus completely on your job for the 2-3 years of work..coz there`ll always be this thought on the back of your mind that this is not your "real" job...this isnt what you`re gonna do "forever"...it`s just a stop-gap...the real thing is yet to start. the anticipation and the wait for the real thing to start can be very distracting and frustrating.
my opinion: take up IIFT now, do well...might end up getting foregin placements, work for 4-5 years, go in for second mba (1 year mba/executive mba/MS programs etc) in US...you will be able to finance your MBA yourself AND gain much more out of mba. best of luck!
thank you so much crashtest,baccardi &friend6;, that's really very nice of you to take time out to write such long and insightful posts !:)
i now have some others point of views which i had overlooked till now. yes, i'll take a decision based on these points.
but one question comes to my amateur mind- why do u need a second MBA if at all? pardon me if i'm wrong but won't that be a repitition of the same courses that i'd have studied in IIFT say 5 yrs back?apart from getting me a nice job offer, will a second MBA actually 'add' something to me? am very in-experienced in this field you see, so overlook this if it's a silly question !
waiting for comments from all PG members eagerly,
varun
My 2 cents worth comments
The reason some people go for a second MBA from a B-School abroad is one- to grow their network and associate a bigger brand with them; two-learn more about management post work-exp; three-the global funda. From what I have gathered, the approach towards an MBA in a foreign B-School is way different from what is taught in Indian B-Schools, be it IIM-A,C or IIFT.
Whether you would like to do an MBA abroad or not is a personal choice only you can make. As someone already pointed out, there might be a host of factors affecting ur decision.(family, India etc).
But, incase you want to go for a US MBA, you would need more than an IBM-GS work-exp. You can apply off-campus for a position in a marketing research or a consultacy firm - it would help ur chances. But, it need not even be a job, it can be a social service initiative that you took, an entrepreneurial idea you developed - anything that can make your resume stand out.
Another option is to take up the IBM job and get into an IIM next year - if bigger, better placements influence your decision in any way. Again, the final call has to be yours.
But, whatever you do, be clear about what you are getting into. Talk to seniors at IIFT. Do some research on job-profiles of IIFT passouts. Find out if IIFT gives you what you are looking for.
I can imagine the dilemma you are facing, infact with some bad-luck I could have been at your position too. Personally, I would have tried securing a second job at some MR/Consultancy firm and given CAT next year. Failing which, I would have gone for three more years of work-exp...and tried my hand at some B-school abroad or ISB.
Good Luck for whatever you make up ur mind for.
Nipun
thank you so much crashtest,baccardi &friend6;, that's really very nice of you to take time out to write such long and insightful posts !:)
i now have some others point of views which i had overlooked till now. yes, i'll take a decision based on these points.
but one question comes to my amateur mind- why do u need a second MBA if at all? pardon me if i'm wrong but won't that be a repitition of the same courses that i'd have studied in IIFT say 5 yrs back?apart from getting me a nice job offer, will a second MBA actually 'add' something to me? am very in-experienced in this field you see, so overlook this if it's a silly question !
waiting for comments from all PG members eagerly,
varun
Hmmm, I'll try to answer your question:
There are a number of reasons why u could choose to do a second MBA:1. You want to do a super specialization.2. You need a better and a more global brand name.3. An international B- school gives you access to business leaders across the world. This helps as you / your perspective is not confined to India.4. Most of the students in the top B- Schools abroad come in with significant years of quality experience. The quality of the peer learning there is much better as opposed to the one ull have at an Indian school with 70% freshers.There might be many moreInput frm others are welcome
mba_desigirl Says:1. You want to do a super specialization.2. You need a better and a more global brand name.3. An international B- school gives you access to business leaders across the world. This helps as you / your perspective is not confined to India.4. Most of the students in the top B- Schools abroad come in with significant years of quality experience. The quality of the peer learning there is much better as opposed to the one ull have at an Indian school with 70% freshers.There might be many moreInput frm others are welcome
u missed this one: because more money is better than less money.
Crash_test_dummy Saysu missed this one: because more money is better than less money.
Heh heh, the nails been hit head-on baby, this is so true!!!
hey thanks guys for all these valuable comments! more are welcome!...
guess i need to do my homework thoroughly before taking a step!!??:
varun
hey thank you everyone for giving your viewpoints.
i've decided to join IIFT, delhi . going for a second 1 yr MBA at us/uk is a decision that i've postponed for atleast 4 years.... (whew!!:satisfie: )
best wishes,
varun