Done an MBA’
Eight out of ten students, at some point, wonder if they should do an MBA. But a comedian, a photographer, an executive and a businessman tell you if it really matters
breaking into and advancing in jobs more challenging.
MBA applications have risen sharply across the state since 2015. Data from the Directorate of Technical Education in Maharashtra shows an overwhelming 94,300 applications for the Common Entrance Test for MBA and MMS (Masters in Management Studies) in this year, up from 60,000 two years ago.
Education counsellor Shireen Ardeshir says the MBA is an overrated degree. “Most students don’t know what to do after their first degree,” she explains. “They should understand that it is a generalised programme, and that there are several specialised and cheaper courses they could do instead.”
MY MBA ISN’T USEFUL IN MY ADVERTISING JOB
Pragya M (Name changed on request), 25, has what she called her dream job – an account planner with an advertising firm.
“It is a challenging but very fulfilling profile,” she says. “I work with clients to research, build strategy and produce briefs that ensure the advertising campaigns reach the right audience.”
In 2012, back when she had just got a Bcom degree, she wasn’t sure she would ever make it into the advertising world. “My parents wanted me to get a Masters. I wanted to start my career. I was sure I did not want to get into the finance sector, so
FROM MBA TO STAND-UP COMEDY: NO JOKE
“Like everyone else, I studied engineering but knew that I didn’t want to be a coder,” says Rahul Subramanian, 31, a stand-up comedian. So after working as a sales manager in an internet marketing firm for two years, he did an MBA in marketing. It eventually landed him a job as a brand manager in a multinational company.
“I did not dislike my job but I didn’t like it either,” he recalls. It’s probably why he found himself being increasingly frustrated and took to stand-up comedy to let off steam. “By 2016, I realised I cannot do justice to both and quit my job to do comedy full-time,” he says.
The degree, now unused, is good for a few jokes. “It is okay to
MY MBA DIDN’T CLICK WITH PHOTOGRAPHY
The shutterbug bit Paritosh Panchal, 25, while he was still in college, getting a degree in Commerce.
“I joined a bunch of photography clubs in my final year,” he says. “I loved photographing — anything and everything.”
But he followed the usual Mba-after-bcom path anyway. He headed his college photography club while pursuing the business degree, but after that, he gave it up for a career in equity research.
It was a cushy job, but Panchal missed his camera.
He quit in November 2015 and a month later he and his friend, offered to do a free shoot for a food company.
“We told them to pay us only if they liked the pictures,” Panchal says. Business took off from there.
Today, Panchal is a promising food photographer and social media manager. Restaurants hire him to shoot their food, and his drool-worthy snapshots are plastered all over Zomato, Swiggy and social media platforms.
His message: Do what you love, and figure out how to sell it. You don’t necessarily need an MBA for that. And remember, it’s never too late to take a chance.
NOT EVERY VENTURE NEEDS A BIZ DEGREE
Salil Agrawal, 29, has a degree i IT engineering. But he has spen seven years running businesse without an MBA.
He started his own firm i 2012, a grocery delivery servic called Gopeppers.
“We had a good two-year ru with an annual turnover of Rs 1 crore,” he says. He then worke with Rocket Internet, whic helped build and invest in inter net companies and Zorooms, competitor to OYO Rooms, th hotel services company. He no runs Ziffy Homes, which help bachelors find furnished renta homes in Indian cities.
“It is important to understan the market, I’ve learned from experience,” he says. “The onl thing an MBA might have give me is a network of contacts, but made those in the industry any way.”
His next enterprise? An initia tive that will help aspiring entre preneurs understand busines without ever doing an MBA. “will soon formalise it into a ne vertical,” Agrawal says.