MBA Crystal Ball

Hi Sameer

I would require your professional guidance regarding dilemma I am facing.

I am having 9.5 years of experience in IT(software development) with 3 years of onsite experience.

My academics are as following

Class X: 79.2%
Class 12: 60.0%
B.Tech: 7.57/10 (DGPA) (Private Engg College)

My work involves giving technical support and managing clients of an insurance product that my company has created.

My question is,Having spent around 9.5 years in IT industry would it be fruitful to do MBA now.
Will doing MBA will help me move to managerial position?
Also given my academic record is not so great, do I have any chance in getting admitted into premier MBA college.

Thanks
Ranjan

Ranjan wrote:My work involves giving technical support and managing clients of an insurance product that my company has created.
:
My question is,Having spent around 9.5 years in IT industry would it be fruitful to do MBA now.
Will doing MBA will help me move to managerial position?
Also given my academic record is not so great, do I have any chance in getting admitted into premier MBA college.

Hi Ranjan, the answer to the 'will' part in your question is clear. So, let's tackle that first.

An MBA will not automatically get you into an managerial position. What you've done for 9.5 years will have a strong influence on how your post MBA recruiters will look at you.

The other point is a little more introspective. if your academic record hasn't been great, why put yourself under greater pressure by aiming for the premier colleges? The stress levels and the peer pressure in class will be higher than what you faced during graduation.

Be careful what you are getting into. Without the right expectations, the chances of getting disappointed remain high.

Hi

I am currently working as an Associate in Financial Operations (Cash operations) and I am looking at a change of career. I have completed by BE in Environmental Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering and my MBA in Finance from XIMB. I landed up in this job, by a stroke of destiny and never really looked into the scope of this career path. Four years into this, where i have worked as Team leader and now an associate, I have realised that I don't see myself doing this sort of a role in the long run even though I am good at this role. In the course of my experience, I have realised that i love working with most of the microsoft office apps and am pretty decent at it, but cash operations as a field a very monotonous and does not have much scope in the future. I think I want to something which is more into equity research or portfolio management roles

Can you please advise me if CFA would be a value addition to my profile and will it help me make a change into more front end roles in Finance? Will my current profile be an impediment to get into roles that are more mainstream? I have been looking out for jobs, both related to Operations and Fin. research and have had no luck so far.

Swayamsiddha wrote: Can you please advise me if CFA would be a value addition to my profile and will it help me make a change into more front end roles in Finance? Will my current profile be an impediment to get into roles that are more mainstream? I have been looking out for jobs, both related to Operations and Fin. research and have had no luck so far.

Since you already have a full-time MBA on the resume, part-time options such as CFA may not help much. Your 4 years of experience will come in the way of any transition.

It may be best for you to continue looking for better opportunities in firms that may be more flexible with the role and not have your current work experience go against you.

Hi Sameer,
Hope you are doing well. I am writing to you with high hopes of
receiving much needed guidance. It may be another long e-mail for you...but this is my struggle from the last 4 years..I hope you are
able to take out some time and provide me with some guidance using your experience.
I have been been a good student academically and never minded
studying. I took PCMB in my 12th grade due to my love for Biology in
particular (even though I was never clear with what I really would like to pursue later).
Because of the lack of guidance, I never really took medical entrance preparation seriously and ended up taking admission in a usual BSc
Life Sciences at Hansraj College, University of Delhi. I received a
gold medal and topped university of Delhi in my course. As you must be
aware about the research infrastructure in India, a BSc holder has no
chance of joining a reputed lab for a research based job..which meant
that I was not going to get any on the job experience prior to
deciding on my Masters. I took up a random customer care executive job
at Naukri.com and started applying to colleges in UK alongside (US
demanded 4 years of undergrad education and I did not think of the
long-term at that point). Also, because I had done really well in studies, my family had high hopes from me.
I took admission in MSc Biomolecular Technology course in UK as it was
giving me 50% scholarship and also because getting a scholarship from
a UK university itself wasn't a joke. I went there..completed my
strenuous one year course and scored distinction (highest in my course
but they do not really care). Unlike most of my Indian batchmates who
came back straight after finishing study OR after 3 to 4 month job
search, I decided not to be back before getting some work experience.
I got an internship where I did my industrial placement and managed to
somehow work in 2 companies (2.5 years in all) before actually heading
back to India ( honestly, I was home-sick and I stopped applying to positions,and also, visa became a constraint.
Again, not being so clear with what I wanted with my career and no
flexibility due to visa issues was making things worst).
Here I was back In India (2014 February)...had mixed
feelings....thought things will get better. It took me 5 months to get
a job with GlaxoSmithKline based in Bangalore as a Scientific
Writer...I missed home..profile was too boring...and being in India
and not being able to be with family was making me feel useless...low
salary on top...I decided to apply elsewhere. In India, having a gap in your resume is a bigger issue as told by my sister. I am now
working as a Business Analyst in the Life Science and Healthcare
department of a KPO since last 1.5 years.
> Few realisations:
I do not like corporate culture, all the buttering, people being bossy
and annoying I enjoyed University and studying more I like fast paced
jobs more than boring slow paced lab based roles

Career Test Insights that match my own thinking:
I have always wanted to be in a customer facing role whereby I am able to assist, care or guide someone (for day profiles like a counsellor,
teacher, trainer, dietician etc.). I like to provide tangible
solutions to people and get immense satisfaction to see my customers
happy...I have started thinking in terms of a consumer insight, FMCG
sector kind of a role...market research or brand management..but
pharma sector does not appeal me anymore...I do not know how to get
out of this place...It feels as if I am stuck in a wrong career...
I have heard a lot from my sister too...i am wasting all my potential
by hopping profiles (started as a scientist..then Quality Assurance
Officer...then Scientific Writer and now a Business Analyst and still
not happy???)) It seems I don't feel happy or I am in a very wrong field.
Infact , I did a part-time customer assistant Christmas job for 3
months and enjoyed it more..I am about to turn 27 and still so undecided with the direction of my
career..sometimes I feel academia is where I should be but then I do
not want to continue in research..how can I do a PhD?? I want to
change my subjects...shall I do MBA?? Isn't it too general? So much money goes in..is there a guaranteed ROI if I give GMAT??
As I wish to go back abroad..shall I focus on job hunt rather than
wasting my time thinking? Or just start preparing for MBA? (I am
already a Masters)....Can I change my field using a phD? as I want a
non-lab career..can I not teach in B schools if I do a phD in business
relate subject like market analytics or brand communication?? (I think
I am a ESFJ or ISFJ from Myerr Briggs Test) MBA?? OR......phD in an
unrelated field??? but who will give me that..am i really interested
or is it just a means to go out of India? it will allow me to teach
but is research my cup of tea?? OR....I look for some other option?
healthcare IT or public health??
Money is a constraint in my case now...I am in desperate need of some
counselling and direction in my life. Please help me in finding a
direction...something that doesn't turn out to be a complete failure...I want to utilise my skills and do best in what I am interested in...
Looking forward to your reply.
Thank you in advance.
Megha

mohanmegha wrote:...It may be another long e-mail for you...

Among the longest on the forum, Megha.

I don't think going back into another degree is the solution, You've tried that route and it hasn't worked out.

You have a general idea of what you like - external facing roles. Try reaching out to companies for such opportunities. You may have to start at a junior role, but if you have the potential you'll rise quickly.

The bigger issue you may face is dealing with corporate culture. When there's no way you'd be able to change what happens out there, it's best to move in other directions.

Starting your own business might be an option, if you have the inclination and aptitude. Ensure that you don't invest a ton of money in there. Test the waters slowly and decide if it fits your career goals.

Hello Team,

I am planning to pursue Executive MBA from US universities and PGPX/EPGP/IPMX from IIM-A/B/L. Before making such a huge investment, I was talking to my brother in law for his guidance and he referred me to mbacrystallball. I went through your site today and really thankful to his guidance because I am glad to see how your team is helping people who are in mid-life career crisis. I will explain my work background, my career goals, and my questions below. I am not sure if you will be interested to know these many details but I am sharing it so that I get appropriate guidance from you:

I started my professional career with a software company in 2006 and served USA based pharmaceutical client of my company in Manufacturing area since then. So, I have more than 10 years of experience in Pharma Manufacturing. Here is brief breakup of my 10 years of work exp:
2006 - 2008 - Worked as team member in India
2008 - 2012 - Worked as Onsite-Offshore Support coordinator in USA for different manufacturing IT applications for same client
2012 - 2013 - I was given a responsibility of Project Leader of a new IT project in US, which was also planned to be deployed at different sites of same pharma company across the globe.
2013 - 2015 - Moved back to India for some family commitments and served same project from India. I was made responsible to build and train project team in India so that company can realize more profits by increasing offshore. I also travelled to Spain, France, and Italy to establish new support teams at local sites by hiring and training more people on this project. Such opportunities gave me very good experience of working with different cultures. Due to positive feedback from different customer sites, I was given a new role of Service Manager for European and China sites and India team.
2015 - Now - Due to low pay in India, I moved to US after discussing with my boss. However, I couldn't be offered an equivalent position due to some situations and can't be offered position in other projects due to my dependency at current project. I feel frustrated and unsatisfied with this drop in my career.

Career goals - Short term, I want to excel to a higher managerial position within my/different company which can offer me better financial stability in India or somewhere in Asia so that I can be in easy reach of my parents. To achieve these goals, I plan to pursue Executive MBA from US university - UCLA-NUS program/Chicago Booth/Kellogg (all of them need huge investment) or pursue PGPX/EPGP/IPMX from IIM (not sure if I will be shortlisted as I have not been into much extra curricular recently). I am also looking for other programs which offer me dual degree from Asia and USA so that I can work for US company for next 2-3 years to pay-off my education loan and then move back to India/Asia (not sure how pratical is it?). I appeared for GMAT in 2015 and got a score of 700 and appeared for TOEFL this year (requirement for all US universities) and got a score of 105.

Questions - 1. Will Executive MBA from USA help me to make a job switch in USA in case I do not see good progress in my current company? I am aware that there is career counselling during the program which do help to switch jobs. But I am not sure how pratical is it to get a new job.
2. How does Indian employer consider Executive MBA from US? Is it easy to find a job in India on base of US Executive degree?
3. I do not prefer to go for regular MBA considering my liabilities - family with 2 kids - and prefer to continue my job to pay off my loan quicker. Does it make sense?
4. Do you suggest any better education program that I should consider rather than going for an Executive MBA? I did consider Business Analytics course to opt for a Data Scientist role however I do not have background on BA so it is not relevant for me.
5. What extra curricular activities do you recommend to strengthen my application for IIM's?

I might have more questions once you guide me through above. Thanks for your patience in reading all these details and I am looking forward to your guidance.

Regards,
Abhi

abhi_help wrote:Before making such a huge investment, I was talking to my brother in law for his guidance and he referred me to mbacrystallball. I went through your site today and really thankful to his guidance because I am glad to see how your team is helping people who are in mid-life career crisis.

Thank you for the kind words, Abhi.

abhi_help wrote:Questions - 1. Will Executive MBA from USA help me to make a job switch in USA in case I do not see good progress in my current company? I am aware that there is career counselling during the program which do help to switch jobs. But I am not sure how pratical is it to get a new job.
2. How does Indian employer consider Executive MBA from US? Is it easy to find a job in India on base of US Executive degree?
3. I do not prefer to go for regular MBA considering my liabilities - family with 2 kids - and prefer to continue my job to pay off my loan quicker. Does it make sense?
4. Do you suggest any better education program that I should consider rather than going for an Executive MBA? I did consider Business Analytics course to opt for a Data Scientist role however I do not have background on BA so it is not relevant for me.
5. What extra curricular activities do you recommend to strengthen my application for IIM's?

Executive MBA programs aren't the best catalysts for job change. It's value in India would be very limited.

A one year MBA in India designed for executives is excellent from an RoI perspective, but it will probably end up clipping your international wings.

Read more on whether an Executive MBA (EMBA) worth it or not.

For either choice, don't start new extra-curricular activities just to impress others. That won't work.

abhi_help wrote:Career goals - Short term, I want to excel to a higher managerial position within my/different company which can offer me better financial stability in India or somewhere in Asia so that I can be in easy reach of my parents.

Since your primary goal doesn't exclude working in the same industry & even company and your current employer has also been very appreciative of what you've done for them, why don't you try talking to the HR team and convince them to sponsor your Executive MBA in USA.

That way both sides are assured that your effort and their money has been invested well. Worth trying, right?

Hello,

Need some suggestions on how to go ahead in my academic career.
I am a BSc IT and I have done my graduation through KSOU (distance) in 2006. Mistake 1. I will never recommend anyone to do graduation from distance.
I have 9.5 years of IT experience both at small and MNCs.

My hurdle is not having a full time graduation. How should I go about my future masters program. I am open to both MBA and MSc or anything else. Which university course do you think will give me a good background so that HRs dont raise their brow due to the distance education graduation from KSOU.

Thanks

iinfi1 wrote:Mistake 1. I will never recommend anyone to do graduation from distance.

This recommendation will be more effective and helpful to others consider distance graduation programs, if you'd be willing to share more details about your personal experience. If you have the inclindation, I will reach out over email for further details.

iinfi1 wrote:I have 9.5 years of IT experience both at small and MNCs. My hurdle is not having a full time graduation.

When you've proved yourself for almost a decade, instead of focussing on skills and capability, it's unfortunate that companies are still insisting on academics.

iinfi1 wrote:How should I go about my future masters program. I am open to both MBA and MSc or anything else. Which university course do you think will give me a good background so that HRs dont raise their brow due to the distance education graduation from KSOU.

We wrote an article on this topic. Hope it helps --> MBA programs accepting correspondence courses & distance education

It's an old post, so you'll have to cross-verify with the official websites.