One question that’s doing the rounds now-a-days is, “Should I go for a Masters degree of an MBA?”
Let us unscramble the spaghetti of ideas.
In a way, the question can be divided into two: Firstly, “As an individual graduate, what do you want?” Secondly, “What according to the recruiters should your qualifications be?”Especially in these times of recession, recruiters are very particular about what they want in a top B-school graduate. They communicate with the business schools to let them know their expectations from fresh and young business managers.
There is a pressure on B-schools of maintaining their individuality and educational austerity. They are trapped between the extent to which they should incorporate methods and ethics of the corporate, and conserve they core values of MBA programs.
Masters vs. MBA courses
Basically, an MBA program is a management qualification commonly called as the “post-experience.”Students with experience of 3 years or more are preferred for admissions. The higher the experience, the better are your chances of getting the admission.
Mostly, all MBA colleges and universities impart management education which is general in nature. By that we mean, that an MBA graduate emerges from a B-school with experience and knowledge of related to subjects like Finance, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Strategy planning, Human Resources, et al. To get a holistic view of how businesses work, this kind of knowledge is sufficient. In simpler words, students are trained in general management skills. The emphasis is more on leadership, communication and management skills.
Furthermore, MBA courses form a solid ground for skills in business operations, Human Resources, and corporate behavior. This benefit cannot be gained if MSc in Marketing or Finance are your options.MNCs are looking for MBA grades with cutting-edge skills in finance, accounts and finance, and finance engineering. These topics are studied are electives in MBA programs, but are the main subjects in MA. However, they assume that graduates with MA might not have the knowledge of such kinds of roles. A lot of directors of renowned MBA institutes echo the same notion. The curriculum of MA in finance has more of quantitative mathematics than a regular MBA does, and this prepares candidates for lucrative jobs in finance and investment banking.
What the trends say
On the contrary, trends say that in Asia, B-schools in India are receiving applications for MBA courses in abundance. And these are younger people from countries with developing economies, looking for quality business education.
So, B-schools are fast responding to the trend. They are including appropriate courses for a younger age group who have the least or no work experience. This is how the Masters degree comes in the picture.
Such Masters courses are for the “pre-experienced” once, who have immediately graduated and have nil working experience. After getting some work experience, they tend to choose MBA later on for three possible reasons: advancement in career, to change the path of their career, or for leaning more on how to be an entrepreneurship.
MBA courses focus more on working in a team, class participation, and learning communication and networking skills from peers. Students are given guidance during debates, are led to problems instead of solutions so that they commit and their own mistakes and learn from them as well. Research and experience are the ways of thoroughly learning and understand a business work environment.
Specialize or generalize?
Many young graduates determine their specialization very early in their career path. For instance, some say that their forte is math, and have little interest in marketing or HR. The corporate world also needs people who have specific knowledge in accounts department. So an MA or MSc in finance, marketing, or HR is the good option. This also allows the student time to prepare for MBA by getting work experience.
As far as salary is concerned, MBA seems to have an advantage over the above. In spite of this, there is very little difference between with an MBA graduate and a person with Masters Degree. For candidates who want to specialize, an MBA course becomes too general. They can have time to prepare for MBA. Similarly, if a student wants to achieve and edge in management, then Masters in Management is always an option open for them.
That said, MBA is still a dully dominant business or corporate qualification. But, choosing the right institute for an MBA course also matters.