The last date for writing CAT is 25
th September! This, after an extension of 5 days from the original deadline of 20
th September!
Is the sheen of an MBA gone? Has the MBA degree (or PGDM/PGPM) lost the value that it was purported to give – a successful career?
Many an obituary has been written about the MBA for the last Seven Years, right from the 2008 Financial Crises. The job market was at its lowest ebb in 2009 and it is still to recover to the glory days of 2006 or 2007. However, here is an attempt to tell you why this is the best time to do your MBA in INDIA!
INCREASE in MBA Institutes
Despite the dooms-day theorists proclaiming that the MBA dream is now over, the irony is that the number of Management Institutes have gone up over the 10 year period 2006 to 2015. From around 1500 odd institutes in 2005/2006, there are now close to 4000 MBA Colleges/B Schools!
INCREASE in the No. of IIMs
Not only have the overall number of Institutes increased, more importantly, the number of IIMs (the coveted brand and a synonym for quality MBA) have gone up from 6 to 19, a three fold increase. Even if we attribute the starting of the new IIMs to politics, it is important to note that all the new IIMs are being mentored by the old IIMs!
IIM Indore, which was probably the first to increase its batch size from 200 to 450+, started a new branch in Mumbai (Called IIM Indore Mumbai Campus) AND has shown the way to increase the number of seats and still manage the expectations of students. This was all done at a time when the economy was not doing great.
OVERALL INCREASE in SEATS!
The IIMs alone have now have around 4000 seats and add the next best Institutes in India, the top 25 MBA institutes have more than 5500 seats to offer!
INCREASE IN No. of JOBS!
Except in the year 2009, the immediate aftermath of the Financial crises across the globe, there have been no reports that the MBA students from the top B Schools were going without jobs.
Yes, it is true that the Rs 15 lacs plus jobs have not come to all the IIM students, but it is also important to understand that even in 2006 or 2007, the number of students with Rs 10 lacs jobs was hardly 20% of the total IIM and top B School batch. The average salaries at the IIMs in 2006 were between Rs 7 to 9 lacs ONLY!
If we do the math, the number of students in the top 25 institutes would be around 3000 then. The number of Rs 10 lac plus jobs would be hardly around 300.
In 2015, the top 20 institutes had 5000 students graduating and the average salary of top 20 Institutes was more than Rs 16 lacs. Since Average is NOT the Median, we cannot take that half the students would have got Rs 15 lacs each, however, we can safely assume that around 25% (if not more), which means close to a 1250 MBA graduates, would have got the Rs 16 lacs plus jobs. This is a clear indication that neither the Jobs have decreased NOR the overall salaries have decreased. They may have just become more realistic!
INCREASE in VARIETY of JOBS!
Add to the above, the job market today is full of variety of jobs. There was no Flipkart or Snapdeal going over the roof to recruit the MBA grads in 2006 or 2007. Year 2015 saw record placements from the e-Commerce companies and there are too many to count.
Then there are Analytics firms and Digital Marketing firms giving huge packages for the fresh MBAs. None of these types of jobs were available a decade back.
And to compete with these fresh entrants, the IBanks, Consults, FMCGs, Banks and a host of other traditional firms have upped their ante and attracted the best talent by hiking their offerings.
HUGE OPPORTUNITY
There is no better opportunity than NOW for an aspiring Graduate (Engineer or Non-Engineer), IT professional or for that matter anyone who is aspiring for a successful managerial career!
All indications from every corner predict that INDIA is poised to grow at 7 to 8 percent over the next few years. A student getting into an MBA in 2016 would graduate in 2018, probably the best time in two decades to graduate, when, there are expected to be plenty of jobs and that too at excellent packages!
Recognising this opportunity and cashing on it is the need of the hour!
Give it your best shot to crack CAT or XAT or any other MBA entrance exam this year.
There is one more day left for CAT registration, this is as good a time to apply as any!
ARKS Srinivas, CEO, VistaMind Education, Alumnus of IIM Calcutta. You can read all stories by him and experts from Vistamind
here
