The concept of MBA began in the US and has since then gained precedence over every other post-graduate course. How important is this degree? A million dollar question in itself, an MBA was, and will continue to be one of the most lucrative programs under the “higher studies” franchise.
What is it about this course that has a major portion of the educated young in its grasp? When you think or talk about an investment banker, a marketing executive, or an HR professional, the first thing that comes to mind is money, respect, security, prestige, and prospective happiness for a very long time.
Wishful thinking aside, obtaining a management degree is no mean feat. Many students find themselves jobless and buried to their eyeballs in debt at the termination of this course. Despite the setbacks, an MBA should rank no.1 on the to-do list of individuals who aspire to lead. Most companies still prefer to hire master-level business graduates as opposed to individuals with no formal training – academic or otherwise.
Getting back to the topic of pursuing an MBA after engineering, it is but a safe option. It may not be the best, but it works. An engineer with a management degree gets the much required exposure to business-oriented topics that are normally absent in the regular engineering curriculum.
A technical and management degree combined together rounds up the education of an engineering student who now has exposure to business management techniques and analytical skills. It is this individual who is more likely to be a manager as he can implement new technology and practices for the complete use of resources and the elements of production.
An MBA after engineering expands your horizon and creates innumerable opportunities for an enhanced future. Here is why an MBA after engineering or any other degree will never lose its charm:
- Increasing Demand
It has been borne out of experience that only skilled individuals can tackle the highly complicated and demanding nature of work that organizations undertake in this era of globalization and liberalization. Engineers have been known to be well-equipped with the 
inherent skill-set required for this transition. Raw engineering graduates need to possess a fine plethora of qualities such as communication skills, analytical and problem solving skills, decision making, conceptualizing, and interpersonal skills to become successful managers. It is assumed that engineers already possess the presentation, communication, creativity, social and team-building skills that are required to do so. All that is left is a bit of polishing and they are roaring to go.
- Job Opportunities
As time goes by, it gets more and more difficult to land a secure position in the job market. It is more so for an engineer. An MBA degree on the other hand enables one to differentiate himself from the average crowd. Also, the job market today is inspired by individuals who possess abilities beyond the knowledge of their core subject and pursuing an MBA is the way forward. Engineers as managers perform very well in manufacturing and service industries. They have been seen to show interest in the defence forces and fields of content writing as well. MBA kindles the entrepreneurial skills of an individual which help him face the challenges of management with élan.
- Driving Innovation
A management degree is a significant driver of entrepreneurship and innovation. Leading entrepreneurs and investors like Peter Thiel, Scott Cook, and Elon Musk believe that the curriculum followed in graduate schools is stunting innovation. The year 2014 has been all about the startup’s. Entrepreneurs have surfaced from different regions of the world and have taken the World Wide Web by storm. Online Digital marketing has become a common norm, with several engineering students vying to work for such companies. All they require is some formal training in business management. Since leading MBA programs have already changed their approach to reflect the current realities of success, this trend was sure to become viral.
- Skill building
Engineers are trained to acquire technical skills. An MBA teaches them to work in a team with diverse backgrounds and skills required to accomplish specific goals. They are taught to collaborate together in inadequate groups if required. Every individual has a different bent of mind. He reacts to people and situations differently. An MBA teaches such individuals to streamline their thought process so as to have the same objectives and skill levels as everybody else. Learning to meet deadlines is another aspect. An MBA teaches engineers to work long hours so as to meet customer expectations.
- Adaptable adjustments
The program structure of a management course has become quite adaptable to this era of technology. This adaptation applies to the principles of value capture and value creation. Topics such as venture capital, entrepreneurship, contagion, and product innovation are included in the coursework, which add to the training of an engineer. The special theme of idea creation being taught in an MBA accelerates the failures and successes and helps in tackling the uncertain. Moreover, computer simulations are used, the variations in which reflect the changes taking place in the marketplace. This enables the students to iterate quickly and ingest rapid feedback.
- Business Ethics & Networking
MBA teaches an engineer how to conduct himself in a business environment. Technicalities like reading financial statements and
MBA Advantage
working with spreadsheets is also taught. Students are compelled to analyse profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow reports within assigned case studies. Furthermore, a business school teaches the students how to interact with other people and determine who they can trust. Powerful network systems, which aid in future dealings, are all established at school level.
Conclusion
An engineering MBA student has the skill-set, management knowledge, and technical engineering abilities to succeed in life. These are the individuals who define the rules and deliberate on what should and shouldn’t be done in an organisation to keep it structured and managed.
If we look at the world around us, gone are the days when only engineers or simple graduates could transcend towards an MBA. According to a recent post in Forbes, even rapper G-Easy is using the principles of business, like strategic management, to upgrade and enhance his music career in the best possible manner. His systematic approach eventually paid off, with his album “These Things Happen” debuting at no.3 on Billboard’s Album Charts and staying put for 18 weeks.
Artists too are approaching this field with open arms, so why not accept it for engineers?
In America, engineers from Georgia Tech would want to pursue an MBA from Stanford Business School. In India, an engineering degree from IIT is followed by an MBA from the élite IIM’s. This is one trend which refuses to change track over spans of time. According to the ACNielsen Campus Track survey, about 55% of students want to pursue an MBA. Apart from these prestigious b-schools, there are innumerable MBA colleges all over the world where an engineer can get accreditation.
In conclusion, the incessant debate on following an engineering degree with MBA should come to an end. Every course has its merits and demerits. As long as it’s working in the favour of the individual, there should be no space for doubt.
Sources:
www.indiaeducation.net
www.Forbes.com
www.economictimes.com
http://www.dcsmat.ac.in
www.businessinsider.com
Image reference:
http://www.arbitmba.com/labels/Perplex%20Singh.html
http://probabilityofdreams.blogspot.in/2013/06/mba-after-engineering.html
http://www.voiceofengineers.com/2013/08/why-mba-after-engineering.html
