Hello Bacardisprite,
You are awesome! I deeply admire your efforts in helping us. I'm sure you'll guide me through the woods of uncertainity.
I'm a computer engineering graduate, currently working in Cognizant from past 3 yrs. Age 24yrs.
I believe that not only the persons acads/education but also his interests,his personality,his thinking,his likings and his passions play an important role in shaping his career. First, let me tell you about my education and then my interests and passions.
10th: 82%
12th: 83%
B.E - 2007 (Computer Engg. from Walchand COE, Sangli,MH) : 67% (first class with distinction.)
When I was in BE I was pretty confused with my long term career planning.. but I was sure about one thing - I wanted to gain some industrial exprience, wanted to know how businesses run, the money flow,corporate culture..and other such things. I decided to have corporate experience for about 2-3-4 years, whatever.. untill I find myself enough mature to take further career decisions..mostly doing MBA.
I joined CTS,Pune right in the next month after my BE exams and now I have completed almost 3 years in the same company. I have had both good and bad projects, fair and cruel project managers and overall a mixed bag of good and bad things in CTS. But they all have added to my experience, understanding of corporate culture and my maturity - bad things helped more :). Yes, the company has squeezed a lot of juice out of me and have paid pennies but I am not complaining like others, I think this is the quintessential corporate learning.
Now as we change places, meet new people,enter the work culture, change the work we do, our awareness increase, we find things which interest us and we start getting mature.
Through an article in a magazine, I came to know about Mahesh Murthy and then my research went to enlighten me about Venture Capitalism. I started to get interested in entrepreneurship, businesses and finance.
I worked in the Commercial Lending domain for Wachovia Corporation and found I have lot of interest in finance (yeh I also used to read about Mutual funds & stocks during my college days till late nights). I got to know about entrepreneurship,I attended a few meetings of TiE, Proto, started networking, tried to know more about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. I even had an opportunity to work with a start up but the technical domain was mobile technology about which I know nothing so I didnt thought about it seriously.
I was slowing building my understanding about all these things in unison - business, finance, entrepreneurship,venture capitalism and corporate culture.
Currently, at age 24, I am standing at a point that gives birth to many pathways and currently I am trying to take efforts every pathway asks for, so that I can know more about the destinations each one of these roads will lead me to...
In more details:
About business understanding :
I feel its important to taste onsite and work on the client side, I think this will greatly expand my understanding about the business as a whole, so I am trying to get onsite opportunity, and working towards it.
About entrepreneurship & becoming a businessman:
I believe doing things is the best way - I am starting a small business in food industry. (I worked at a hotel of my relatives friend to get to know the functioning of a hotel) I am learning many things like people management,inventory management, start up basics etc.
About satisfying interest in finance:
I am preparing for CFA L1 in December,2010. I really dont know what I will do after CFA L1, but I decided to take up the exam when I read the syllabus of L1,L2 and L3 - it just fascinated me! I loved reading the economics chapters and concepts like time value of money from the CFA books I am currently studying.
I am also keen to learn a foreign language. Can u suggest me something?
I researched on Indian MBA Vs. US/UK MBA and I have developed some views on the same which I would like to share with you. Firstly I decided what an MBA should give back to me. It should give me not only management knowledge but also cross cultural friends and contacts, exposure to international business and understanding, a class with variety of students..so that my experience from peers becomes very rich and also practical exposure to business while doing MBA. Now if you look at these points, not even a single b-school in India satisfies even a single point convincingly. Management books give u bookish knowledge..but the real management/business learning starts beyond it. So speaking frankly I would not like to do MBA in India. All this being said, its a fact that I'm from middle class family and the US/UK MBA expenditure may force me to do MBA in India.
I don't have a set of specific questions. My long term goal is to set up a successful venture capital fund and to be a serial businessman. I am starting a small business in food industry..lets see how it performs. An Angel Investor/Venture Capitalist is what I would like to become after 20-25 years (the early the better.)
I am bit unsure about what to do in near term..I simply dont know what are the stepping stones which can lead me to what I want to become.
Please guide. Thank You.
Warm Regards,
Saurabh
Hello baccardisprite,
I am pursuing MSc Econ + BE Electronics & Instrumentation from BITS. I am planning applying to top Finance/Financial Econ programs (LSE MSc Fin, HEC MFinEcon/MFin, Oxford Said MFinEcon and the likes). All of them require good quantitative/math/stat grades; I'm in my 3rd year and have already messed up my math grades (got Cs in all of them, was careless about acads initially). By the time I pass out, my GPA will be fine (around 8/10) but my grades in quant courses are what bother me; they've been giving me sleepless nights.
As far as GRE/GMAT quant sections are concerned, it is not much of an issue, i am confident of scoring 800Q in GRE.
Are you aware of any manner in which I can take online accredited courses in Stats/Calculus to offset my bad quant performance in undergrad? I recall you mentioning UC Berkeley Extension online courses. However, they have 2 drawbacks wrt my goals:
1) They offer Calc 1 (basic limit, cont, differentiability + differential calc, seems to be school level), Calc 2 (Integration and differential eqn), Intro Stat - these courses don't seem to satisfy my requirements in terms of curriculum, I am looking at Multivariable Calc, Linear Algebra & Matrices, Differential Equations, statistics.
2) Each of those courses costs 700+ Dollars, really expensive.
Alternatively, I was thinking of spending one semester extra at college repeating those courses; It seems to be worth it, as opposed to rejections citing my Math Cs as a reason... It will delay my degree by 1 semester though.
Hello Bacardisprite,
You are awesome! I deeply admire your efforts in helping us. I'm sure you'll guide me through the woods of uncertainity.
I'm a computer engineering graduate, currently working in Cognizant from past 3 yrs. Age 24yrs.
I believe that not only the persons acads/education but also his interests,his personality,his thinking,his likings and his passions play an important role in shaping his career. First, let me tell you about my education and then my interests and passions.
10th: 82%
12th: 83%
B.E - 2007 (Computer Engg. from Walchand COE, Sangli,MH) : 67% (first class with distinction.)
When I was in BE I was pretty confused with my long term career planning.. but I was sure about one thing - I wanted to gain some industrial exprience, wanted to know how businesses run, the money flow,corporate culture..and other such things. I decided to have corporate experience for about 2-3-4 years, whatever.. untill I find myself enough mature to take further career decisions..mostly doing MBA.
I joined CTS,Pune right in the next month after my BE exams and now I have completed almost 3 years in the same company. I have had both good and bad projects, fair and cruel project managers and overall a mixed bag of good and bad things in CTS. But they all have added to my experience, understanding of corporate culture and my maturity - bad things helped more :). Yes, the company has squeezed a lot of juice out of me and have paid pennies but I am not complaining like others, I think this is the quintessential corporate learning.
Now as we change places, meet new people,enter the work culture, change the work we do, our awareness increase, we find things which interest us and we start getting mature.
Through an article in a magazine, I came to know about Mahesh Murthy and then my research went to enlighten me about Venture Capitalism. I started to get interested in entrepreneurship, businesses and finance.
I worked in the Commercial Lending domain for Wachovia Corporation and found I have lot of interest in finance (yeh I also used to read about Mutual funds & stocks during my college days till late nights). I got to know about entrepreneurship,I attended a few meetings of TiE, Proto, started networking, tried to know more about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. I even had an opportunity to work with a start up but the technical domain was mobile technology about which I know nothing so I didnt thought about it seriously.
I was slowing building my understanding about all these things in unison - business, finance, entrepreneurship,venture capitalism and corporate culture.
Currently, at age 24, I am standing at a point that gives birth to many pathways and currently I am trying to take efforts every pathway asks for, so that I can know more about the destinations each one of these roads will lead me to...
In more details:
About business understanding :
I feel its important to taste onsite and work on the client side, I think this will greatly expand my understanding about the business as a whole, so I am trying to get onsite opportunity, and working towards it.
About entrepreneurship & becoming a businessman:
I believe doing things is the best way - I am starting a small business in food industry. (I worked at a hotel of my relatives friend to get to know the functioning of a hotel) I am learning many things like people management,inventory management, start up basics etc.
About satisfying interest in finance:
I am preparing for CFA L1 in December,2010. I really dont know what I will do after CFA L1, but I decided to take up the exam when I read the syllabus of L1,L2 and L3 - it just fascinated me! I loved reading the economics chapters and concepts like time value of money from the CFA books I am currently studying.
I am also keen to learn a foreign language. Can u suggest me something?
I researched on Indian MBA Vs. US/UK MBA and I have developed some views on the same which I would like to share with you. Firstly I decided what an MBA should give back to me. It should give me not only management knowledge but also cross cultural friends and contacts, exposure to international business and understanding, a class with variety of students..so that my experience from peers becomes very rich and also practical exposure to business while doing MBA. Now if you look at these points, not even a single b-school in India satisfies even a single point convincingly. Management books give u bookish knowledge..but the real management/business learning starts beyond it. So speaking frankly I would not like to do MBA in India. All this being said, its a fact that I'm from middle class family and the US/UK MBA expenditure may force me to do MBA in India.
I don't have a set of specific questions. My long term goal is to set up a successful venture capital fund and to be a serial businessman. I am starting a small business in food industry..lets see how it performs. An Angel Investor/Venture Capitalist is what I would like to become after 20-25 years (the early the better.)
I am bit unsure about what to do in near term..I simply dont know what are the stepping stones which can lead me to what I want to become.
Please guide. Thank You.
Warm Regards,
Saurabh
Good attitude! Am glad you feel you have learnt a few things through the Cognizant experience. Secondly - you seem to have developed a passion for entrepreneurship and related finance, so good as well.
Don't rush towards an MBA.
I would suggest the following:
- Continue and complete all 3 levels of the CFA in the next 3 years.
- If & when time permits, I would suggest learning at least 2 languages in the next 3-4 years up to business conversational & writing level. If you're likely to stay within technology, learn something like German, Japanese or Mandarin Chinese. German / Japanese obviously because of the technological and engineering strengths of companies in these 2 economies and Chinese because it will be the hottest growth market for a while going forward.
- IF you can, try shifting your job to a fast growing start-up company that's about 3-5 years old and funded by VCs. Experience the start-up environment, understand what makes these companies tick and validate the genuineness of your passion for the field. You might find yourself in a client facing environment faster than you bargained for, but like you said well - you'll learn from the kicks to the backside. Success will also make you rise fast, and you will have access to the management, owners / founders and the board (which will include the VC investors).. network...learning... mentorship... guidance.... you get the drift.
- Learn to save money and spend wisely! Be disciplined with your hard earned cash. Believe me, it is worth going to the pub a few times less, drink a few beers less in month and spend a little less on your girlfriend (if you have one). You will find the concept of "cash-burn" particularly applicable in the entrepreneurial environment.
- In about 4 years from now (you'll still be just 2
- go for an MBA or other education relevant to your career that will give you the right kind of access to the employers you seek or the VCs you want funding you. I would suggest Stanford, MIT, Babson etc.... Be patient, be diligent and disciplied. Your long term career will be 75% your skills acquired before an MBA, and 25% from where you get your MBA. Acquire a bank of knowledge, a bag of success, and a wealth of experience applicable and transferable to your career beyond the education you seek. Then attend the best b-school you can.
All the best.
Hello baccardisprite,
I am pursuing MSc Econ + BE Electronics & Instrumentation from BITS. I am planning applying to top Finance/Financial Econ programs (LSE MSc Fin, HEC MFinEcon/MFin, Oxford Said MFinEcon and the likes). All of them require good quantitative/math/stat grades; I'm in my 3rd year and have already messed up my math grades (got Cs in all of them, was careless about acads initially). By the time I pass out, my GPA will be fine (around 8/10) but my grades in quant courses are what bother me; they've been giving me sleepless nights.
As far as GRE/GMAT quant sections are concerned, it is not much of an issue, i am confident of scoring 800Q in GRE.
Are you aware of any manner in which I can take online accredited courses in Stats/Calculus to offset my bad quant performance in undergrad? I recall you mentioning UC Berkeley Extension online courses. However, they have 2 drawbacks wrt my goals:
1) They offer Calc 1 (basic limit, cont, differentiability + differential calc, seems to be school level), Calc 2 (Integration and differential eqn), Intro Stat - these courses don't seem to satisfy my requirements in terms of curriculum, I am looking at Multivariable Calc, Linear Algebra & Matrices, Differential Equations, statistics.
2) Each of those courses costs 700+ Dollars, really expensive.
Alternatively, I was thinking of spending one semester extra at college repeating those courses; It seems to be worth it, as opposed to rejections citing my Math Cs as a reason... It will delay my degree by 1 semester though.
Hmm... have you considered taking a GRE Subject test in Maths? You might want to take it, get a good score and provide valid reason that your poor junior sem grades were more carelessness than academic inability. Also, have your grades shown a marked improvement since your "careless" days? If your overall GPA is fine, you should be ok. You've got 2 years to go - perform well in your advanced quant courses + your inter & advanced micro/macro econ and I think you'll be fine. If you're already doing an M.Sc Econ - it's not worth taking any additional courses.
It might worth working for a couple of years, proving yourself in a professional quant finance environment then move towards a Master's degree. In addition, you might want to prepare for an pass at least the CFA L1 to prove you're comfortable with quantitative finance, and match that alongside the GRE subject test.
Don't worry - stay disciplined, perform well academically and you'll be fine.
All the best
Hi baccardisprite,
I have around 4 years of IT workex with about 1.5 yrs as lead. My goal is to work in consulting area but I don't seem to have much knowledge about how a company is run etc. I plan to join a B- School in next 2-3 yrs.
So prior to joining MBA I would love to work in a start up and get a feel of the business but I have absolutely no idea as to how to search for a start up and what position to apply for so that i gain some valuable experience. Can you please help me out?
Also can you suggest what should I do to gain knowledge about various career paths in consulting?
I know I already have 4 yrs of workex and should have thought about it earlier, but its better to be late than never.
Looking forward to your response.
Hi baccardisprite, I have around 4 years of IT workex with about 1.5 yrs as lead. My goal is to work in consulting area but I don't seem to have much knowledge about how a company is run etc. I plan to join a B- School in next 2-3 yrs.
So prior to joining MBA I would love to work in a start up and get a feel of the business but I have absolutely no idea as to how to search for a start up and what position to apply for so that i gain some valuable experience. Can you please help me out? Also can you suggest what should I do to gain knowledge about various career paths in consulting?
I know I already have 4 yrs of workex and should have thought about it earlier, but its better to be late than never.
Looking forward to your response.
You need to first be clear about what sort of consulting you want to do:
Strategy Consulting, Operations / technology consulting, pure IT consulting. Each area has different companies offering their services.
A start-up would actually be a good place to quickly learn how businesses are actually run and would give you broad exposure to products, operations, finance and strategies within a short period of time. Recomment building a relationship with a trusted recruiter working the space, and start networking with friends (and friends of friends) to broaden your search. Start-up jobs are not really advertized, so you would have to mostly network to get these jobs.
Hope that helps.
Cheerz & a nice weekend.
Hello baccardisprite ,
I had been an avid reader of this thread and highly valued/appreciated your advices through out.
Though needless to say like rest of all in this forum share same passion for an MBA , I have a rather an awkward / different background trying to commingle in mainstream .
At present I am a sailing master (captain) in merchant naval vessels , have 10 years of work experience counting from apprentice days to the top job (captain) ... had worked with Hongkong / Singapore based ship managers and UK/ German/US based ship owners with multinational crew in multi modal vessels through out my career .
At present working with one of the top ship managers based in HongKong in dry bulk fleet.
Back ground - age 30 , had attended various marine collages across India for studies - but as 'master mariners' qualification being not accredited as a specialised degree by any Indian Univ - my basic qualification is Bsc in Nautical Science from Mumbai Univ (no GPA as this is a complementary degree ).
Appeared for Gmat once (unsatisfactory score - 600) , will appear again in a month time
I am aware of the courses like - Msc in Shipping /Logistic & Supply chain offered by CASS & other UK universities , but I am not interested to work in ship brokerage firms or in shipping companies in their logistic divisions
I am more interested to into shipping finance (like working with DNB NOR ASA - one of the leading bank for ship mortgages) , shipping insurance - risk analysis & policy development ( various Protection & Indemnity Clubs ) and in administrative department related to shipping like for working for International Maritime Organisation etc.
Based on my above goals , experience in the industry as being a sailor over 10 years holding the top job (captain) at present, location of B Schools in relation to the industry & course offered have shortlisted the following for applying in first round for 2011 intake :
LBS full time MBA
CBS Copenhagen for executive MBA in shipping
RSM Erasmus university full time MBA
IMD full time MBA
Please advice with your valuable insight regarding the options available apart from the above or are the above choices are correct or not
Please do write your opinion regarding future career path perceived by myself will be suitable to my back ground or not
Warm Regards
ari100
HI!
I have done BSc Economics Honours from a good college in Calcutta.But instead of continuing with my studies I joined a job in Cognizant which I got through campus placement.I have worked here for almost 3 years and now very honestly I am quite fed up.I was doing quite well in my office and got two onsites but I rejected both because of CAT.I did not do very well in CAT this year(this was my second attempt and first serious attempt).I got a call from an ok college but I dont think I faired well in the interview.I am 25 years old and I am a girl(not obvious from my name
).I seriously have started feeling off late that I made a huge mistake by joining this job as I seriously DO NOT want to continue in IT.I really want to get back to Economics or may venture into Finance.Though I had initially joined to get first hand corporate experience but I feel I have already overstayed and another year may really be even more detrimental to my profile.I have thought a lot about international options like UK universities but I get discouraged by thinking about the cost factor.Can you please suggest what can I do in order to get out of here? Should I concentrate on CAT next year or shoudl I look for UK universities?Both money and time is a matter of concern for me.Even if I do crack CAT next year I might be rejected because of my weird profile.
Hello baccardisprite ,
I am aware of the courses like - Msc in Shipping /Logistic & Supply chain offered by CASS & other UK universities , but I am not interested to work in ship brokerage firms or in shipping companies in their logistic divisions
I am more interested to into shipping finance (like working with DNB NOR ASA - one of the leading bank for ship mortgages) , shipping insurance - risk analysis & policy development ( various Protection & Indemnity Clubs ) and in administrative department related to shipping like for working for International Maritime Organisation etc.
Warm Regards
ari100
Lots of former sailors do MBAs, I know a few :-). Don't worry you'll do fine.
Happy to see though that you're very clear about what you want to do.
You seem to be clear about your goals - have you thought about the M.Sc in Shipping, Trade & Finance, offered by Cass Business School of City University of London (www.cass.city.ac.uk)? Go to their website and have a look. You're likely to find what you want with that program, including the curriculum, the networks and the right career guidance for your objectives. I believe this program will offer fast track access to the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (you may be familar with that).
If you don't want the above suggested program and want to go for a full blown MBA, I would say all your choices (barring IMD) are logical because all are located in / close to major maritime capitals (London, Rotterdam, and Copenhagen). But be sure to check the curriculum offerings (the electives), talk to alumni hopefully in the kind of jobs and companies you'd like to work in / for + the MBA & career services offices to gauge whether they're familiar with the career path you seek, and can coach and advise accordingly so you can access the right people and put your best foot forward.
Given your experience though, I think specific education rather than an MBA will serve you better for the jobs you seek.
I'd also recommend retaking the GMAT.
All the best.
HI!
I have done BSc Economics Honours from a good college in Calcutta.But instead of continuing with my studies I joined a job in Cognizant which I got through campus placement.I have worked here for almost 3 years and now very honestly I am quite fed up.I was doing quite well in my office and got two onsites but I rejected both because of CAT.I did not do very well in CAT this year(this was my second attempt and first serious attempt).I got a call from an ok college but I dont think I faired well in the interview.I am 25 years old and I am a girl(not obvious from my name).I seriously have started feeling off late that I made a huge mistake by joining this job as I seriously DO NOT want to continue in IT.I really want to get back to Economics or may venture into Finance.Though I had initially joined to get first hand corporate experience but I feel I have already overstayed and another year may really be even more detrimental to my profile.I have thought a lot about international options like UK universities but I get discouraged by thinking about the cost factor.Can you please suggest what can I do in order to get out of here? Should I concentrate on CAT next year or shoudl I look for UK universities?Both money and time is a matter of concern for me.Even if I do crack CAT next year I might be rejected because of my weird profile.
Unless something / someone forced you; you made the choice to join Cognizant, and you chose to stay as long as you have. Surely you've learnt something that will help you going forward?
Second - What's so weird about your profile? Plenty of ex IT people with 4-5 years experience get admitted to Indian and foreign schools!
Anyway - As a career goal "Economics" or "May get into Finance" are both rather vague. Can you be a little more specific as to what you'd want to do? Without a certain level of clarity, you'll end up writing vague essays on an application to any school in the world. Be a little more clear about your goals and post again, promise you someone will give you valuable and applicable advice.
Cheerz & have a nice weekend.
To
baccardisprite
Lots of former sailors do MBAs, I know a few :-). Don't worry you'll do fine.
have you thought about the M.Sc in Shipping, Trade & Finance, offered by Cass Business School of City University of London (www.cass.city.ac.uk)? Go to their website and have a look. You're likely to find what you want with that program, including the curriculum, the networks and the right career guidance for your objectives. I believe this program will offer fast track access to the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (you may be familar with that).
.
Thanks for the quick response and advice.
Yes I am aware of the above mentioned course offered by CASS and Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers exams conducted every year, but as I mentioned earlier I am looking beyond chartering & ship brokering and more interested into analytical fields .
I have been in contact with few CASS alumni , as per them the option after completion of above course are not wide ranging and further studies / specialisations are necessary - actually nobody was able to guide me exactly what should I follow for gaining entry into my field of interest.
Hence after considerable brainstorming have decided to do full time MBA from the B Schools as mentioned earlier if get an admit( IMD is one of my target for their student backgrounds / my profile fits in I believe, diversified curriculum and strong link of career services office with financial institution in Europe - maritime commerce is mostly based in Europe only )
Thanks & best regards
ari100
To
baccardisprite
I have been in contact with few CASS alumni , as per them the option after completion of above course are not wide ranging and further studies / specialisations are necessary - actually nobody was able to guide me exactly what should I follow for gaining entry into my field of interest.
Hence after considerable brainstorming have decided to do full time MBA from the B Schools as mentioned earlier if get an admit( IMD is one of my target for their student backgrounds / my profile fits in I believe, diversified curriculum and strong link of career services office with financial institution in Europe - maritime commerce is mostly based in Europe only )
Thanks & best regards
ari100
Send me a PM with your name and email. I'll introduce you to someone I know who might be able to better guide you. He's a former MM himself, and went to Oxford for his MBA in 2006.
Firstly - it would please me immensely if you chose to come to IMD, as I'm an alum from 2005, and happy to answer any specific questions you might have (let's use PM for that). I want to only caution you that you might have a challenging search for your dream role, however you have the clarity and the motivation to achieve it, which is 50% of the battle.
FYI also - I believe DnB NOR has recruited in IMD in the last 2 years, so at least one of the companies you want to work for recruits at IMD :-)
Cheerz & All the best
i am about to finish my enginnering and wanted to pursue higher studies im management abroad.
i have admits from :
lancaster- msc management
strathclyde - mbm
which one should I choose as ft ranks mbm pretty highly.
also what are the job prospects after such courses as ROI is an important factor for me.
regards
alphasumit
Not sure why would you choose a startup career over consulting career pre-MBA. Consulting is very different from running a business. Consulting is more about problem solving and communication in a very structured manner - while a startup is making things work hour by hour in a very unstructured environment. Consultants have a mindset, a style! You can smell and spot a good consultant from a mile away!
@EkDumDhakkan I wanted to work in a Start up primarily to get some exposure to Business processes and also because I was told that it would be difficult to switch from IT to consulting. So I planned to work in a start up for 2-3 yrs and then join a good B-School and switch to Consulting post mba.
But as you had worked as a consultant can you please clarify the following points:
1. I found out that the big 4 and other good consulting firms look for excellent academics. I was average in studies(10th: 78%, 12th: 67% and B.Tech(CSE) from IP,Delhi: 71.x %). Even in GMAT I got just 710 but i believe i can get up to 730-740 with some effort as 710 was a casual attempt. Can u please confirm?
2. Also I assume that most of the companies have case interviews, i have started solving various cases as a result. Can u please tell me the procedure followed by the consulting firms and what points should i start working on?
3. And please let me know the starting point for the job search. Should I target Big firms or small ones?
4. Can u suggest some of the consulting firms here in India where I would stand a chance?
Thanks
Unless something / someone forced you; you made the choice to join Cognizant, and you chose to stay as long as you have. Surely you've learnt something that will help you going forward?
Second - What's so weird about your profile? Plenty of ex IT people with 4-5 years experience get admitted to Indian and foreign schools!
Anyway - As a career goal "Economics" or "May get into Finance" are both rather vague. Can you be a little more specific as to what you'd want to do? Without a certain level of clarity, you'll end up writing vague essays on an application to any school in the world. Be a little more clear about your goals and post again, promise you someone will give you valuable and applicable advice.
Cheerz & have a nice weekend.
Hey thanks a lot for ur response!
I really never had any problem with the job I am doing coz I always thot it wud eventually help me as am gaining experience.But in the recent interview I was really amazed when I was told that I have "committed a crime" (these were the exact words
)by joining this IT job even though I did Economics Honours which is the "mother of all subjects"(again exactly these words) and this left me really confused and miserable!!I have some idea that MS in Finanace is quite good with respect to ROI.Also since I have done BSC which is a 3 years course masters in US may not be possible for me.
Perhaps it will encourage you - a friend of mine at Booth was from Cognizant. She also transitioned into Finance. So much so that she was among the lucky ones across American BSchools who got an Investment Banking offer. However, prior to her MBA - she had demonstrated leadership at her work, and taken advantage of opportunities of working in USA.
CAT is a very different ballgame vs. western MBAs. The selection process, and the mindset and skills of the selected are very different. It is just bizzare when people come and say - since CAT didnt work out, I will get a top western MBA. For CAT you don't compete with top ranked McKinsey and Goldman analysts and people with recommendations from the American President - for top western MBA you do.
Besides - how come you specficially thought of UK MBA? MBA is not that rewarded in UK. UK MBA is a difficult sell in USA. If you plan to work in UK, make sure the MBA you choose is one approved for tier 1 immigration program or you will run into trouble.
You are clearly at an eary stage of your thinking. With more research, your questions will become the right questions to ask. As baccardisprite pointed out - right now your questions aren't exactly those which will get you ideal answers.
Having said that, I'd reiterate that someone from Cognizant was with me - and she was one of the most successful Booth students. You can be the next one if you get your act together! Be committed and pour in hardwork!
Hey thanks a lot for ur response!!
Actually I have done BSc which is a 3 yrs course and hence i do not have any options of pursuing masters in US.I have thot about doing MS in UK although after 3 years of working i do not know how rewarding that wud be.I have never really given any thot to doin an MBA in UK or US,the cost really scares me!!
I had got onsite opportunities in UK, in London to be more specific but if I went I wud hav had to skip my exams this year,hence had to let go of the opportunities.
Do you think taking those opportunities wud have made it easier for me to get into B-Schools abroad?I might not get such an opportunity here for a long time to come and honestly I do not want to stick around here for a very long time.
In a recent MBA interview I was really disappointed to hear that the decision to work in IT after doing Economics Honours and that too for 3 long years would actually go against me.:-(
Right now I really do not know what I should concentrate on.My options are limited here,as I am into an US project,my VISA wont be approved bcoz of my non comp sc background.
Do you think an MS in UK in Finance is a better option than doing an MBA from an OK Indian college?Am talking about the cost involved and the career prospects.Please suggest.
Also,given my profile what are my chances of getting into a good US college? Do I stand any chance at all?
And thanks a lot for ur encouragement!!
Madhur0408 - When you ask a question, you should make it easy for the person who is helping you. Right now you have dumped a soup of letters. It is very difficult for anyone to quickly make sense out of it.
From perspective of MBA, working in IT is not bad. Most of my MBAs from top American schools are from IT background. However they have demonstrated leadership at their work - e.g one got his incompetent boss fired and cleaned up the mess while another worked for the Climate Project.
If all you did was to go to office, do what you were told and came back and watch TV - you have a problem. The problem will bother you even during recruiting because top recruiters want all-rounders. Your interview performance might also suffer because you wouldn't control the interview.
So just getting masters is not a solution!
Moreover, the choice of the masters program will depend on what you eventually want to do. What kind of role will you be happy in? Which country do you want to work in? What kind of compensation levels do you expect? Eventually you need to match it with your background and see what is realistic.
Don't just try to do some master's because you have nothing better to do. Take a step back - see what you did wrong and what you did right. Figure out where you want to go and measure the gap. In that gap - plug in the Masters program which adds more value.
Last thing I'd say - believe in yourself. You just need to keep trying, and things will happen.
I got the point!May be I can ask better questions when I have more clarity of thought!Thanks a lot anyways!
Hey thanks a lot for ur response!
I really never had any problem with the job I am doing coz I always thot it wud eventually help me as am gaining experience.But in the recent interview I was really amazed when I was told that I have "committed a crime" (these were the exact words
I have some idea that MS in Finanace is quite good with respect to ROI.Also since I have done BSC which is a 3 years course masters in US may not be possible for me.
I can't advise you any better than Mr.Dhakkan
Cheerz & all the best
Guys - received a lot negative feedback on EkdumDhakkan name - changing it to virgil-speak 
Good attitude! Am glad you feel you have learnt a few things through the Cognizant experience. Secondly - you seem to have developed a passion for entrepreneurship and related finance, so good as well.
Don't rush towards an MBA.
I would suggest the following:
- Continue and complete all 3 levels of the CFA in the next 3 years.
- If & when time permits, I would suggest learning at least 2 languages in the next 3-4 years up to business conversational & writing level. If you're likely to stay within technology, learn something like German, Japanese or Mandarin Chinese. German / Japanese obviously because of the technological and engineering strengths of companies in these 2 economies and Chinese because it will be the hottest growth market for a while going forward.
- IF you can, try shifting your job to a fast growing start-up company that's about 3-5 years old and funded by VCs. Experience the start-up environment, understand what makes these companies tick and validate the genuineness of your passion for the field. You might find yourself in a client facing environment faster than you bargained for, but like you said well - you'll learn from the kicks to the backside. Success will also make you rise fast, and you will have access to the management, owners / founders and the board (which will include the VC investors).. network...learning... mentorship... guidance.... you get the drift.
- Learn to save money and spend wisely! Be disciplined with your hard earned cash. Believe me, it is worth going to the pub a few times less, drink a few beers less in month and spend a little less on your girlfriend (if you have one). You will find the concept of "cash-burn" particularly applicable in the entrepreneurial environment.
- In about 4 years from now (you'll still be just 2
Be patient, be diligent and disciplied. Your long term career will be 75% your skills acquired before an MBA, and 25% from where you get your MBA. Acquire a bank of knowledge, a bag of success, and a wealth of experience applicable and transferable to your career beyond the education you seek. Then attend the best b-school you can.
All the best.
Many many thanks baccardi! :)
- French was no where in your suggessions, but I have already started learning it, and I find it nice. Let me continue with it. I will make a point to learn one eastern world language - mostly Mandarin Chinese - I understand the important of knowing an eastern world language as more and more business is shifting to shanghai/Singapore/Beijing..etc.
- Shifting to work with a start up is always on my mind...but I give a lot of importance to the kind of start up it is...the space it works in and whether my passions are inline with the vision of the start-up, I dont think I should join just another start up.. I just loved one of your sentences.... "validate the genuineness of your passion for the field." Nice, thank you.
- I dont spend a lot of money, I am sound spender. I save about 60-70% I earn and I've kept myself free from any debt, so that I have the initial capital (something is better than nothing) in case I decide to start something...which I am actually doing.
Although you haven't said anything about my current activities like starting a small business in food world, I strongly feel for it..have analyzed the market and customer demand..and I would go for it... lets see if I have those necessary qualities to make a healthy profit margin to keep investors happy and also my customers happy
Again, I sincerely thank you for your time. God bless you! 😃