Well, this is one question I have come across quite a few times while preparing myself for the second phase of admissions into the IIMs. The answer which I am going to present can not be used during your PIs but is not far away from the actual truth for the IIM aspirants in their final year of engineering from a non-IIT/ NIT. Let’s begin then…

It all begins with the middle-class families’ mindset of having either an engineer or a doctor in their bloodline. The result, every year lakhs of students are pushed to pick MBBS. or B.Tech. as their graduate program. While MBBS. continues to be a tough affair because of a limited number of seats (despite the latest proposal of 10k more seats), B.Tech. has become comparatively easier because of the number of colleges (private and government) which have mushroomed in all parts of the nation over the past two decades. So, allow me to shift your focus to the latter course and the present scenario.

There are engineering colleges devoid of the basic facilities and with students without the minimum acceptable aptitude. Still, they continue to roll out thousands of engineers every year without offering any decent placements. Where do these students go? Any guesses? Some move to Noida/ Bangalore for “job-search”, some choose to compete in G.A.T.E., some start preparing for S.S.C./ Bank P.O., and the rest, the rest compete in the A.T.s- C.A.T., X.A.T., M.A.T., C.M.A.T. etc not really knowing what the MBA program entails and what “Balance of Payments” is!

Yes, they want a hide-out from the society which will start asking questions if they return back to their homes empty-handed after four years of college. And then, an MBA program assures jobs (at least, better chances). In a nutshell, this is what is happening to this current generation of students which is driven more by the society’s norms rather than their own hunger to excel.

The day students start expressing themselves better in front of their parents and planning their career based upon their passions, this nation would evolve and evolve for good. Till then, “I would like to do MBA right after my B.Tech. because I feel that in the corporate world, managerial skills are highly valued and even if I pick a job, I would take a break for this program some years hence. So, as I am in this zone of learning things, I would like to do the program now.” would be the answer most of the on-paper-engineers will present.