360 Degree

One of the those insanely boring days, i configured my Gmail account with Outlook express even though i use Thunderbird .Well, while Outlook was retrieving the archieves, i stumbled upon a mail thread which was like more than 2 years old.What was it about? I had posted a question on Linkedin Q&A section, asking

Should i do my MBA with around 2 years of experience or wait or more??
Is going for an mba degree after a 2 year experience in technical field a good idea, or say 3-4 years.Which has more prospects??

Now, i was hardly 6 months into my first job and things were not exactly exciting given that it was the training-cum-shadowing part in my profile.Hence, the thought of ‘Doing a Master’s degree’ kept crossing my mind.Well, since i never took studies seriously at college, the idea for doing a M.S. was out of the question.I had also started my blog on finance/investments at www.gettingmoneywise.com and started learning the nitty gritties of Stock Market.Add to that the swish-swash life of Investment Bankers that one keeps noticing, i decided “MBA In Finance” is going to be my thing.But, the question that loomed large was when? I always wanted to do an MBA from abroad(I still do), primarily to get a truly international exposure and their focus on letting in experienced folks only.Real time business learning is what i wanted to cash on having an experienced peer group.

Well, in times of extreme vellaness i posted the above question(verbatim) on Linkedin and when i look back now, i am frikking surprised of the answers that i received.I am going to hide the names of the awesome folks who answered for obvious reasons, but quoting exact things they said.So, here goes the conversation once i posted the conversation

Disclaimer: Some answers are real long.I will try to highlight the good points but reading it all wont do any harm

A very senior Professor(Mr.x) wrote,

The experience requirement for MBAs is a joke but since the dunderheads who run MBA programs like this joke you have to do your two years. I taught at the Univ. of Chicago MBA program for 5 years and I was absolutely amazed at the crummy jobs their MBAs came from–I never in my wildest dreams ever imagined wasting time in the crummy types of companies and crummy types of jobs with crummy levels of income those MBAs came from. No wonder they worshipped greed and success–they were losers, every single one!!!!!!!!! MBA programs take as input the world’s lousiest employees and by exposing them to the world’s most vulgar values for 2 years, turn them into the world’s ugliest souls. Nice job if you can get it!!!!!
2 years of exposure to crummy jobs in crummy firms at crummy salary levels is MORE than enough for admittance to any MBA program. Your prospects depend ENTIRELY on reading you did while working and reading you do while being bothered by stupid MBA classes taught by the morons they hire as professors (people straight our of grad schools without an experience in their entire lives).

I was a little awestruck at the reply but then it makes sense too now when i look at it now (2 years later, i think i have become a little more knowledgable)

Well, I replied to him saying that i work with a global MNC and i work in cutting edge technologies and blah..blah.I also asked him if ISB Hyderabad is a good bet.(Well, he was a little harsh may be he didn’t know it properly

Look an MBA is a personal brand thing–you get no knowledge worth anything from the out of date overly abstract bozos they hire as professors–you get repute by having Harvard or Stanford or Sloan stamped on your person. That becomes your brand and IT HELPS A LOT, if it is a top ten school. So if you go knowing you will learn nothing at all of value, meet a lot of second rate minds in the form of faculty, and hear "exciting" business ideas about 3 decades after people make money with them, but the repute you get will be worth millions–you will do fine. Just ignore the faculty and all that they say and get that brand on your person and cash it in every subsequent year of your life.
If MBA programs are all about branding not knowledge, as I said above, then Hyderabad X is worthless unless you spend your entire life in south India. Go for the global top brands–Stanford is best, Harvard is second but truly horrible weather and people, MIT and McGill are the best knowledge deal though knowledge at MBA programs is laughable. Stanford introduces you to the unique culture of trust that build Silicon Valley, but half of Stanford faculty are idiots who graduated from MIT or Harvard or other East coast non-trust cultures and schools. Stay away from those East coast educated bozos–they trust nothing and hoard hoard hoard knowledge just like Harvard soaks every living things for profit, profit, profit. Go West in culture and you will learn the secret of Silicon Valley and how the East Coast of the US is the devil–the destroyer of all production and innovation–the blue suit monkeys afraid of everything, liars and thieves, CEO rip offs justified by U of Chicago laizez faire excuses invented by rightwing nuts.

This is as hard hitting as it comes.Frankly, i have not come across any real knowledgeable MBA’s.I have interacted with a few IIM,ISB grads and at the end of the day, i have managed to hold my own during discussions with them.Not being self-pompous but it’s a fact, i dont think knowledge is something that an MBA degree provides u with, It boils down to Personal Brand and the Networking that an MBA degree offers you.

Back to the initial question, another detailed response came in.

From the perspective of a business scenario where baby boomers will leave after 10 years the managerial positions where today are still working; in a hypercompetitive business landscape where versatile skill sets and a innovative mindset will be mandatory conditions for tomorrow’s managers and leaders; in a context where products’ lifecycles are shorter for hyper-competitive markets where consumers, not corporations are leading the evolution of the industry; in an enterprise landscape where collaborative work, knowledge management and a culture driven by innovation will determine that the science & art of managing scenarios of such complexity and so uncertain and volatile will require from knowledge, skill sets and competences that only a MBA or a Master degree can provide.

An MBA usually includes a lot of cases of study about real experiences in management, marketing, business strategy and finance that being applied to business contexts will be more useful and easier for a smart professional who have had previous professional experience is really motivated to succeed in your next career initiative.

Enrolling in a MBA a young professional will acquire complementary knowledge in Management, Operations, Finance and Technology that when are considered in an integrated way and from a systemic perspective will be helpful in achieving the goal of building of a solid business oriented vision, a generalist’s professional perspective while acquiring valuable knowledge about the best practices in management and consultancy.

Beginning your MBA some years after the initiation as a professional will ease the comprehension, analysis and learning from the business landscape, managerial methods and functional disciplines included in a typical MBA.

Additionally, future growth as a professional in Management and/or Consultancy will be indeed interesting and promissory if he/she wants to expand his/her knowledge from a systemic point of view, he/she is motivated to succeed learning state-of-the-at business knowledge and best managerial practices and he/she likes perspective of managing, resources, leading people and being a key factor in pursuing corporate transformation.
Being so, enrolling in a MBA is undoubtedly the best investment that a young and proactive professional could make today in anticipating the business’s perspectives in 5-10 year from now.
I hope this helps you.

This was a toned down orthodox answer in support of “ Get some experience under your belt before enrolling for a MBA degree”

Another answer came and he was of the opinion that “The earlier you get your degree done and the better it is”

I enjoyed Mr. X’s response. While I don’t bring the same cynical view (perhaps because I didn’t suffer the same pain he did), I agree with him. The sooner you can complete it the better off you will be. While waiting (Mr. X’s perspective aside) can give you greater perpespective from which to take in the info, no one looks at your resume and says well he only had 1 year of experience before getting his MBA. An MBA provides tools from which to better adapt to the info and experience a career throws your direction. Make the most of it as soon as possible. I’ve given the same advice to many folks and those who took it have been winners for it.

One more answer to the question came in, and if you can guess the nationality of the person who gave this answer, you get a gift

It depends on your exposure and experience since your school days. If you have hands-on experience in managing resources and organizing events, you are ready for the MBA course. You will be able to appreciate the discussions and deliberations in classes, cases and in projects.
Institutions prefer experienced students, companies prefer experienced MBAs, but your previous experience may be considered irrelevant by many. So focus on your domain, and specialize on the MBA where this experience will be useful and in future there should be a progression of learning plus experience to give total value of knowledge and experience.
As a technical person, you may be forgetting many technical issues while studying managerial concepts. You must keep yourself updated on your specialized technical field, and prefer to take your projects and summer placements in related industry/discipline.
It is important to have diverse experience in an organization to appreciate the managerial aspects that flows across functions. If 3-5 years is required to do that, it is appropriate. Remember, after five years, you have an option to get a short-term MBA and also your ability to meet the regimen of study may not remain as good as a fresher.
Incidentally, this is the time to start a family, and you must take that issue in consideration.

Now comes the embarrassing part.Amidst all these questions, all these folks went ahead asking me “Why do I want to do an MBA” to which i gave the lamest reply MONEY .Bang came an answer from Mr.X

To be honest, you sound as if you are now in very very serious trouble. Lack of motivation (not having clear strong directions you powerfully are already drawn to) will destroy you faster and deeper than anything else. I suspect that money is destroying your life–forget it entirely–THAT will make room for you to discover what you ACTUALLY love—in business the rule always is–DO WHAT YOU LOVE. That is all that counts and that is how the next Apple, Google, etc. will be created. None of them were created by people seeking money–all of them were created by people in love with an idea or product invention or possibility for new ways of living. If you seek money you will be poor all you life and a shallow person not ever worth talking to–if you find what you tremendously LOVE, a wonderful life will continually open up for you–FIND YOUR BLISS, forget money, seeking it will kill your business chances.
I am serious about the above–you are in danger.

True to its core, but then i still have my apprehensions about it. *hint*

Another thing that i asked was regarding “What course should i opt for” .I mentioned that i have an Inclination towards Finance/Banking to which i received a very good response

Competence = Education+Training+Skills+Experience. No scope for evidence of Inclination. Put yourself in the role of a recruiter, and ask: should I recruit Ankit with this combination? What role to offer? What can he do for me? You will get the expected answer.

Short and sweet and it separates “I like this” from “I know this and I want to learn this” .The latter should decide which specialization one should opt for

Well!! The discussion would still be available on Linkedin for sure, but i thought of chronically these here for two reasons

• I am sure the question “ MBA with Experience or Without” is something that most of us go through.Hopefully, this thread will help throw some light on the issue
• I could re-visit the thread sometime because i am still halfway in my pursuit for these nagging questions

It has been a real long post and might get overwhelming.So, please feel free to bookmark it and come back to it later.Share it with your friends who are in the same dilemma.

As for me, almost 3 years into my career, i think “ MBA with work experience would add more value” for reasons,

• It will help you identify the nature of work you want to do (Marketing/Sales etc) .You might be a technical guy but then thrown in the ecosystem, you will tend to identify with the kind of work you want to do
• Once, the identification happens, your Skill Set gap will be expose.This gap is critical since it is the premise for “Why you want to do MBA”
• Bonus: Jobs tend to get real shitty at times.This will make you realize that studies are any day better and you might consider doing an MBA

It has been a long and boring post, but something that i thought would be helpful.

Comments and further discussions on this are Welcome