Ankur Sethi - VIBES OF LIFE

Hi Ankur,

I have read whatever u have written and I have tried to understand the things from ur point of view and I am giving u a feedback this is not an advice...It is just an opinion and to follow or not to follow or read it and forget it is all up to u...Yes any clarifications you require u r free to contact me anytime...

TO begin with ankur I wud say... That the first thing u missed out in the blog is Why MBA??? gen these are some of these reasons-
1- Want more money???
2- Drastically want to change job profile???
3- Your promotions are held up because u are not an MBA (Though u r too young to face this problem)
4- Why not?? Everyone is doing it!!!
5-You want more knowledge.
6- May be something else or may be a combination of above.

But first of all you have to define your cause. Why MBA???? not because they will ask you in an interview but because you should make an informed decision and u should be very true to yourself.
First thing I would like to tell you is if u want a degree for namesake that u want to do it would be fair enough that u get it from anywhere it hardly matters.... No one is really bothered...SO anything and everything is fine....But the question arises that why are you so desperate to do an MBA why not wait a couple of years, u r 22 and have a work exp of 4 and a half years..That is really cool...You are all set so why not get at some mangerial position without the MBA...
See u said u understand that residential programs are better but have financial constraints... So in my opinion the following options are worth pondering in to...
1- Wait for some time attain financial stability with your current job and then try out for a full time program
2- Gain some managerial exp and attempt for a full time scholarship in UK or US (they are 1 yr progs and yield good results)
3- Your company I am sure does have an option for ppl to do a company sponsored MBA
4- You can sit for executives MBA or Managememnt Development programs which are focussed on particular skill and attain certifications
5- Try for government colleges like FMS, UBS they are damn cheap and very easily affordable...
Well in my opinion these options are superior than going ahead and doing a corrospondence or distance learning MBA right now because they instigate learning and some other benefits as compared to Distance learning MBAs which actually give u a push but wont carry for too long... These are all my personal opinions you can revert back to me for clarifications anytime... Best of luck for your career...Prats

Hii Ankur
(hey, i am very sorry for the error i committed in ur scrapbk)


See, 1st of all, you shud be clear that WHY DO U WANT TO DO AN MBA and HOW WILL A Part-time/ Distance Learning MBA help you.

As someone has already postred in the comments, one does an MBA to earn money OR to help oneself change jobs OR to easily move up the corp ladder OR to add value to their CV
and the part time mba would help u only in adding value to ur CV (my opinion).

and as u have rightly mentioned that peer to peer learning is the best part of an mba education, this makes the residential programme all the more important..

and hey, as far as financial constraints are concerned, if u manage to get admission into any reputed insti, u'll get a study loan without any collateral/ security.. so I dont think that this reason shud bother you.

do reply back in case of any clarifications..


anup

hi..i read abt your doubts on mba..and i can only offer my views..so here goes
its true that the learning you'll get out of a full-time prog cannot be replicated by a part time one and least of all correpondance. mba is a different kind of course, the course material and all the acdemic stuff can be picked up from anywhere..but the difference between the real mbas and the also-rans is the learning u get from your peers..the kind of insights u get when looking at issues with your peers is unlike any other. this group learning process and the opportunity to work with different kinds of people will not be available anywhere else.
so then why do people go for part time and correspodance courses? its meant for those people who cannot afford to take time to do a full time course.these courses will give you a degree and also provide you with all the "material" needed to make you an mba. people who do these courses are either working or pursuing some other activity which they cannot discontinue for two years (or 1 year if its abroad).
hope this answer's your doubts atleast partially. feel free to contact me if you have any specific queries.

As u said if you are committed and hardworking you really need not go for a residential program and choose to do a part time or distance learning prgm rather.But, im afraid that it wouldn't add any value to your present profile as it is neither challenging nor tough to complete those courses.So,it's better you do a full time course if you really want any value addition to happen to your present profile.

hi ,

u can try for symbiosis center distance learning . right now the admissions are going on . last date to apply is july15 of this year . all the very best for your future .

with regards ,
Jayaprakash B S

Hi Ankur,

good to know you re doing your homework before starting a course. Since you have worked for quite some time now, First you have to decide whether you want to do an MBA to grow in the same company that you are working or you want to complete change the field.
If you want to continue working in the same company, you might opt for Executive MBA courses which are of shorter duration and mostly have classses in the evening. But these courses dont have placement processes and are mainly for people who want to continue working where they are.

In the sencond, which i would also suggest taking your credentilas into cinsideration is you do a fulltime course from one of the TOP 15 ( try to restrict it to that at most top 25) inst of the country. And before i go further, residential/ non residential is not a criteris to judge a college. JB, SIBM etc are some non residential coll but still commmand a high ranking. so i would suggest you go by the reputation of the inst.
For you conv. i can give you an indicative grading of inst based on my perception.

Category A - IIM A, B, C & L, XLRI, FMS JB ISB
Catgory B - IIM I & K, SP Jain, MDI, SIBM, SCMHRD
Category C- IMT, SIIB

i might have missed a couple of name but broadly this should be your target

All the best !! write a scrap on orkut if u need any further clarifications

hello ankur.. wel i went through our blogspot.. me too sailing in the same boat. But u seem to be much better with that 3+ yrs of experience.I Suggesst u to wait a year or so. Why not u can apply for the full time MBA s???? Definitely your Work exp. will land u in some good B- School if u have gott that talent and fire in u.. Everyone has got their own Finanicial constraints.. take up my Case.. i had the same even for my undergraguate studies.. But still determined to do MBA from ISB (my dream School). So jus wanna tel u that have patience coz life has definitely stored some goodies for u. Let that moment come till then u keep workin towards ur Goal. Who knows that One Day Ankur and Varun land up in same B- School in their purusit of excellenceeee...
it was nice knowin u ankur....

bye
take care
Regards, Varun

hey Ankur,
Like the majority of them have said that going for the part time course is just not going to do u any good, i also strongly believe that.
C like u said u have an experience in marketing and i dnt knw u Bcom major but whatever it is would only add. Try realising and visualising what do u want to do and what line suites u best and y an MBA. If IB ie international business is what u are trying for let me tell u it is a very vast area and also very interesting.

IB will always help u out in any field u want to enter. As for ur constraints man coming and getting into any institute of repute is not a problem. have u tried giving ur CAT or ur CET. What the places u are targeting, do u want to be in delhi or come to pune, mumbai etc. The scenario out here in pune and mumbai is so supportive in terms of educational loans that i dnt think u should have a problem. Also major institutes go into relaxations of fees in terms of payments or otherwise.

As of now concebtrate on the entrance exam try clearing them with good percentile and the later would definately be taken care of. So my advice is TRY FOR A FULLTIME DEGREE. If distance learning is what u want Symbi would be one option but i dnt knw how far is it going to go.

Best of Luck and please decide what u have to do and things will work out well,
mail me if anything and take care
Shraddha.

Hi ankur

I wud say if u wana
a. switch career
b. gert a senior position
c. job with more content
d. job with more money

Go for a Full Time MBA. Your profile is good upto now but u need to switch gears now. Go for greater roles in Sales Mktg or BPO. A part time MBA will not help u too seriously. If finance is aconstraint go for a loan its worth. If u dont want to leave ur job rt now then plan an intyernational MBa 2-3yrs down...

All the best

Udit

Have read through your blog and comments of everyone else..

You must have figured out by now that by going for a distance learning program you may mess up with oyur wonderful career so far (22 with 3.5yr work ex is awesome by any standard)..
As again everyone else has suggested, its easy to go in for an education loan ( i myself has taken one and would be repayin now onwards)..

Will not be able to speak much due to time constaint and more over everyone else has already covered up the issue..

Feel free to contact me if there is anything specific u feel to ask...

Best of Luck

Ashish Midha

Saw your scrap and also read your blog . Nice to know that u r doing a lot of research before taking up your MBA. In fact your blog gave me a good idea about the various issues to be considered before taking up an MBA. Thanks a lot. I'm just a fresher, and have very little knowledge and no experience to talk about this. But still my instincts tell me that a FULL TIME MBA is much better than a distance learning mode. And preferably doing an MBA from one of the top 25 institutes should be your goal . Many of them have already given their valuable suggestions and I hope by now you would have got a clear idea of what u should be doing. As rightly said by one of them you should first know why you want to do an MBA and then take a decision according to that.