1 Year Full-Time MBA - Some Tips :-)

The last few years have seen a number of 1 year full-time MBA programs springing up in India, to cater to the demand from a growing breed of professionals facing what I call a "Pre-Midlife" crisis (and also do not have the patience to put in more than a year at college). I for one would know for sure, having "invested"(In quotes, since most people do not look at it that way) in such a program at ISB-Hyderabad. Let it be known, that I personally consider my MBA to be a worthwhile investment. Other than ISB, such MBA programs are offered by many other instistutions e.g. PGPX programs at IIM-A, IIM-C etc

Also for the sake of all the kind souls who are good enough to read this blog entry: This writeup is more relevant to India. However, even others could benefit from many aspects of it.

Point No.1 > Just like with any other MBA program, this is a major investment in terms of money and time (Even more in money terms, when it comes to the popular ones among 1 Year Full-Time MBA courses). So it is very prudent to do your research as far as your finances are concerned.
-->Remember that you would all of a sudden stop getting that "taken for granted credit to your bank account" called salary, at the beginning of every month - And more importantly, that would be the status for a full 1 year
-->The "non-earning" period would of course coincide with a period when the expenses would either stay the same (rarely!) or go up(mostly!). The expenses are categorised as:-
(a)One-Time Expense: What you pay as fees etc, in addition to the amount you get as student loan (The loan becomes a Post-MBA liability on your personal balance sheet)
(b)Day-to-day recurring expenses: Phone bills, food expenses, cost of buying books etc, monthly EMI payments for Pre-MBA House/Car loans etc
-->Somethings I suggest you should do:
(i)Before deciding to join anyone of these courses, talk to multiple alums and current students (especially those with a Pre-MBA academic/professional background similar to that of yours). Would help you get a "ball park" / approximate estimate of "worst" and "best" case scenarios of your probable Post-MBA remuneration. I don't think I need to tell you why it is important, from the point of view of your personal financial planning, before you join a 1 year full-time MBA course
(ii)See how best you can offset the monetary impact of not earning a steady income for 1 year. One suggestion in this regard (Purely depends on each person's own financial situation):- You could maybe take the entire fee amount as a student loan. Then smartly invest all your savings in such a manner that, the returns you earn over a 1 year period cover up for the voluntary loss of income when you are at B-school
-->If your Pre-MBA employer (e.g. Wipro) allows you to go on a sabbatical, please avail of the facility. Even if your Pre-MBA employer is a very poor paymaster, the thought at the back of your mind that there is something concrete to fall back on, proves to give you that much more of a psychological edge over "competition" during the all too important campus placements.
-->If your employer is willing to sponsor your MBA (you lucky @#$@%&*)...Come on folks, do I need to tell you what to do?:-). If I have to explicitly tell this to you, then your decision making process on whether to do an MBA or not, ends right here. Please do not bother to read any further
The above paragraph contains a Funny Sidenote - Kindly figure out for yourselves which part is "funny" (Why this "sidenote"? I just felt like putting this in here. After all, it is my blog! Also, I need to keep myself amused, while writing all these blogs. So treat this as a perk that I get for being a blogger..he he he)
-->Also definitely do try wholeheartedly and positive mindedly to participate in "lottery-like"(Read: Probability of Success <5%) activities like Business Case Study Competitions, Special Scholarships etc.
(a)"Special" Scholarships: You might not realise it, but there are people in this world who consider you to be very, very, very(3 times is enough I guess!) special. After all, when you were "largely at sea" on that merchant navy ship before that "eureka" moment when you decided to be on terra firma at B-school, did you ever imagine that someone had a "sailors only" scholarship worth Lakhs of Rupees for you (and only you)? (Note: This "sailor" example is from true life). Am I jealous?-Of course! After all the "Bacardi King of Good Times" moments the sailors had all over the world, now this too??!! he he he
(b)Business Case Study Competitions: Do attempt (If nothing else, it would help increase the gloss element of your resume). Most importantly, get into a good team whose winnability quotient is very high.
--> If you are going on a Foreign Exchange program to a top foreign B-school for a few Terms, it does not come free!!e.g. at ISB-Hyderabad it could easily cost an additional Rs 4-5 Lakhs. Heck!Then why do some folks still spend this money and go on these foreign exchange programs? 2 Possible reasons: (i)Get the name of an internationally recognized B-School on to your resume, (ii)Folks who do not have Pre-MBA experience in foreign countries, are trying to play catch up. Anyways, do your own cost/benefit analysis, and make the "To Get Exchanged/Not Get Exchanged" decision.

For all of you out there who are going all "C'mon!money is not important. Why talk about financial planning etc?!", please go through the following points:-
(a)Firstly, let me know how I can send you the details of my bank account and the procedure to wire all of your salary to the same.:-)
(b)I will make it easier for you: Please, please, please(always tend to do it 3 times!) do not enter the business world! The business world needs creators of wealth, and not those who shun it. Legally and ethically earned money, is the engine of human life.
(c)Wake up! Communism is long dead, Capitalism is in (and in, to stay put firmly)! Mr.Narayana Murthy (Infosys) who is one of the pioneers of wealth creation in India, obtained all his success when he realized the futility of communism on a chance visit to Eastern Europe
Phew! That ends "Point No.1". This was one reaaaly long "point".

Point No.2>If you have many years of Pre-MBA work experience, you might need to do your research to arrive at which B-School will be best for you in terms of getting placed in a job Post-MBA, commensurate with the number of years of work you put in prior to doing an MBA.
-->There are schools like ISB-Hyderabad, where each batch size is 400-500. So the class has folks spread across the spectrum in terms of number of years of Pre-MBA work experience. Of course the school cannot focus only on the needs of folks in one particular band/category, when it comes to the number of years of Pre-MBA experience (Although to their credit, they do try hard in their own ways and succeed in the same to a large extent)
-->Then there are programs like the IIM-A PGPX one, which caters to folks with a minimum of 7 years or so of Pre-MBA experience (Not sure if my information about this program is outdated). Pros: Focus on placement needs of 7+years work exp. crowd. Possible Cons: The institute might expect these "seniors" to handle the entire placement process on their own.


Point No.3> All MBA programs, ask all the prospective candidates to have a crystal clear view on what they want to do Post-MBA. This does not stop at being a definite topic for one of the essays that you would have to write, during the selection process of all MBA courses. Specifically in 1 Year MBA programs, the importance of your answer to this question attains humongous proportions.
-->You simply do not have time to "change directions" as far as chasing your Post-MBA job is concerned, in the middle of the course. You have only 1 year (and not 2 years) in which the entire course is crunched into

Point No.4> In a 1 Year program, changing your "line of work" i.e. Pre-MBA Vs Post-MBA, is difficult (Note: Very difficult, but not totally impossible). Some reasons:-
(a)Recruiters are attracted to folks in these MBA programs, due to the mix of solid Pre-MBA work experience and an MBA that they get to choose form. And, they would get a lot to choose from, in the form of students with Pre-MBA exp. in the same industry. Whether you like it or not, 8/9 times out of 10 in such MBA programs, your past(Read: Pre-MBA work exp.) does shape your future (Read: Post-MBA job)
(b)Unlike in a 2 year MBA program, 1 year MBA program does not give you the chance to do a full-time Summer(or winter/autumn/spring)internship in an industry to which you want to switch to. Some B-Schools do allow you to do projects in parallel to doing your course(The course in itself is so strenuous, that this is practically infeasible and ineffective)

Point No.5> If you are married (with or without kids)then consider all the following (Some points also apply to "engaged" folks):-
(i)Is your spouse really in favour of you doing the MBA course? Is he/she willing to put up with the grind that the course would put you through?
(ii)Does the School provide suitable family quarters for married students?
(iii)If you spouse is working, does he/she have job prospects in the place where the B-School is located? Do both you and your spouse want to live separately for this 1 year?
(iv)What about your kids?
(v)In case of a long distance relationship, prepare yourself for some serious time management and huge phone bills (This is one, which definitely applies to "engaged" folks).

Some parting shots (These are solely my personal views):-
(i)If you have <4Years of work exp.: Try to get into the IIMs or other Indian B-Schools like XLRI, SP Jain, Symbiosis etc. If your family is willing to sponsor your MBA, then the world is literally at your door(Read: You can do any MBA, irrespective of the location and fee amount)

(ii)If you are in the 4 to 7 years work exp. bracket: My personal suggestion is to not do any MBA. Wait till you cross the 7 Years+ work exp. mark, to do an MBA. Again, if you have good financial backing, the world is at your door

(iii)If you are in the 7-10 Years work exp. range: Go in for any of the 1 Year Full Time MBA program in India which suits you. I think your Return-On-Investment, everything else remaining the same, should be good (7/8 times out of 10). With proper planning on all fronts, gunning for Top Notch B-Schools abroad is also a good idea.

(iv)If you have 10+Years of exp.: Unless your Full-Time MBA is sponsored by your Company, with a solid promise of some resultant growth in your career, do not do an MBA from India. In my personal view, there could be a gap in terms of the job you get Post-MBA from campus and what your expected. I would suggest a well-planned attempt at getting into a top-notch MBA program abroad.


Please feel free to send in your comments, as usual :-).

Catch you later, with a blog on something else. Next one would be about an interesting nightspot in Bangalore (Enough of MBA/Business Related stuff)