Dear All, I wanted to see whether the companies operating in India give any weightage to an MBA degree from USA. I have done MBA from a AASCB accredited institution but its not tier 1. I am working in IT right now and planning to R2I in 1-2 years.
I am debating whether an Exec MBA course from a reputed Indian institute like IIM would make a difference or an American MBA should be good enough....
Any advice will be helpful.
Thanks
Arihant
Value of US MBA
Value of US MBA
Do you have any Indian work experience?
One of the big things that helped me with my move to India was that the alum. from the B-school where I had the admit strongly recommended that I get some Indian WE before I getting MBA.
MBA from US+ Indian WE (min. 1 yr) >> MBA from US w/o Indian WE.
Not sure if this is true for others, but I faced a lot of hurdles getting my first job post-MS in the US because of "lack of US WE". I have learnt my lesson...
One of the big things that helped me with my move to India was that the alum. from the B-school where I had the admit strongly recommended that I get some Indian WE before I getting MBA.
MBA from US+ Indian WE (min. 1 yr) >> MBA from US w/o Indian WE.
Not sure if this is true for others, but I faced a lot of hurdles getting my first job post-MS in the US because of "lack of US WE". I have learnt my lesson...
Value of US MBA
Yes. I have around 3 years of experience in India before I came to US.
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nemajasine
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:40 am
Value of US MBA
I don't have a doubt that your MBA will have weightage. The question is if there is another candidate with IIM with similar experience as yours then who will get it ? I think, ideally the company needs to interview both and then based on your performance they should decide who is more suitable. If you perform equally then I have a feeling that they will opt for IIM. However, you should not be disappointed. How many times you will get into this situation ? Your chances of landing a better job are very high as you have done MBA. Yes, better schools does matter but educationwise still you are in top percentage.
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R2i_encore
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 10:32 pm
Value of US MBA
I faced this situation when I R2I'd back in '97. It was hard for me to face skeptic interviewers, but I finally got my break in a dot com. While I was there, I found the answer to this question: "How do you compare to a graduate from any of the IIM's?"
The answer:
It really depends who you compare with me. I have worked with many brilliant, capable persons who do not have an MBA from any institute. And on the other hand I've worked with some folks from IIMs - and I found - and prove that I was the better man for the job (so to say - I am not a guy :-) ). I have great respect for anyone who has cleared the CAT (I was chicken and never enen tried, opting to take the GMAT in stead) and been seasoned at any IIM. But beyond your education, there is something each of us brings to the job - our own abilities/ strengths. This time when I face an interviewer, I will look them in the eye and say "I compare just as any one else from an IIM or any other school." OK - bold statement, but my experience has really proven that.
Believe in yourself: that's half the battle won - and all the best for the other half :-)
The answer:
It really depends who you compare with me. I have worked with many brilliant, capable persons who do not have an MBA from any institute. And on the other hand I've worked with some folks from IIMs - and I found - and prove that I was the better man for the job (so to say - I am not a guy :-) ). I have great respect for anyone who has cleared the CAT (I was chicken and never enen tried, opting to take the GMAT in stead) and been seasoned at any IIM. But beyond your education, there is something each of us brings to the job - our own abilities/ strengths. This time when I face an interviewer, I will look them in the eye and say "I compare just as any one else from an IIM or any other school." OK - bold statement, but my experience has really proven that.
Believe in yourself: that's half the battle won - and all the best for the other half :-)
Value of US MBA
R2i_encore;91711I faced this situation when I R2I'd back in '97. It was hard for me to face skeptic interviewers, but I finally got my break in a dot com. While I was there, I found the answer to this question: "How do you compare to a graduate from any of the IIM's?"
The answer:
It really depends who you compare with me. I have worked with many brilliant, capable persons who do not have an MBA from any institute. And on the other hand I've worked with some folks from IIMs - and I found - and prove that I was the better man for the job (so to say - I am not a guy :-) ). I have great respect for anyone who has cleared the CAT (I was chicken and never enen tried, opting to take the GMAT in stead) and been seasoned at any IIM. But beyond your education, there is something each of us brings to the job - our own abilities/ strengths. This time when I face an interviewer, I will look them in the eye and say "I compare just as any one else from an IIM or any other school." OK - bold statement, but my experience has really proven that.
Believe in yourself: that's half the battle won - and all the best for the other half :-)[/quote]
What kind of jobs do MBAs get in a dot com and what is the growth path? Isn't dot com engineering centric?
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R2i_encore
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 10:32 pm
Value of US MBA
I got hired as a "Business Consultant" - my MBA was in Marketing. And while dot com's have a heavy tech base, most still offer solutions for some Business need. My job was to work with Client org's to understand/ map processes and then we (the co. I worked for) designed a solution to transform the process online, leveraging Internet technologies. My colleagues came from various other streams (Finance, Manufacturing...) and each of us worked with customers in our verticals. When I left the company (to arrive in the US) in 2000, I was at the point of considering a PM position (project delivery).
However, other Customer-facing roles as well can help leverage an MBA - Sales for example, or even Pre Sales. I helped with the latter, my area of focus being brand-centric firms - to ID areas where such firms could leverage the Internet medium. Remember, this was back in '97 - few understood the power or scope of the Internet. A significant amount of our time went in educating prospective clients on what the Internet was, why it was a Business tool worth investigating - and how it was not the same as e-mail :-)
The growth-path - not too certain, but I do see that my other colleagues from that firm have either moved to fairly sr. levels in their stream, or are doing very well in other orgs. Sorry, not a very concrete response :-)
regards...
However, other Customer-facing roles as well can help leverage an MBA - Sales for example, or even Pre Sales. I helped with the latter, my area of focus being brand-centric firms - to ID areas where such firms could leverage the Internet medium. Remember, this was back in '97 - few understood the power or scope of the Internet. A significant amount of our time went in educating prospective clients on what the Internet was, why it was a Business tool worth investigating - and how it was not the same as e-mail :-)
The growth-path - not too certain, but I do see that my other colleagues from that firm have either moved to fairly sr. levels in their stream, or are doing very well in other orgs. Sorry, not a very concrete response :-)
regards...
Value of US MBA
For general management, MBA is not even a necessity.
There r certain roles that NEED an MBA. Business strategy, corporate/strategic investments, strategy consulting etc.
For these, a tier-1 US MBA is a globally recognized brand name. So, IIM is
not even in the same league as a top 10 US MBA.
Now, if its tier-2 or tier-3, U can still capitalize based on the knowledge, the course structure, how it helped you etc.
The value of the MBA brand name (unless its US top 10) diminishes over a few years. All that matters is experience, confidence & title/role at that point.
From what I hear, the capitalisation u can get from a US MBA from
Harvard, Stanford, Wharton - life long capitalisation
MIT, Kellogg, Chicago, Berkeley, Columbia, Tuck - 6-8 yrs since MBA
UCLA, NYU, UMich, Cornell, CMU, Darden - 2-3 yrs since MBA.
Thats pretty much it.
Of course, ur contacts & such will exist for a long time.
So, dont worry about brand name capitalisation. Since India has only 2-3
top schools besides IIM, the brand name of IIM seems pretty strong amongst Indians. On a global ranking, they'll probably be somewhere in the
top 50. That's pretty much it.
SO, dont sweat the brand name that much. An MBA is an MBA and after
a few years, the "brand" name really does not matter unless its from Harvard or Stanford.
There are a zillion IIM dudes @ zillion companies in India. Are all of them
Executive VPs or CEOs ? Nope. hardly few.
In fact even in the US tons of people in top management are non-MBAs.
So its not big deal unless u want to get into strategy or finance roles.
Just my 2 cents.
There r certain roles that NEED an MBA. Business strategy, corporate/strategic investments, strategy consulting etc.
For these, a tier-1 US MBA is a globally recognized brand name. So, IIM is
not even in the same league as a top 10 US MBA.
Now, if its tier-2 or tier-3, U can still capitalize based on the knowledge, the course structure, how it helped you etc.
The value of the MBA brand name (unless its US top 10) diminishes over a few years. All that matters is experience, confidence & title/role at that point.
From what I hear, the capitalisation u can get from a US MBA from
Harvard, Stanford, Wharton - life long capitalisation
MIT, Kellogg, Chicago, Berkeley, Columbia, Tuck - 6-8 yrs since MBA
UCLA, NYU, UMich, Cornell, CMU, Darden - 2-3 yrs since MBA.
Thats pretty much it.
Of course, ur contacts & such will exist for a long time.
So, dont worry about brand name capitalisation. Since India has only 2-3
top schools besides IIM, the brand name of IIM seems pretty strong amongst Indians. On a global ranking, they'll probably be somewhere in the
top 50. That's pretty much it.
SO, dont sweat the brand name that much. An MBA is an MBA and after
a few years, the "brand" name really does not matter unless its from Harvard or Stanford.
There are a zillion IIM dudes @ zillion companies in India. Are all of them
Executive VPs or CEOs ? Nope. hardly few.
In fact even in the US tons of people in top management are non-MBAs.
So its not big deal unless u want to get into strategy or finance roles.
Just my 2 cents.
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Chicago Desi
- Posts: 1642
- Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:24 am
Value of US MBA
I agree with Robocop. Top school MBA, or for that matter any MBA from anywhere, is a ticket to a good first job. After that, its all about performance and how you navigate your career. I would not sweat too much about it.
Also, if you get an MBA later in the career, its value its significantly diminished from a springboarding perspective. At that time, your career trajectory is already what it is. At that time, one should get MBA for two main reasons: a) application of knowledge in work setting and b) ensure not having an MBA does not become an impediment in career growth (some companies like their senior executives to have an MBA and are willing to pay for it).
EMBA hardly ever helps with a career change. Not that people do not do it, but at that level, they have to give up their career gains and start afresh at a lower level, which does not make too much sense most of the times.
Also, if you get an MBA later in the career, its value its significantly diminished from a springboarding perspective. At that time, your career trajectory is already what it is. At that time, one should get MBA for two main reasons: a) application of knowledge in work setting and b) ensure not having an MBA does not become an impediment in career growth (some companies like their senior executives to have an MBA and are willing to pay for it).
EMBA hardly ever helps with a career change. Not that people do not do it, but at that level, they have to give up their career gains and start afresh at a lower level, which does not make too much sense most of the times.