Why MBA?

The most likely reason for you reaching this page is because you are the typical "Indian IT Male". You did well in school. So your family and friends convinced you to take up engineering as this was a "safe" career move. By the time you were close to your final year of engineering you heard about these "MBA" graduates who made a lot more money than what you were being offered through campus placements. So you decided to prepare for the CAT / XAT / SNAP / etc. The first attempt was unsuccessful, so you decided to take up a job while you prepared for it again the following year. Unfortunately most of the jobs in 2000 all revolved around IT and IT services. It didn't matter if you were a civil engineer, metallurgy engineer, mechanical engineer etc, you most likely ended up working in IT thanks to the booming IT sector and pay packages. 

A few unsuccessful attempts later you started to think let's do an MBA from ISB, Great Lakes or some US / European school. While reviewing the application form for these schools you then come across the dreaded question - Why MBA?

The brutally honest answer to this question is because you believe that MBA is a ticket to make more money. The equally brutal truth is that most B-schools would chuck your application right out the window if you were to write that in your essay. So then you go through the next few phases of the discovery process that I shall try to summarize here.

1) These are my qualifications / CV / Extracurriculars / Profile - Can I expect a call?

This is the first reaction of most people and completely understandable. Up until this point everything you obtained was based on your achievements. Admission from kindergarten to first standard is also based on your report card. Every time you moved schools your previous report card had to be shown. Admission to undergraduate school, your first / second / third jobs were all about what you had achieved in your past. Unfortunately for you, this is only a tiny tiny fraction of what a B school application is about as explained in this post

2) What now? - Well, get ready for a hell of a ride AND a lot of work!

This is probably the most frustrating phase that applicants go through. My advice is to have a very strong network of friends at this point of time. Given that everything is about to turn topsy-turvy a good friend circle helps. I kept a note book with different sections for the items below. But you could use an online document just as well.

2-1) What are your interests?

If tomorrow you were to get up with absolutely no family constraints and a very wealthy long lost uncle who has bequeathed you a fortune what would you do?

Well, this is exactly what we are dreaming about right? I am rich. I can do anything I want. I can travel the world, I can buy fancy cars, a private jet, a huge house, expensive gadgets. I can date the hottest models and get plenty of sex............. the list goes on. But what are you doing? Can you continue doing it for  another 40 to 60 years and not get bored? Be honest with yourself.

This is one of a bunch of tests used to find out what makes you happy. Some people have told me that they could end up painting the rest of their lives. Some wanted to open up restaurants and chat with the patrons. Some want to open up libraries and discuss the books with others. Some want their own private libraries. Some want to open day care centers since they love working with children. What keeps you ticking?

2-2) What do you see yourself doing?

Once you figure out your interests (items that make you happy), figure out how can you get there given your present constraints. For example, if you like to paint give yourself 2 hours every weekend for exclusively for painting. If you like to travel, decide to spend one or two weeks in a year traveling to places close by. 

2-3) Can B school really get you there?

Now this is where we come back to the "Why MBA?". You want to start your own company - Hmmm... So how many alumni from this school have actually started their own companies? You want to work in Private Equity - What PE companies come to the school? What kind of roles do they offer. What kind of prior experience do they look for?

2-4) You can't change careers / industries / functions so easily!!

Post your undergraduate degree you probably switched jobs easily. You also probably heard of some chap in IIM - x who moved into private equity and is earning Y lakhs per month! However, this is not true for B Schools targeted at people with experience. Given that the average work experience is about 4 to 5 years the companies coming for recruitment are not looking to take you as a fresher and train you. They are looking for people who have relevant work experience and can hit the ground running.

Reach out to the school, its alumni, scour websites and try to see if the school fits what you are looking for.

3) Holy s***. It costs what?

With an unfavourable exchange rate and increasing fees for schools all around the world, take a step back and look at your ability to pay. Poets and Quants has a post on how MBA costs have increased by 30% while graduate salaries have only increased by 10% over 10 years. 

4) Hmm...... It should pay off in the long run right?

Think again. Typically, your expenses increase as your income increases. Post B-school there is a house / car to buy. There is also typically a wedding in the family and aging parents / grandparents to look after. With these many expenses it really isn't easy to pay off that loan. If you end up getting married, there is a possibility that there will be a child on the way pretty soon. You will also need to save up for the child's education and your own retirement.

Another point to note is that most schools talk about their CTC figures. Not in hand salary. Knock 20% - 30% of the average number from the salary statistics. Knock another 20-30% off to tax. When you remove the EMI are you really getting more in hand than what you are getting right now?

Conclusion

Well, if this post has a take away, it is that you are probably more confused about your MBA than before. Well, that is the point of this post. To get you thinking. When you enter this league. You aren't going anywhere unless you are thinking.

Okay the real conclusion

Most of the people I have interacted with are smart folks who eventually want to start their own business that will change the world. They feel that B-school will open doors for them. While it definitely does open doors, it also closes some. Given the financial burden that it imposes, it reduces your ability to take risk. Also, you look at your post MBA salary as the minimum that you should be earning from your business in order for it to make sense. Also, it takes time and effort. Given the direction you want your life to take, the price to pay might be a heavy one.

P.S. This became a really long post, so I had to cut down some sections to the bare minimum idea. If you want me to expand my line of thinking on any of the sections, leave me a note in the comments. Thanks.

Quick guide to Evaluating your profile for ISB (and writing your essays)

I have been a member of PaGaLGuY Forums for quite a few years now. I have followed the "evaluate my profile please" posts with a lot of interest over time. I am going to try and summarize the wisdom across all these posts and have a permanent link that I can refer people to. May I present to you, my quick guide to evaluating your own profile.

Acads (12th Grade):
+ 2 if in the 90th percentile of your board
+ 1 if in the 80th percentile of your board 


Acads (Undergraduate):
Repeat as above

GMAT
+2 if greater than 760
+1 if greater than 680

Work Experience (Quantity)
ISB does recommend having at least 2 years of experience while applying. However, there have been people with 17 months of experience and 17 years of experience in batches. Keep in mind that companies come to recruit assuming an average of 4 to 5 years.
+2 for 3 to 6 years
+1 for others

Work Experience (Quality)
Now we are talking. Your work experience causes you to come in with a view point of the world. For most people their first jobs or second jobs are about paying the bills and is understandable. However, have you done something different? How is your view of the world shaped? What have you experienced that will make the theory being discussed in the classroom come alive? What did you like about your job? What did you not like about it?
+10 if you can answer these questions well
+5 if you can answer these questions
+0 if you have absolutely no clue about what I am talking about.

Extra-Curriculars and other achievements
Lets get brutally honest here. Extra curriculars should be something that you are interested in and have done a lot of. Joining an NGO for a year isn't really going to cut it. ISB wants well rounded people not just people who are studying all the time. Extra curriculars that have been made up to get into B school (NGO work, start up etc) are going to bomb big time.
+5 for extra curriculars that you are passionate about and can talk the whole day about without getting bored
+ 0 otherwise

Essays
If you maxed out the above, you would have a score of 23. I would say this carries a score of 27 marks or more. This is where you can explain the quality of your work experience, extra curriculars, achievements etc. This is where you get to paint a picture of yourself that people who have not met you are going to try and understand if you have what it takes. Do you know what the course is about or are you just enamored by articles in newspapers? Do you know what the realistic chances of the kind of jobs post campus are?Are you caught up in the average CTC figures or want something else out of your degree?

Summary
Your past marks are history and cannot be changed. A lot of people get caught up wondering about taking the GMAT again to improve their scores. Don't worry about it. This is a hang over from our school days were marks were the easiest way to compare people. ISB and other B Schools are trying to select you for who you are rather than the marks that someone else assigned to you. The work you do and your extra curricular activity tells the panel a lot more.

A cursory look at the people getting in makes you think that only people with high grades get in. Look deeper and you will see that these people are more likely to take the application process seriously. They will have their essays reviewed by friends and keep rewriting them. They spend enough time on researching the college, the course, their goals etc. I cannot stress enough on how important the essays are. Forget about things that are not in your control and work on the things that are.

You want someone to do your profile evaluation? Let's check the quality of your essays.

All the best for the application season.

Spamming by so-called MBA Colleges

In a recent discussion among friends I heard that a lot of them were getting sms's / emails from second and third rung colleges from last years admission process. Several of them have their numbers on the national Do Not Disturb registry. (You can check if your number is on the DND registry here )

I find this trend disturbing. I have also noticed sites where their terms and conditions state that they can send sms's even if registered under DND. While most people do not really read the terms and conditions, I find that a lot of people are still being spammed without consent.

I was given to believe that there exists a market for people's personal information. Email addresses and Cell phone numbers are being bought by colleges / agents and are used to harass students. Authorities are reluctant to crack down since it is not worth their time.

What can we do to make it worth their time? A protest fast at Jantar Mantar manages to grab eyeballs but is difficult to organize. Thus I have an idea for our media folks. Can you get a separate cell phone number and email address and register for the CAT in November 2011? The total cost would be about Rs 2000 (SIM + Registration). The total time investment would be about 10 hours (Register the sim, create and email address, obtain the CAT form, give the exam, etc). However, at the end of July 2012 you have a full page story with a lot of hard facts. Any body interested?