MBA Conundrum- ‘Is it truly worthwhile?’

MBA seems to be the answer today after graduating from different career tracks irrespective of experience in any particular industry. Engineering, Commerce, Arts, Architecture all fields seem to gravitate towards the so-called best option. Thus the average age in India to for an MBA degree is around 25 years versus that in the United States and UK is around 28 years. It is quite disturbing that on “average only 7% of MBA graduates are employable while rest earn a meager salary” (The Indian Express, 2016). Students overlook these facts and get into a mad rush to pursue a management degree almost immediately after their graduation.

It seems today that value of an MBA degree has been viewed just as another skill set addition rather then it is actual value, which is of enhanced decision making and management abilities. This in turn undermines the value of an experienced person with a good program to move up the corporate ladder.

Background and qualification seem to be at a loss while pursuing an MBA partly since students are unable to view what specialization would they work towards to have a future career in that field. Thus comes in the generic, business focused approach of MBA.  For instance, interest-driven Finance approach in my undergraduate degree leads to pursuing an MBA, instead of thinking about specific learning which is well achieved with a Masters Program which would at this stage be the apt choice.

Is that because students are unaware of the options available? Or does a lack of good MS program in India tend to push students towards pursuing an MBA?

A careful review of the education courses in India clears the picture a bit. Many students jump into their undergraduate degrees without proper consultation. Hence their interests and/or aptitude do not match their bachelor’s degrees. Even IITians are not immune from this and many choose to pursue MBA immediately after engineering. For other students, e.g. from business (commerce) backgrounds, also there seems to be an urgency to pursue an MBA from any college possible. One of the reasons for them to do so is the lack of good employment opportunities after college. The MBA is then reduced to a certificate needed for a higher salary.

However, what most students ignore is the obvious skill gap this option leads to. An MBA is foremost a ‘terminal degree’ i.e. it is the highest achievement in a given field of study/profession. So a student without a background (e.g. an engineer, an architect) or a student with very little practical skill (e.g. a commerce graduate) in the field goes straight for the ultimate degree. No wonder then many of the MBA graduates who come out are not employable.

The ‘missing link’ in this plan is the MS Option, which is lacking in India. Abroad, there are specialization options such as Commerce, Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Financial Engineering, Digital Marketing, Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, Information Systems, Engineering Management, Fine Arts, International Business etc. These teach a student practical skills e.g. a Finance student is taught advanced valuations, derivatives trading, technical trading algorithm building etc. in innovation labs. Such an education gives a student the basic education that he or she was lacking and makes the student employable.

Students should be encouraged to understand and select the depth (MS) over breadth (MBA) for their post- graduate studies. Studying a MS program abroad or locally would add more value over a local MBA degree even taking into account a difference in the initial investment. I strongly feel the ‘MBA’ degree leads to stagnant jobs with tag line ‘I do not love my job’. This is the time to change our perception, figure out and pursue what we would really like to do.

-Shruti Madhiwalla

Education Counselor, KnoWell Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.