Personal/Career/CAT-job Dilemma Queries : A Repository

Hi All,

I am currently pursuing MBA (1st year). I want to know what more certifications one should do along with an MBA degree in IT, for good placements.

Also, I did an internship in Operations (SCM). Would that be helpful for future career prospects.

Please help


You can go for six-sigma green belt certification. SC in my opinion mas little to do with IT, unless the recruiter has such a process for a client. With MBA-IT you're basically looking for IT-consulting roles at the TCS/Infy or the like, so you should focus on certifications related to that.
I have a very basic question but a tricky one....
This is what my calculation says:
I have 3 years of exp ...I m earning 5lpa, a switch will give me 7lpa n then in next 2 years I will be at 9(approx)..

Now if I go for MBA, i will be loosing the money I would have earned in 2 years + a big loan..
Say I will get a salary of 8-9 lacs...

Can some one who has seen or know some one..how a mba will help me in long run....I heard that in S/W field growth stops at 10-12 lpa is it not the case with MBA? please help...how MBA will help me reaching 20-25 after starting salary of 8-9 lacs...
PS: 4-5 replies from diff seniors would be of huge help and would be highly appreciated.


I believe you are in some IT-Outsourcing firm. Try moving to a product based IT company, or to client location in your own firm. Talk to HR and try getting a better role. If you are looking at packages then there are IT companies operating on Indian soil which pay more than 20L too. Growth is a funtion of hardwork you put in, priority should be job-satisfaction rather than the remuneration. Furthermore, if you plan to do MBA, you'll probably lose your 3-year experience in IT if you're thinking of anything else than IT-consulting which is what you'll get to anyway.

Suruchi,

A regular MBA is always a better deal, because of the additional exposure that you will get through your faculty which would be mising in case of SCDL.

One more thing that I have noticed is that most people just study for the sake of clearing paper in case of distance learning thus the real MBA education looses steam.

I would suggest that u shud go for IP Uni. for your masters.

Regards
Animesh Jain

hello puys

this is venkat

my biggest dilema is i have 2 IT jobs in hand and very keen on pursuing my mba course after a year or so and i am passionate about consulting.will my IT experience help me anyway in consulting???
and are there any certification courses for consulting???
please help....

Hi Venkat,

Do you think you can devotedly give tym for CAT preps while working, if yes. Go for you Job let it be in any field.

Bcz while working you get to learn and see a lot of new things which help you in the longer run and while doing masters as well, saying this based on experience.

As for cosulting thr are no specific certifications in my knowledge but a masters froma good institute will help you cause.

Regards
Animesh Jain

hi
right now i am working as a management trainee..for the past 6 months in an environment firm, have already completed my masters in science..

i want to pursue an mba, and was considering the distance learning prog of imt.. will it be good?? as in, in what ways will it help boost my career..

i really want to study further.. what other options can i look to?

please advice..

hello
i have done bca 2009 pass out
few months back i got job of s/w test engineer
but now i want to study further so that i can grow & can get better oppurtunities so was thinking of mca
i came across 1 yr mca programme from IIBM i.e. correspondence which is NOT approved by AICTE or UGC :(
can i expect better job oppurtunities along with good salary after mca from iibm
or shall i go for any other course like ISTQB
plz suggest me
thanx

hello
i have done bca 2009 pass out
few months back i got job of s/w test engineer
but now i want to study further so that i can grow & can get better oppurtunities so was thinking of mca
i came across 1 yr mca programme from IIBM i.e. correspondence which is NOT approved by AICTE or UGC :(
can i expect better job oppurtunities along with good salary after mca from iibm
or shall i go for any other course like ISTQB
plz suggest me
thanx



AVOID any degree that is not AICTE/UGC approved.

hey thank u so much for the reply as i think now someone can guide me
is there any other university offering MCA for 2 years
or anything other course can you suggest after testing tool for my growth in a company

m4v3r1ck Says
AVOID any degree that is not AICTE/UGC approved.


what to do after course of s/w testing tools
is there any universities offering MCA for 2 years
i hope senior people will guide me
plz help
m4v3r1ck Says
You can go for six-sigma green belt certification. SC in my opinion mas little to do with IT, unless the recruiter has such a process for a client. With MBA-IT you're basically looking for IT-consulting roles at the TCS/Infy or the like, so you should focus on certifications related to that.

Hii. . Thanks so much for the help ..
I've just completed my Six Sigma Green Belt certification.

I would like to know what other advanced IT certifications should be done, that could be a really good add-on for MBA (IT). For eg: some Microsoft certifications.
Could you also advise on PMI's PMP/ CAPM certification ..

hi puys,
Can anyone tell me is doing a business analyst certification(IIBA approved) helpful in getting an entry level Business analyst job?? i'm a fresher and planning to do this course. Is BA only for experienced ones??
Anyone who is in this field, plz guide me.
Thanx alot

I haVE JOINED ACCENTURE BUT NOT SIGNED THE BOND YET... I AM CONFUSED WHETHER I SHOULD JOIN IIFT-K OR TRY AGAIN IN CAT 2011 or 2012,, i might get an IIM...i already have a job (3 lakh INR CTC).. my profile:

Xth 90
Xii 78
B.tech 79%

what should i do...i am confused and everyone has different opinion...m frustrated now,,do pour in some valuable advice

Dear Friends,

I need advice on a very important decision of mine i.e "Career Change".

I am 32 years old, commerce graduate, completed my MBA in IB. I started my career with reliance infrastructure (off roll), then joined HDFC Standard life as 'Sales Development Manager' where I was responsible for recruiting agents and getting business through them. Then I joined 'Bajaj Life Insurance co.' in 'Alternate channel' , here I was responsible for Recruiting franchisee and on rolls sales team of executives. Then I joined 'Reliance Money' as 'Center Manager', here I was responsible for overall profitability of the branch and I was handling Channel Management and selling products like Equity, Mutual Fund, Insurance, General Insurance etc.

Due to some serious Personal tragedy I left the job, then joined again after a gap of 9 months in a construction firm as 'Investment Manager' here I am responsible for company investments, and their project appraisal.

I have total experience of 9 years, I have cleared AMFI certification, NSE 'Equity Analyst', Licentiate from III.

I want to look possibilities in SAP-CRM module, what you say.... What else I can try to go into... your advice matters. Please reply

Hi Puys,
Here goes my story about doing MBA in India( well, before starting to study only )

My Background:

Academics:
Std. Xth - 72 % ( Maharashtra Board )
Std. XIIth - 61 % ( NCERT syllabus - Goa Board)
B.E. Engg(C.S.E) - 65 % (VTU,Karnataka)

Working Experience:
Accenture Private Services Ltd. - 10 Months till date.

Other Activities:
Chess Player-- have been representing my instituition or company for chess from the past 8 years. But, havent won any STATE- level competitions.
Event Management-- Have regurlarly participated/ organized events like University level Athletic meets, Technical fests, meet ups, etc
quiz,puzzles,Apti -- Relatively comfortable with Apti,puzzles, quiz, GD's etc.( but not upto MBA level ). Had no problem of these skills when i had attended placements after college.

MBA Inspiration & Decision:
I had no MBA dreams as such in my final year of engg.I just wanted to be a Software Engineer and get placed in a good company in campus.
And I managed to do it and got into Accenture.
Initially, I was content with what I was doing.Exicited about the corporate world, IT world, salary, Parties, etc etc
But, then my project changed and the bad times started to erupt.
everything changed. Being a Java developer, I had to work on shell scripts n other stuff and uptill now i have lost touch with Java, even though, my Primary skill is Java.And more other such issues/greviances which I do not want to discuss here.
With no offence to Accenture, it is the same condition in most of the Service based companies in India.( My frends from other companies are also in the same situation)
So, wat next ? was the question buzzing around me for a while.
My ambition was to become a Software Engg. I have done that and have to move on.
I saw the profiles of Top level Management in my company and as expected, found all of them having an IIM or IIT or other university double degrees abroad.
So,If i was to continue here only, I would be at the TL(Team Leader) position here after 5-6 years from now, doing the same unchallenging work.I cannot switch to other companies(read Product companies here) due to my poor technical experience.
This is when a friend and colleague inspired me about MBA-benefits,process, etc etc. I was nevr interested in MS or M.Tech.So, naturally, choosing to do MBA was not difficult.
I researched for over 3 months on prospects of MBA in India.Saw many people with BE+2-3 work exp in IT company+MBA now doing well.the profiles looked inspiring.then, the pay packages, the Job profiles/Roles , the wide scopes for me, began to appear, if I were to do MBA.
By then, I had decided that I would be doing MBA and targeted three academic years ( 2012-14, 2013-15,2014-16) to get through in 2 year full MBA course in any of the top B-Schools.

Preparation till now:
List of top B-colleges in india, Entrance exams,placements,notifications, etc etc
Started solving Quant,DI,DS,LR,Verbal problems & also preparing for GD-PI
Getting into IMS for July batch.
Regularly following PG for updates and info.

And now comes the Worry:

Worry:
Looking at my academic performances, I know it is a crime to even dream of an IIM or XLRI seat. After checking the Selection Criteria's of IIM's I'm still more demotivated. And also for the fact that people with 99.7 + percentile also are unsure of a seat in IIM, makes me feel a bit depressed..
And top colleges which do not consider academic background at the time of calls,given I do well in Entrance exams, I would still face the same issue in PI's(obvious that they would be questioning me on academic stuff)

So, is it worth spending thousands and practising hard for CAT, as no matter what, I would never get into IIM's or any other top notch college?
OR
Is it worth to sacrifice two years of salary+Exp+Education Loan for MBA to study in a Tier-3 or Tier-4 college.

Query:
As you all Puys see, I'm in a fix about whether to continuing preparing or leave it right away and concentrate on my IT career.
Some of you might be thinking that, " I may be counting my chickens before they hatch", but that is what I can predict about myself.

Need your views on this Puys.I assure you that I'll strive hard for preparing and despite poor academic background,I believe that I have a changed attitude(or because of the Work Frustration) to reach my goal.

hi
i want to pursue an mba, and was considering the distance learning prog of imt.. will it be good?? as in, in what ways will it help boost my career..

i really want to study further.. what other options can i look to?

please advice..


Hi
I believe TERI university's MBA programmes will be the best fit for you. If you're not in a hurry to do MBA, you should hold on to your current job and join a top tier executive MBA programme later. Distance learning is advised only if someone has a job and she needs an MBA for appraisal.

is there any other university offering MCA for 2 years
or anything other course can you suggest after testing tool for my growth in a company


AICTE recognizes 3-year MCA programmes only and therefore any 1-year or 2-year programme is a sham.
For testing I'd recommend getting a ISTQB certification or a CTM from IIST. Since you're already in this role, I can't say how much of value add they provide. Logically, the next step should have been getting quality assurance certs like six-sigma etc.

Hii. . Thanks so much for the help ..
I've just completed my Six Sigma Green Belt certification.

I would like to know what other advanced IT certifications should be done, that could be a really good add-on for MBA (IT). For eg: some Microsoft certifications.
Could you also advise on PMI's PMP/ CAPM certification ..


PMP is recommended for people having 3-5 year experience in project management. Although you can still get it, I believe it would not add much value to your resume. In the present situation you should tap into your alumni network and talk to people placed with the IT recruiters at your college before chalking out a plan. You can ask for expectations and the required certifications if any. This has to be case to case basis if you are serious.

hi puys,
Can anyone tell me is doing a business analyst certification(IIBA approved) helpful in getting an entry level Business analyst job?? i'm a fresher and planning to do this course. Is BA only for experienced ones??
Anyone who is in this field, plz guide me.
Thanx alot


Hi
I've seen freshers getting this role, so that is not a problem. Don't expect much if you are not from a good engineering college (IITs/NITs) or don't have a strong mathematical background or both.

prashant navin Says
I AM CONFUSED WHETHER I SHOULD JOIN IIFT-K OR TRY AGAIN IN CAT 2011 or 2012,, i might get an IIM...


Hi
You are talking about a big IF. Please answer for yourself:
1) Can you get >99.6x in CAT this november? How can you be sure of an IIM call?
2) Does working at Accenture means you can't leave even after an IIM convert?
3)Does IIFT-K suits your reason to do MBA? ( Look at it this way - do you see yourself at the same position after 4years where a 2 yr stint at Accenture+an IIM degree will take you? Please don't factor the money at the moment.)
4) What are the cost/benefit or the opportunity-cost analysis say about both the options?

Hopefully you'll make the right decision,ATB!

Dear Friends,

I need advice on a very important decision of mine i.e "Career Change".

I am 32 years old, commerce graduate, completed my MBA in IB. I started my career with reliance infrastructure (off roll), then joined HDFC Standard life as 'Sales Development Manager' where I was responsible for recruiting agents and getting business through them. Then I joined 'Bajaj Life Insurance co.' in 'Alternate channel' , here I was responsible for Recruiting franchisee and on rolls sales team of executives. Then I joined 'Reliance Money' as 'Center Manager', here I was responsible for overall profitability of the branch and I was handling Channel Management and selling products like Equity, Mutual Fund, Insurance, General Insurance etc.. ...
... joined again after a gap of 9 months in a construction firm as 'Investment Manager' here I am responsible for company investments, and their project appraisal.

I have total experience of 9 years, I have cleared AMFI certification, NSE 'Equity Analyst', Licentiate from III.

I want to look possibilities in SAP-CRM module, what you say.... What else I can try to go into... your advice matters. Please reply


Hi
You have a good profile but I guess you don't recognize the value in it. Have you ever thought about getting a second MBA degree form abroad? It could be one of the options.

SAP-FI/CO should be the relevant certification for you as you have domain knowledge in this sector and it is just wise to capitalize on that! ATB!

Hi
Do companies usually have a eligibility criteria (>60%) for past academic records while recruiting MBA grads? I ask because I was deemed ineligible for a number of companies during my Engg placements due to an abysmal HSC score. I've scored a 99+ %ile in CET but am afraid to leave a pretty good job and experience the stress of being deemed ineligible for good companies.

Hi
Do companies usually have a eligibility criteria (>60%) for past academic records while recruiting MBA grads? I ask because I was deemed ineligible for a number of companies during my Engg placements due to an abysmal HSC score. I've scored a 99+ %ile in CET but am afraid to leave a pretty good job and experience the stress of being deemed ineligible for good companies.


Apart from I-banks, consulting firms, few finance companies.. I have not seen any companies keeping any eligibility criteria..Don't wry once u r in a good B-school..it wont matter that much
Hi Puys,
Here goes my story about doing MBA in India( well, before starting to study only )

My Background:

Academics:
Std. Xth - 72 % ( Maharashtra Board )
Std. XIIth - 61 % ( NCERT syllabus - Goa Board)
B.E. Engg(C.S.E) - 65 % (VTU,Karnataka)

Working Experience:
Accenture Private Services Ltd. - 10 Months till date.

Other Activities:
Chess Player-- have been representing my instituition or company for chess from the past 8 years. But, havent won any STATE- level competitions.
Event Management-- Have regurlarly participated/ organized events like University level Athletic meets, Technical fests, meet ups, etc
quiz,puzzles,Apti -- Relatively comfortable with Apti,puzzles, quiz, GD's etc.( but not upto MBA level ). Had no problem of these skills when i had attended placements after college.

MBA Inspiration & Decision:
I had no MBA dreams as such in my final year of engg.I just wanted to be a Software Engineer and get placed in a good company in campus.
And I managed to do it and got into Accenture.
Initially, I was content with what I was doing.Exicited about the corporate world, IT world, salary, Parties, etc etc
But, then my project changed and the bad times started to erupt.
everything changed. Being a Java developer, I had to work on shell scripts n other stuff and uptill now i have lost touch with Java, even though, my Primary skill is Java.And more other such issues/greviances which I do not want to discuss here.
With no offence to Accenture, it is the same condition in most of the Service based companies in India.( My frends from other companies are also in the same situation)
So, wat next ? was the question buzzing around me for a while.
My ambition was to become a Software Engg. I have done that and have to move on.
I saw the profiles of Top level Management in my company and as expected, found all of them having an IIM or IIT or other university double degrees abroad.
So,If i was to continue here only, I would be at the TL(Team Leader) position here after 5-6 years from now, doing the same unchallenging work.I cannot switch to other companies(read Product companies here) due to my poor technical experience.
This is when a friend and colleague inspired me about MBA-benefits,process, etc etc. I was nevr interested in MS or M.Tech.So, naturally, choosing to do MBA was not difficult.
I researched for over 3 months on prospects of MBA in India.Saw many people with BE+2-3 work exp in IT company+MBA now doing well.the profiles looked inspiring.then, the pay packages, the Job profiles/Roles , the wide scopes for me, began to appear, if I were to do MBA.
By then, I had decided that I would be doing MBA and targeted three academic years ( 2012-14, 2013-15,2014-16) to get through in 2 year full MBA course in any of the top B-Schools.

Preparation till now:
List of top B-colleges in india, Entrance exams,placements,notifications, etc etc
Started solving Quant,DI,DS,LR,Verbal problems & also preparing for GD-PI
Getting into IMS for July batch.
Regularly following PG for updates and info.

And now comes the Worry:

Worry:
Looking at my academic performances, I know it is a crime to even dream of an IIM or XLRI seat. After checking the Selection Criteria's of IIM's I'm still more demotivated. And also for the fact that people with 99.7 + percentile also are unsure of a seat in IIM, makes me feel a bit depressed..
And top colleges which do not consider academic background at the time of calls,given I do well in Entrance exams, I would still face the same issue in PI's(obvious that they would be questioning me on academic stuff)

So, is it worth spending thousands and practising hard for CAT, as no matter what, I would never get into IIM's or any other top notch college?
OR
Is it worth to sacrifice two years of salary+Exp+Education Loan for MBA to study in a Tier-3 or Tier-4 college.

Query:
As you all Puys see, I'm in a fix about whether to continuing preparing or leave it right away and concentrate on my IT career.
Some of you might be thinking that, " I may be counting my chickens before they hatch", but that is what I can predict about myself.

Need your views on this Puys.I assure you that I'll strive hard for preparing and despite poor academic background,I believe that I have a changed attitude(or because of the Work Frustration) to reach my goal.

Nicely structured mail.
Same thing happened with me dude regarding issues with service sector. And then I decided to go for MBA as soon as possible(I already planned gng for MBA after some workex because of my average profile).
You can still go for IIM-C,Ra,L(with workex),NITIE,MDI,IIT-D,IIT-B,IIFT-D,FMS etc which are equally good and would give value to your career. There are plenty of other options and you should think about going for MBA asap before any further change in criteria .
Again I would ask you to work as hard as possible to get top percentiles in all exams so that you have plenty of options left and leave all the delibrations behind atleast until after the results. Work Hard and all the best

Guys,

our team has made a video on MBA experience. Here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V26F0ztg0xg

Hope you'll enjoy watching it. Love it, like it!

cheers!

hey everyone

i am preparing for cat 11, but prblm is that i completed my eng in 2010, joined tcs bt left very early, i dnt have any wrk ex: can family business be counted in wrk ex: plz give ur suggestions