A lot of Engineers go on to do post-graduate courses. It is sensible if an Engineer goes for a specialization course such as M.Tech or MS. However the trend does not suggest so. Most of the engineers in India take up management courses. Apparently this is the pattern in India. In nations such as the USA, UK or other developed countries Engineers prefer to specialize in their area of work. While we can discuss what is right or wrong later, for now, let us discuss the major reasons following which Engineers pursue MBA in India.
MBA – a 3 letter acronym for success and status
In the early 1990s, the demand for MBA graduates shot up. The traditional businesses started hiring MBAs to give their business a boost. This trend increased and MBA became a popular career for aspirants. An MBA from a reputed B-school is a good value for money. MBA assures good packages and helps climb the ladder faster in big corporates.
Fewer opportunities for a specialized career
Another aspect of Engineers opting for an MBA is the lack of opportunities for a specialized job. In an article published on GreatLakes blog, a student of the batch of 2019 says,
‘Despite having a bachelors in Engineering and a respectable job at an IT company, lack of information, less exposure to industry and managerial skills, few opportunities for specialized engineering career streamed me to pursue post-graduation.’
He further says that the marquee role, the lucrative package is definitely an added advantage that attracts engineers to pursue MBA.
Developing Country
On a bit of research, we understood that the country has a major role to play. India is a developing country and has one of the largest workforces in the world. Most of the companies in India are service-based. It will still take at least 15-20 years for India to transform from service-based to product-based country. Service-based organizations do not need very highly specialized workforce. This apparently is one of the reasons for the increased demand for the Techno-Management workforce in India.
Faster Career Progression
We spoke to Gargi Shukla a techno-management professional working in Bangalore in Shell India Market Pvt. Ltd. Gargi had done her B.Tech from BBDNITM affiliated to AKTU. Her specialization was Information Technology. As soon as she graduated she bagged a job in an Indian IT giant Infosys. After working for almost two years she decided to move on. Took the calculated risk left the job prepared for the entrance exams cracked SNAP and got admitted to reputed Symbiosis University. She pursued an MBA in IT(Systems and Security). Gargi says MBA gives your career wings. She wanted better career growth and fast progression. She wanted a more client interaction oriented role hence chose to pursue an MBA.
We also reached out to Pushkal Mishra another techno-management graduate. Pushkal completed B.Tech in mechanical from NIT Surat and then joined Tata Motors. Worked for two years and moved on to pursue MBA from MDI Gurgaon in Marketing and Operations. Unlike Gargi, Pushkal prepared for the MBA entrance exams while he was employed in Tata Motors. Pushkal says the major reason for doing an MBA was career progression. When you start your career with a higher and a better role in an organization definitely you progress fast and get a chance to play a critical role in shaping an organization.
Difference between MBA and B.Tech
While both B.Tech and MBA are professional courses they are not similar. B. Tech is more marks driven however MBA is more experience-driven. Perhaps you need a different set of preparation for each of the two. A B.Tech graduate with a higher CGPA/marks is preferred however an MBA graduate with relevant work experience is preferred more.
Both the courses have a lot of differences however essentially the most common reason for engineering graduates to pursue an MBA is career progression.
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