Hi Atul,

I m interested in pursuing an MBA program and would like to know which of the following is most suitable - US B-Schools, IIMs, ISB, INSEAD - Asia Campus.

Here is my background info. I am an Engineering graduate from BITS Pilani with an average CGPA. I have 4.5 years IT experience with 2.5 years overseas exp. 1 year in US and remaining in Singapore, entirely in Banking domain.

My interest in pursuing the MBA program is mainly to facilitate a jump from a purely technical job to a Business Analyst or Techno Functional role. From a vertical's perspective, my domain is Investment banking. I m working for one right now through my consulting company and find it very challenging n exciting.

In this case, can u suggest which MBA program would be a good fit? I would like to leverage on my existing experience and domain knowledge. Cost is not a major constraint, however I m more worried abt the return on investment especially the time involved.

Secondly I would prefer to work in US or Singapore owing to some personal reasons. What are the chances of a global placement through an Indian B-School?

How is the placement in INSEAD? And what do you think of ISB?

I am also concerned about the duration of the one year programs. Is one year enough to learn the fundamentals, get a feel of all the fields and go deep into your electives?

Appreciate your time and help.

Cheers,
Z.

Hi,

Here are some thoughts on your questions.

1-year programs...
In management parlance, this is called time-diseconomies of scale. Clearly it is difficult to crash everything that you would do on a two year program into a 9-month or even 1-year program. However, that said, it is upto you to structure the program around your needs by selecting your elective subjects well. The bouquet of electives offered generally depends on the age of the school, its faculty specialisations as well as the strenght of the student pool i.e. intake size. There are other elements to a one-year program like the absence of an internship time-slot (generally) which make career switching a slightly more difficult proposition.

Choice of Schools...
Given your experience, I would not recommend the IIMs. Between the US and outside of Europe, the basic choice depends on where you want to work. From a consulting perspective, you may be better off trying to look for schools which are favoured by consulting firms-Kellogg, INSEAD, HBS are favourites with consulting firms. I am not aware of any school that is hot with technology except for perhaps Vanderbilt which had a strong focus on e-business. With a combination of Finance and Technology, you may be better off choosing a finance oriented school like Wharton or Chicago GSB. If cost is not a constraint, I would advice you to consider a European or US MBA simply because of the diversity that the schools offer in terms of the student body as well as the faculty. I cant stress this more than to say that western MBA programs are more about learning through sharing of experiences. So richer the student community, the better off you are.

INSEAD has had an extremely good placement record thanks to its age although the Singapore campus will take time. ISB has shown very good results in the recent past and is bound to pick up even further as the economy improves. Global placements are taking place out of Indian B Schools but the quality of work may not be as good.

Hope this answers your query. Wish you the very best in your academic endeavours.

Atul Monga

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