Career change: Getting out of the corporate life

[MBACrystalBall]

Our earlier blog posts and some of the responses on other Q&A sites (like Quora) encouraged several Indian professionals to reach out to us for advice.

Many of them are sick and tired of the corporate life.

Several are planning to move out of the corporate world, but aren't sure how to take it forward.

So we thought of creating this thread to address queries to help evaluate the options.

Are you trying to get out of the corporate life?

Share a little bit of your background, why you feel like leaving the corporate world, what are the biggest concerns and a few specific questions that we can address.

We can't provide quick & easy solutions on the forum, but we'll try to provide perspectives and additional questions that you can ask yourself.

You can post anonymously, if you don't want to reveal your identity.

Read these related Career Change articles:

- Career change: Why I left the corporate world.

- How to deal with a mid-life career crisis.

Also, try out this Free Career Planning Tool on our Career Guidance page.

Personalised Career Couselling:

For those who don't want to share their confidential problems on a public forum, our personalised career counselling service is an option to consider. Compared to what we do here, it's formal, structured & completely confidential.

Send us a note on [info at mbacrystalball dot com] if you need 1-on-1 counselling.

[pragati]

Hi ,

I am 23 year old .
I have done my 12th with PCM.
I have done my graduation from JIIT,Noida in 201 in CSE.
I am working in RBS gurgaon from two year in tehcnology.But I dont find it intresting any more.I wnat to change my carreer from tehcnology.
also my health doesnt allow me to pursue a continuous stiitng desk job.
now I thought of MBA option .I joined TIME institiute started studying .Now I am in a fuss of thinkin gthat even if I do an MBa my life would remaine same more or less rathe rit woul dget more hectic and though people say in marketing and sales you dont have to do that much of sitting.I am not sure how true it is.

Can oyu please enlighten me around the opourtunities one get after doing an MBA.
what are the benefits .

I am now thinkin gof going for an Imange consuoting carrer but still I am unsure about it as well.
Now I am thinking how ahsould I process beacuse I can no tmamger job + MBA preparation+ image consulting cource classes.
I can think of doing any two.

Pleas eguid me how shuld I go about it.

eithe I take a long break from job prepare for MZBA along with image consuitng coaching.
Or as I have talked to one of thre image consultant at ICBI.she said that MBA wn't help in this career so she suggestes me to drop MBA plan and start takin g coaching with job.it's a one year coaching .

Can you help in gettin ganswers to my queries.?

[MBACrystalBall]

if I do an MBa my life would remaine same more or less rathe rit woul dget more hectic

I'd say it gets more hectic. For a higher salary that you earn, your boss would expect more from you.

people say in marketing and sales you dont have to do that much of sitting.I am not sure how true it is.

Tough to generalise, Marketing involves much more than just Sales. Also, within sales there are various roles that may involve travelling or a desk job (tele-sales).

she said that MBA wn't help in this career so she suggestes me to drop MBA plan and start takin g coaching with job.it's a one year coaching .

Apart from the big advertisements I've seen in newspapers promising professional independence and the chance to become an entrepreneur running your own business, I don't know of a single person who has carved a successful career as an image consultant.

Coming back to your original problem of not being able to take up sitting jobs, here are a few other options to explore.
- Teaching (schools, colleges, private institutions)
- Field jobs (supervisor, NGO etc)
- Healtcare (pharmacy, physiotherapy)
- Event management (parties, weddings, corporate / professional shows)

If you do some more research, you'll find many such alternatives that don't require an upfront investment or any long waiting period.

You could approach a few companies to start at a junior level and work your way up.

[pragati]

Hi...I tried to research but I couldn't find any much options as such..could you suggest me any other than writer etc..


Also could you tell me more around the opportunities one gets after doing an MBA ...I think I know very less about it.

Thanks

[MBACrystalBall]

Hi...I tried to research but I couldn't find any much options as such..could you suggest me any other than writer etc..

I suspect that you aren't using Google well. It's a very powerful (and free) tool to get a whole lot of answers. Take the help of a friend who's more familiar with using Google search features.

It took me around 5 minutes of research to list down the options in the previous response. With more time and a better set of search phrases, I'm sure you'll be able to come up with a bigger list than I did.

could you tell me more around the opportunities one gets after doing an MBA

We've written quite a bit on our blog about the popular post-MBA opportunities. Here's are some quick links to get you started:

- Management Consulting Careers
- Investment Banking Jobs
- Entrepreneurship Careers
- Venture Capital Jobs
- Product Management Jobs
- Jobs and career in other industries

[kees.13]

Hi,

I am a B.E Mechatronics graduate(2014) and now I have worked for a year at a reputed IT firm. I want to take a turn in my career and MBA had already been in my mind when I was graduating, now have plans to take it up.

Question 1:
How do I justify that MBA is the right move for me? What all aspects should I look for in an MBA and associate those to my skillsets,so this would help me answer why do you want to do an MBA now when asked in an interview.

Question 2:
CAT or GMAT?

Question 3:
Is my view right?
I think MBA would give me more exposure(if pursued in a good B-school), eventually would help me set a standpoint for myself and what I want to do. Is it okay that before joining I dont have much clarity as to where I want to go but eventually i discover it? And I am looking at HR because I want to study the business,deal with people and get the best out of them.

Question 4:
What all should I do to make myself fit to be an MBA grad? In terms of developing certain skills, knowledge.

Also, if there any resources/assessment tools that would aid me greatly at this pursuit I would be happy to know

Please clarify.

[MBACrystalBall]

I want to take a turn in my career and MBA had already been in my mind when I was graduating, now have plans to take it up.

Posted in the wrong thread my friend. This isn't about a career change or getting out of the corporate world.

But I'll try to provide some perspectives.

We are generally not in favour of going for an MBA degree when there's not much clarity in the applicant's mind about the whys and whats of the process.

If you have genuine reasons for not being able to delay the process, then go for CAT.

For GMAT, they'd need quite a bit of experience and more clarity about what you want to do post-MBA.

Either ways, don't expect an MBA to give you that clarity during 2 years of studies. We see numerous cases where MBA grads are still struggling for the answer even 2-3 years after completing the degree.

Also, if there any resources/assessment tools that would aid me greatly at this pursuit I would be happy to know

There are plenty of free resources on our site, including a mini-MBA and management simulation games.

Also check out the list of common post-MBA careers mentioned in the previous response.

Try out to see what topics you like and what you don't. Maybe it'll give you a better idea.

[tushar2393]

Hi,

I am an Electronics Engg currently working with Allianz (as a Sofware Eng) for almost 1.5 years now.

As, now I am working in IT and hold degree of Electronics , what could be suitable courses for me to choose from? I'm thinking of applying to Germany.

I wish to start something of my own in near future and thats my ultimate goal. What would help to achieve that at this stage because while working with this organization I have found that its not helping me come even closer.


--
Regards.
Tushar Khandelwal
Contact:+919422244919

[MBACrystalBall]

what could be suitable courses for me to choose from? I'm thinking of applying to Germany.

If you wait for a year or two you could try for MBA. At this stage, your profile lies somewhere in between regular MBA courses (which need more experience) and fresher level Masters courses.

I wish to start something of my own in near future and thats my ultimate goal. What would help to achieve that at this stage because while working with this organization I have found that its not helping me come even closer.

You can start some initiative in parallel with your job. As long as it doesn't conflict with your main employment, your HR dept shouldn't be worried.

[tushar2393]

I'm considering MS as one of the current options. I don't wish to wait for too long because i will then lose interest in studying further.