Just thought of starting this thread for those people who have a very high work experience in terms of no. of years (10+) and who want to pursue MBA. Like me I’m sure there a a few others here as well who can get involved in this discussion. …
Just thought of starting this thread for those people who have a very high work experience in terms of no. of years (10+) and who want to pursue MBA.
Like me I'm sure there a a few others here as well who can get involved in this discussion.
Key points:
1. Career change--Change of industry and function. Is it possible at this age(~32 or 33+ yrs) and with the baggage of previous work experience.
is this possible with Indian and European B-schools?
2. if we decide to stay in the same industry what are the kind of roles being offered.
3. Which MBA is better-- 1 yr or 2 yr? Probably the latter for a career change
4. Which colleges are on your target list, any specific reasoning behind them.
Any other thoughts/queries please contribute.
My profile:
12.5 yrs of IT experience targetting PGPX(IIM-A), PGPEX(IIM-c), EPGP(IIM-B), ISB.
1. Career change--Change of industry and function. Is it possible at this age(~32 or 33+ yrs) and with the baggage of previous work experience.
is this possible with Indian and European B-schools?
Career / industry change is very difficult but, role /function change is possible.one other thing is even if you get into some other industry there will be no value for your pervious exp and you haveto start from scratch as a fresher (with ever very low salary than what you have now).which i think is big risk at this age (with family ,kids etc in life )
2. if we decide to stay in the same industry what are the kind of roles being offered.
At this age / exp generally people to MBA to shift from people management to stratergic management in other words to shift from middle management to top level management.
3. Which MBA is better-- 1 yr or 2 yr? Probably the latter for a career change
one year is better in my opinion. Do you think you will be able to study for 2 years (considering the fact that you are away from your studies for long time).? Do you think you will be able to invest time and more money for 2 yr MBA and ready to sit with 24-26 yrs old classmates and study calculus or finance ? I mean do you have that stamina for 2 yrs if ans is 'yes' to all these questions then you should seriously consider 2 yrs programs in top unis in US (unis always perfer people with very high yrs of work exp to achive diversity in the class.Career /Industry change is dificult (almost impossible in 1 yr program)
4. Which colleges are on your target list, any specific reasoning behind them.
If you decide on 1 yr .UK is the best.Reading university MBA program has 13 yrs avg work exp.If all your work exp is in Finance.Post MBA jobs in UK wont be a problem.Some UK universities you should apply are as follows:
UK
1.Lancaster
2.Reading (GMAT not needed ! 
)
3.Warwick
4.Oxford
5.CASS
6.LBS
Again schools are listed in incremented order of fees.Other options are as follows
India
ISB
IIM PGDX programs
US
Look at top 5 in any rankings (BW, FT)
EUR
IESE Spain
IMD Swizerland
Almost all of these need min 550-600 GMAT score for your profile There are some in UK (which r tire 2 ) which dont need GMAT.Those are as follows:
Aston
Barmingham
Nottingham
But , I would say target top 5.
Rest other normal (1 or 2 yrs )programs anywhere in the world will select you but I think its not something worth of spending time and $ for someone like u.
All the best
thanks
ajay
Thanks for the thoughts Ajay.
Btw ISB has only one course (i.e. no separate courses 2 yr and 1 courses unlike IIMs), so in theory an industry/function change should be possible if we are prepared to start from scratch w.r.t. money and role!
sorry i think in ISB most of the IT junta remain in IT only...they get role change e.g programmer to Biz Analysit , IT consultant.... , talk to ISB alumnis from last 1-2 batchs to see how many IT folks have got career shift from IT to other industries........I dont think there will be many....there are non-IT people who get career shift to IT in ISB e.g a military officer to HR / Admin in IT company.Airhostests to HR.....manager in other industry to Program / project manager of non-tech (sales,admin,finance) team in IT.
Which industry you want to be post MBA.? If you are looking for complete career change /industry change I dont think ISB is right option for you.There are schools specialized in particular subject areas or famous for recruitment in particular industry.eg. if somebody want to go into finance / I-banking after 5-6 yrs of work exp in IT industry Chicago GSB,NYU,LSB are schools for him.....as 2 yr programs are in depth and has intership for 3-6 months students get lot of exposure to the industry which is new to them and this helps in building network in that industry hence 2 yr programs are better option for someone looking for career / industry change.
on the other hand if you look at ISB it is 11 months program.I think everything is covered in hurry and you wont really get enough time and exposure to experience core management subjects ( e.g finance,marketing ) which may be relevant to your target industry or role.
There are subject specialized courses also e.g there is wine MBA in one of the europes top b schools.It is ideal for someone looking for career change and want to build further career in wine industry only.so find out if there are such specialized courses for your target industry.Another example is for someone want to go into International biz after some yrs in IT.Thunderbird in US and IIFT in Indiia are the best schools.If that person is applying to ISB then I would say its wrong path he has choosen...(as going into International biz after ISB is very difficult for someone with typical IT background.)
The more you will be clear about your post MBA goals more it will be easy to select the appropriate program.I'm younger than you so I may not be the right person to guide you on all this.I'm sure you must have done more research than me but,this is something which I have observed in last 4-5 yrs.
:
All the best please let me know your comments.
Can anybody help me?
I'm from small town so need your help. Please puys pour in your suggestions.
My brief background:
10th - 57% Bhopal Board
12th(Commerce): 70% Nagpur Board (I was 16th in the merit list & I got merit scholarship for the same.)
B.Com. - 63% (District Topper, got the gold medal)
AGE: 33
Experience:
1) Tata-BP Lubricants (Sales Officer) - 3 years
2) Asian Paints I Ltd. (Territory Sales Incharge) - 2 years
3) Entrepreneurship: Owner of my coaching classes TOPPERS ACADEMY-7 years till now.
Now I want to switch my career. That's why I have decided to pursue an MBA. I will manage to get 99+ percentile in CAT/XAT/FMS/MH-CET & 700+ in GMAT.
My questions to you are
1) which MBA shall I go for 2 year or 1 year?
2) If I decide to go for 1 year MBA from ISB/IIMA, what are my chances to make it?
3) Do you think spending 20Lakh-30lakh will be a right decision?
4) I would like to go in finance sector, will i be able to get any placement?
Kindly reply.
Thanks in Advance.
Hi Ajay,
Thanks again for your comments.
I've not managed to talk to any recent ISB passouts, hence my knowledge is limited on this front.
my goal is try and move to a pure finance domain.
yes, US b-schools are probably good when it comes to change of career, but the high cost and 2 yr duration of the course are the factors which I don't think I can support. Additionally, my goal would be to return back to india soon, so don't want to spend 5 to 6 yrs in US working to pay off educational loans.
I was looking at the European B-schools and LBS seems be a good option for moving into finance, though the cost is quite high. Other European B-schools I'm not so sure about. Additionally you are pretty much on your own in these schoools w.r.t. placement unlike Indan B=schools.
That's why I feel IIMs/Indian B-schools are better value for money.
you are also right about specialist courses. e.g. LBS/LSE offer Masters in finance courses, but you need to have prior experience in the financial industry before you join the course.
@Sahil
Your profile looks quite good.
Which industry/function do you want to work in post-MBA? That will answer point no. 1
2. I think if you manage a good score in GMAT your chances are quite high for ISB/IIMs. You are also not from IT which means the diversity factor will help you.
3. No idea, it's really your call. ISB/IIMs fees will set you back by about 20-22 lakhs.
4. Again, it really depends on the school you are choosing. Looks like you are in the same boat as I am. I'm unsure if it's possible to achieve a career change with a 1 yr MBA.
I came to know from one of my trusted source that most of the job offered this year at IIM A PGPX has been that of IT. Several people from Non-IT background took career switch to IT. 3-4 guys opted for opening their own business and did not sit for job interviews.
The whole scenario sounds similar to what we did in our campus interviews during engineering days. Though, my batch was from Electronics, many of us switched to IT since most of the on campus recruiter were from IT.
Yes, it seems that IT is the major industry w.r.t. placements for PGPX. You do get middle management level roles in IT though. However they won't offer roles like Director or VP (unless the co. is a really small one). It is becoming clear that you won't be able to get a change of industry by doing a 1 yr course (e..g. IT to investment banking)
What are your own goals? are you from IT? and do you wish to stay in IT post-PGPX?
Yes, it seems that IT is the major industry w.r.t. placements for PGPX. You do get middle management level roles in IT though. However they won't offer roles like Director or VP (unless the co. is a really small one). It is becoming clear that you won't be able to get a change of industry by doing a 1 yr course (e..g. IT to investment banking)
What are your own goals? are you from IT? and do you wish to stay in IT post-PGPX?
I agree with you on that very senior profile are not generally offered in PGPX placements.
I am Product Manager in IT company. Looking towards PGPX for more business oriented experience during course and IT role during placement. As of now, my work is more loaded towards delivery with little bit of presale experience.
@kasmunda09.
Personally I would happy to move into a role above Project manager role in an IT service company after MBA (if I can get that!). I'm not aspiring for a CTO or VP type role.
I'm currently working as a Test manager in an IT product co. I've been in the Engineering departments for all my life which is why I think it will help me to get out of a technical role. In my current co Project Managers are at the same level as Test Managers but they deal with deployment and customer-specific issues.
@kasmunda09.
Personally I would happy to move into a role above Project manager role in an IT service company after MBA (if I can get that!). I'm not aspiring for a CTO or VP type role.
I'm currently working as a Test manager in an IT product co. I've been in the Engineering departments for all my life which is why I think it will help me to get out of a technical role. In my current co Project Managers are at the same level as Test Managers but they deal with deployment and customer-specific issues.
Strongbow,
One of my friend who has done PGPX course suggested me to apply for ISB also. He said that their placement process is very professional and better structred then IIM. They recruit people from IIMs to run their placements process. On other hand, he met few ISB guys somewhere and came to know that most of ISB current batch has been placed except good chunk of 10+ years people. If you have direct source, it would be interesting to know the exact details.
@kasmunda09,
I'm trying to talk to a source in ISB (he also has 10+ yrs experience). hopefully he will reply in the next couple of days. I'm not sure though whether he will "sugar-coat" the information! I'm looking for some honest answers, even if those are bad!!
So did you get a response?!
Hi,
I just joined the forum and would like to revive this topic of MBA/PGP courses after 10+ years of experience.
My profile in brief:
9+ exp with top IT services firm
current role as project manager at a financial client in US
US client exposure for 6 yrs
Pls suggest if I should go in for a MBA (1 yr exec courses) and what are my best choices? I havent given GMAT yet!
I am trying to decide if MBA is needed vs my IT career so far and how it would help me given the fee I would have to pay and 1 yr break period!!!??
Pls pour in your suggestions/options...
With Thanks...
Hi,
I just joined the forum and would like to revive this topic of MBA/PGP courses after 10+ years of experience.
My profile in brief:
9+ exp with top IT services firm
current role as project manager at a financial client in US
US client exposure for 6 yrs
Pls suggest if I should go in for a MBA (1 yr exec courses) and what are my best choices? I havent given GMAT yet!
I am trying to decide if MBA is needed vs my IT career so far and how it would help me given the fee I would have to pay and 1 yr break period!!!??
Pls pour in your suggestions/options...
With Thanks...
If you need to move out of a purely IT role to a IT + Business role then an MBA is good. The same role might happen few years down the lane but an MBA can give you a better perspective and some technical knowledge. Unless you are doing an MBA from top 10 universities the RoI will be more over the long term.
Hi,
I am also in similar situation with 9 years IT experience and now as a Project Manager. Want to move out of IT and currently in US. I have strong domain knowledge in Insurance and have completed FLMI. Would MBA in Organizational behaviour be useful considering the fact of career shift? Pls suggest..
Thanks
Shri
I am in the same boat and deliberating cautiously. No final decision as yet.
You need to define you TRUE purpose of study (not the eaasy one!!). There should be one and only one purpose, rest are just secondary. If you are not sure then start from the very basic, do you need to do an MBA?
For me it is 'knowledge', strange but true, I have reason for that. money, career change, progression etc are not so important as I am already doing pretty well, neither cost of the study is a determining factor. You need to understand very clearly your priorities and key objective. Don't fool yourself!!
For knowledge, I am more inclined to UK colleges over US and rest of EU knowing fully that it is a major gamble as UK job market is tough for Indians, even if you are from the top 3 and not interested in Finance. Yes, it is tough. Some one got some flying job does not mean that you will also get. If you are interested in IT or any finance job then may be a bit different. Then again, that defeats your purpose of changing industry. Dear friend, you do not have much time to experiement.
Secondly, most of the UK courses are 1 year, except LBS in the top league. Then again, LBS is more for Finance.
Indian school, you need to understand whether you like the Indian style of management or American or European style.
Whatever it is, it is a major risk as not necessarily you will get a job as per your current position, excluding IT. I am from a traditional and conservative industry , where you need to move up in the lader. I am not sure whether I can come back to my industry or not. Definitely I would not go to IT industry like TCS/Infy/Wipro after doing my MBA, I an not that desparate.
Anyway, learn from this forum and focus on your GMAT.
A word of caution, no offence to others, this forum has mostly 2-5 years IT guys, who may not be able to appreciate your way of thinking.
Long distance vs. Full Time?
what MICA Memoirs says:
http://mica.mbas.in/when-is-long-distance-mba-a-good-option/