Personal/Career/CAT-job Dilemma Queries : A Repository

MBA CAT 2022
363
Hello Guys!

How is the life of software engineer who has done Master of Computer Applications(MCA)?
  1. Can anyone tell me how would be the life after doing MCA?
  2. How about the job? Do they get career satisfaction?
  3. Is it hectic work schedule?
  4. What about future prospects?

PS:-If you got to choose between MCA and IAS what would you do?


Well, on average, the life of a software engineer is considered to be quite simple. But it mostly depends on person indevidually, but its sure who dosen't has intrest in programming (logics, reasoning, and being ready to learn new things on daily basis) shouldn't think about gettin into this, because doing MCA is easy but performing live is not that easy for most guys.


  1. Can anyone tell me how would be the life after doing MCA?
    Ans : MCA definately provides the base to go for higher posts in company. But not all the time. Experience counts and you will also know after getting experience of few years.

  2. How about the job? Do they get career satisfaction?
    Ans : Well starting phase is really tough going. A programmer's life is all about thinking about the task he is assigned. Programmers never get time to think any thing else so its affect the personal life sply. the relationship.
    You can say who looks lost and who's stomach has grown is normally will be a software enginner/programmer.

  3. Is it hectic work schedule?
    Ans : Sure, very very....

  4. What about future prospects?
    Ans : Future depends on learning ability of person individually, sply if you have a long term target. And having your own dream to do somthing gr8 will definately help.




Well i prefered MCA, depends on again individual's choice. IAS is the most reputed job, and after MCA its notsure that you get the reputation.
I never considered IAS as option for me.:cheerio:
364

Hi Martian!

Yes, i love to travel n i like well paying jobs! The problem with me is i don;t likle d marketing thingy! :-L Hr is more suitable for me. Suppose i go in for a normal MBA with specialisation in HR, will i be able to get a job in a hotel or travel related firm as an HR manager considering that i have done my graduation in BBA Tourism?

I've talked to some people and i also analysed the whole scenario and i came to some conclusions which are detrring me from going in from MBA Tourism! First, the whoe travel n tourism industry in India revolves around HOtels, Travel Agencies & Tour operators and the aviation sector.

Now the problem is this:

Hotel Management people select those who have done courses in Hotel management!(usually)

Travel Agencies don't pay people much n prefer people who have done a 1yr diploma course from IATA etc..

Aviation sector...again..many courses are their

Now for Tourism students there are only a few options left! No.1 Position of a tour manager...you'll get to travel to many places n all that but it can become quite hectic...

2. Go into a MNC travel agency n operator like thomas cook..these ppl don't pay much..max 15 k's..starting is around 8 k's n this is d figure for 3-5 yrs!

From what i know, experience counts more than the degree in the tourism industry!

PLus, is it true that if i do my masters in tourism, i'll be confined to tourism only, whereif i do a Normal MBA i can always make it to the touriosm field owing to moi UG course?

All these factors race making me go mad...

Do you have any info on other specialised MBA's which offer good growth prospects? If so, please give me some info puys!



--Now when I think of doing a Normal MBA, things look better, but i dont want ot do an MBA from a thakela college! I'm prep for d CAt, ect..Hope i find a good..e.r.no great college or else it'll lead to even more confusion..:(

If someone has knowledge about the salaries or if anyone is here from Cox n kings or thomas cook, please reply wrt to growth options and the working env etc!

365

Zain,

Many questions there. Let's get the basic foundation in place to understand this.

First of all just to set the context, tourism jobs can be categorised into operations and corporate roles. The tour manager kind of roles that you've mentioned in your post will fall under Operations. Corporate roles on the other hand will involve responsibilities at the company level - strategy, planning, promotions, tie-ups, expansion etc.

A Tourism degree may help you land an operational role at least to begin with (assuming you have little to no experience to begin with) and then you may decide to rise within the ranks and take on higher resposibility in the same area. Or as you gain experience in the field, you may decide to move into a corporate role gradually.

An MBA equips you with a broader range of skills. You may not get an indept academic exposure to the operational aspects (such as detailed logistical planning for a trip). But when you graduate, you might join either in an operation role (where you'll face competition from others who chose the tourism degree) or you may be absorbed directly into a corporate level, albeit at a junior position.

Between the two, the MBA route (from a non-thakela college, in your words) might have a slight edge in terms of long term growth prospects, as your bosses will perceive you better equipped in terms of knowledge of finance, marketing, strategy and other disciplines which are important for the promotion.

As a general rule of thumb (with a wide degree of variability), a corporate role may offer you better exposure to the senior management and if you do well on a consistent basis, you get recognised faster. This can be a big advantage specially in large companies.

Your UG degree + MBA will definitely help in your career hunt. It would be better if you can get some experience under your belt though. Most good post-MBA roles place a premium on prior experience in the field that you are targetting.

Also, if you don't get too many direct responses on this forum (due to lesser number of people with the same area of interest), approach alumni from the institutes you are focussing on. They'll be able to share with you their own war stories directly.

Hope this helps.

366

Hi Pguys,

Need your take on the following.

While going through the Batch Profiles of IIM students, i observed that the proportion of students with work ex of more than 3-4 years is quite low.

Any specific reason for this? Does a higher work ex, in some way, affect your chances of getting into an IIM in a negatively?

Is it better then to wait for few more years and apply to the PGPX programs?

Thanks much,
Rohit.

P.S: Apologies if this query has been posted in an incorrect thread; kindly guide me to the right one.

367
Hi Pguys,

Need your take on the following.

While going through the Batch Profiles of IIM students, i observed that the proportion of students with work ex of more than 3-4 years is quite low.

Any specific reason for this? Does a higher work ex, in some way, affect your chances of getting into an IIM in a negatively?

Is it better then to wait for few more years and apply to the PGPX programs?

Thanks much,
Rohit.

P.S: Apologies if this query has been posted in an incorrect thread; kindly guide me to the right one.


The better experience you have the brighter are your chances of getting in a reputed b-school. The reason for fewer people above 3-4 yrs of work-ex would be the time of spending 2 years in a school leaving the job.

In a two year MBA the first year is generic and people with more than 3-4 yrs of work-ex must be having a fair idea of their career and would be opting for a specialized PGPX course.

@ P.S.- This is in the right thread, thankfully
368

My long-term goal is to do a Masters/phd/DBA in US. At the moment, I am planning to do an mba in India.
How old is too old to persue a Masters/PHD in US? Can 29-30 be too old?

P.S. For a variety of reasons, I cannot do a masters abroad now.
(a)I want to do a masters, but not one in my discipline. The only two profs who can give me a reco, will never give me one for any non-technical stream. They are, both, extremely dogmatic about it
(b)I can do an mba abroad, based on workplace recos. I don't want to spend that kind of money though.
My plan really is to build the ideal profile for that 'grand' Stanford application.

369

hello friends,
i have done B.E. from vtu,belgaum(completed in 200 . In our university, degree marks is calculated on the basis of first attempt marks obtained in (3rd & 4th) year.
my problem is i don't have 50% with the above criteria. but if 1st attempt mark from (1st to 4th) year is taken then i get 50% marks.

i want to know if i am eligible for CAT 2009. if not then wat about my status in the colleges that ask for 50% aggregate marks..
plz clarify if possible

370
hello friends,
i have done B.E. from vtu,belgaum(completed in 200 . In our university, degree marks is calculated on the basis of first attempt marks obtained in (3rd & 4th) year.
my problem is i don't have 50% with the above criteria. but if 1st attempt mark from (1st to 4th) year is taken then i get 50% marks.

i want to know if i am eligible for CAT 2009. if not then wat about my status in the colleges that ask for 50% aggregate marks..
plz clarify if possible


You are eligible for CAT but you would have problems in applying for schools which require 50% in graduation.
371

One query....

Is teaching in an engineering college considered as work experience in gettin admission in MBA colleges and later in the placements???

372

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

373
FRNZ PLZ HELP ME.....
Hello all,
i m in confusion, i have given cat 2 times, first when i was in final yr of b.tech and managed to get 94%ile, this boasted my morale and i thought to try it 1 more time. At that time, i had 2 offers in hand, one with Accenture and another with a production company with a bond of 3 yrs, as it was a fertilizer company, matching my profile as a chemical engg, near to home and could give me enuf time to prepare, i decided to join tht company.

Initially, i ws in general shift(8 to 5:30) and sunday off, which ws perfect for my prep for cat 08 so i thought it to be right decision. i started preparing for cat 08 and there was a little pressure in the company to perform but i managed it all with my preparation....but then i started giving my mocks and found that i desperately needed sumone or a group of people with whom i can discuss questions and come to a right conclusion, as it is a factory and situated away from the city it ws not possible to go to coaching in nearby city regularly.

I gave efforts but all in vain as my doubts were still doubts and due to some carelessness it increased....there was no one preparing for cat in the company....i got frustrated but i nvr thought to give up....rarely i got my %iles > 95, it ws demorolising for me as i quit accenture for cat and now this happened.
i gave cat...n found in first half tht i wud not b able to crack it...n i got 92%ile...no calls.

i am still in that company and now i m in shifts( 6 to 2 then 2 to 10 then 10 to 6) and friday off thus cant go for giving mocks on sunday.Pressure has increased manyfolds, sometimes i have to do 16hrs shifts also, no time to think bout cat wen working. but i dont wanna give up.

Right now i have 2 options, either to prepare for cat 09 which is goin online this yr and can prove to be bane for some people, with 5 months to go or to prepare for job in any govt company or any designing company which can give me city location and general shifts with sunday off and any group preparing for cat thus helping my preparation more but it will be cat 10 then.

i have one more option to leave this job and go for full time preparation for cat 09, but then everything will be at stake and i will be more pressurised to perform thus can lead to bad results.

now i dont know wat to do, to start preparing or to wait 1 yr for a good job and then prepare.


Dear Harsh_hbti....i can totally understand d anxiety dat u must be going thru rite now...

D reason being...that i was myself sailing in d same boat about a year back.

In my final year of grad, most of my friends took a call and joined sum coll or the other for their MBA...i ws keen on going for a "good reputed B school" as dey say..and as i felt i cud better my dt year's CAT performance...at d same tym i dint want my performance to suffer cuz of d pressure of having dropped an yr...So, i took up a job wid a Bank...as finance was my backdrop in UG and, interest area for PG...i thot i wud work and simultaneously prepare for my CAT...my working days wr frm Mon-Sat wid a Sunday off..and d timings were 8am-7pm excluding travelling hrs...

But determined as i ws...i tryd initially 2 balance d work n studies together...

And as d pressure strtd mounting in ofice...reluctantly bt unintentionally my CAT prepn took a back seat..Dt year i gave d CAT..n experienced wt u js shared in ur Post..

I felt under confident as i ws acutely aware as to hw ppl spend 1 whole yr 2 prepare 4 d xm..n here ws js playing sum juggling game...!!

Ended up performing more dismally den my 1st CAT...

And den...it js struck me...dt sum tymes...u have to give al dt u have...to achieve what u hv dreamt for urself...I wnted an MBA frm 1 of d gud league colls...n tuk d hardest decision of my Lyf in view of d same..I Left my job 6 months b4 CAT '08..

Thr wr tymes whn i felt dismally low..very unsure of myself...esp whn my Mocks wud reflect %iles

Bt den..@ d end of it..it al turned out fine...in fact Cuz I left my job..i Knew d Oppurtunity Costs involved...and worked harder...it instigated me to give it al i cud...n probably if i had been working..i cud have never given it my best shot...d scope for complacency wud have been thr..

I gt arnd 8 calls on d basis of my CAT,XAT and other Entrnce xms performance...Converted al of dem..cuz i gave evn d GD PI my max!!

And btw....my actual CAT/XAT scores were way more than what i had scored in my all my Previous 2 yrs mocks and actuals...

So..my Advice: Have courage to take a tuff stand, Dont lose conviction in ur abilities..and If your not afraid of putting in Intense hard Work..Leave UR JOb timely...and attack d CAT !!!

Hope dis helps...:clap:

Al d Best...
374

@aditi.b2
Please dont use sms lingo, Sometimes it feel hard to understand.
Regards
Bhanupriya

375

i think i did use full spellings for most of the words...all the important ones at that...and only d determinants and fillers were in short form...ne ways thanks for letting me know...will take care in the future...

376

Guys,

I ve got a degree in mechanical engineering,.and like most of them landed up in IT industry ..i ve got 2 yrs of wrk exp in business intelligence and datawarehsouing... any suggestions of what kind of post graduate degree i should be looking at..something that would add value to my wrk exp ! ??

Will doing an mba or ms in operations management , land up in job which most lkely to be in plant or shop floor sector???? i am not too comfortable with working in core mech industry ,...as i ve already tried it out..n it wasnt too promising at least for me...!

how good is financial engineering...but for this do i need to know any programming lang like c++ .. ???

rgrds,

rohit

377
Zain,

Many questions there. Let's get the basic foundation in place to understand this.

First of all just to set the context, tourism jobs can be categorised into operations and corporate roles. The tour manager kind of roles that you've mentioned in your post will fall under Operations. Corporate roles on the other hand will involve responsibilities at the company level - strategy, planning, promotions, tie-ups, expansion etc.

A Tourism degree may help you land an operational role at least to begin with (assuming you have little to no experience to begin with) and then you may decide to rise within the ranks and take on higher resposibility in the same area. Or as you gain experience in the field, you may decide to move into a corporate role gradually.

An MBA equips you with a broader range of skills. You may not get an indept academic exposure to the operational aspects (such as detailed logistical planning for a trip). But when you graduate, you might join either in an operation role (where you'll face competition from others who chose the tourism degree) or you may be absorbed directly into a corporate level, albeit at a junior position.

Between the two, the MBA route (from a non-thakela college, in your words) might have a slight edge in terms of long term growth prospects, as your bosses will perceive you better equipped in terms of knowledge of finance, marketing, strategy and other disciplines which are important for the promotion.

As a general rule of thumb (with a wide degree of variability), a corporate role may offer you better exposure to the senior management and if you do well on a consistent basis, you get recognised faster. This can be a big advantage specially in large companies.

Your UG degree + MBA will definitely help in your career hunt. It would be better if you can get some experience under your belt though. Most good post-MBA roles place a premium on prior experience in the field that you are targetting.

Also, if you don't get too many direct responses on this forum (due to lesser number of people with the same area of interest), approach alumni from the institutes you are focussing on. They'll be able to share with you their own war stories directly.

Hope this helps.



Heya!

Thanks buddy!

In short, i guess you're suggesting that i should go in for MBA HR N Operation/Finance as it'l help in getting a corporate job even in the tourism industry?

btw..great info! And re the experience thing! yes, i've seen taht good jobs usually require 1-2 yrs of min experience..so will keep that in mind. Depending on my rank ni CAT, etc and the colg i get, i might join a college or get some experience in advance!

I'm ready to slug it out and i know success will come after hard work at the lower level..but i was confused because i wanted to make sure that i don't get into a field where opportunities are less and tehn i get confined to it!

I guess i'll be doing my MBA in HR and one other subject(from a non tahkela colg ) as it'll keep me connected to every industry! And ofcourse my BBA In Tourism will be with me forever :D

Thanks Martian!

This helped me a lot!:D(will follow up on all ur advices)
378
Hello Puys,
I am a 2009 CAT aspirant. I have two months+ summer break stretched out in front of me and I have a few things in my mind to effectively use this time to strengthen my resume. However, I am spoilt for choices and I need a direction. I hope the veteran PUYs as well the Newbies would help me out.


No replies to my prev post? :(
Please PUYs help me out!!
379

hi guys, Im bhanupratap, recently completed my engg in ECE. Im already placed in infy and also got my joining date in the month of nov.:w00t:

But im intrested in a career in a gaming industry.:-(:-(
I dont know how to search for opportunities in this field...can anybody help me please...
guys Im also wanted to know will my experience in infy could be useful in gaming industry..::

380

I am an aspiring mba student.i was preparin in ims ,bbsr.I gave cat 2008 and got 88%,in snap also my score was 72.i am in 2 minds right now.i\\\'ve a average profile 80 in 10th,65 in 12 and 78 in engg and no extra curriculars,2 yrs gap. even if i get a 98+ in cat 2009,do i stand a chance to get admission in a top 20 college.or should i go for work ex and then attempt cat(placed in tcs and vedanta). i need an honest answer.

381
No replies to my prev post? :(
Please PUYs help me out!!

If u can get some time do some NGO kind of work...it is hoghly appreciated if u are involved with some kind of social work...but the most imp thing is utilize ur time for CAT prep...
382
freakonomist Says
I am an aspiring mba student.i was preparin in ims ,bbsr.I gave cat 2008 and got 88%,in snap also my score was 72.i am in 2 minds right now.i\\\'ve a average profile 80 in 10th,65 in 12 and 78 in engg and no extra curriculars,2 yrs gap. even if i get a 98+ in cat 2009,do i stand a chance to get admission in a top 20 college.or should i go for work ex and then attempt cat(placed in tcs and vedanta). i need an honest answer.

If u get a good %ile in CAT u definitely have good chances to get into top b-schools....ur acads are not that bad as u r thinking..just give ur best shot at CAT...
Ragarding work ex...yes it definitely helps u have work ex...but it doesn't mean not having work ex is -ve for u....so if ur joining date is before CAT join and simultaneously prepare...and if it is after CAT u know it well