Close to 2 Lakh aspirants write various MBA entrance exams like CAT,XAT, IIFT, etc. A good chunk, almost 80-85%, of these aspirants comprises of engineering graduates. Similar pattern follows in almost all B-schools. I belong to this chunk and the aprehensions that follow when an engineer decides to change his path and pursue MBA are only too many. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will have less apprehensions than you did before.
MYTH 1: I am an engineer, so quant is taken care of, so is logical reasoning.
Now this is the biggest myth and perhaps our biggest flaw too. Engineers are good, and I mean relatively, at mathematics and NOT quant. Mind you, quant is not mathematics. It is more logical. Yes, the ability to handle numbers is there, but that's not enough. More often that not, this overconfidence regarding quant and logical reasoning is the reason why many aspirants don't make the mark. We, as overconfident engineers, overlook basic detailing in questions and end up selecting the wrong answers. So your take away from this is, as of now you are not good at quant, but consistent practice with no overconfidence will definitely get you there!
MYTH 2:
I am an engineer, so it's understood that my verbal section will not go well.
Another big myth. Most engineers actually do well in this section! Reason being that you are cautious in this section because you consider this your Achilles heel. But obviously that's not a sure shot way of scoring well here. A better solution is one-word answer: READ. Read everything, simple novels, newspapers- TOI in the beginning, Hindu during prep, Mint towards final stages, journals, magazines, Wikipedia. Basically, read everything and anything. Do not run from this so called self-created spectre. Mind you, a B-school will require more rigorous reading than all your CAT prep combined!
Another major benefit is reading gets you through GD-PI process. Any interviewer is impressed by a well-read person, simply because reading is knowledge. Make sure you read all variety of books.Ask any faculty/ senior for recommendations as opposedd to searching for Internet on top 50 reads (I did that, big waste of time).
MYTH 3:
I am an engineer, so communication skills are not my strength.
Engineers often shy from speaking articulately in GDs. They believe that it is strictly the perogative of commerce students. Lets first understand what a GD is. It is a well thought out discussion on any topic, where you try to give an opinion on all sides before finally taking a side. Its a discussion, not a debate, a fine line that many of us fail to understand. Also, in a GD , you are not expected to qoute Shakespeare, or speak fluent english, or use big words. On the contrary, your discussion should be simple, logically correct, and fact based. Something engineers are very much used to! You just have to practice speaking in a group, rest will follow. You know what to say, only issue is we hesitate from opening our mouths! Thats easy to overcome isnt it, considering you want to be a manager!
You might have many other doubts, but I hope at least the above mentioned three are no longer in your mind! For any other queries, you can write to me at
agarwalnitanshi@gmail.com. I am an ordinary engineer like you, with no particular outstanding achievement, and I write this article from one of the best B-schools of the country. If I can, so can you!