MBA AFTER BA? | UPDATED 2019
One of the most lucrative degrees to do today is a Masters of Business Administration degree. A MBA degree opens up a very wide variety of career opportunities for the degree holder and enables them to advance their career by leaps and bounds. Some of the best institutes of our country offer a degree in MBA. Most of these institutes accept students who are a graduate in any course of study, be with Commerce or Arts or Science. In this article we will discuss whether it is a plausible option for Bachelor of Arts graduates to pursue an MBA and what challenges lie in their way if they do indeed chose to go for an MBA after graduation. This article will discuss what an MBA is and what the degree comprises of including its various specializations and will then discuss whether such a degree will be suitable for graduates in Arts. WHAT IS AN MBA? The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is an internationally-recognized degree designed to develop the skills required for careers in business and management. An MBA can also be of use to those students who want to pursue a managerial career in the government, public sector, private industry, and other areas. An MBA degree is a highly prestigious postgraduate qualification and it has a very high value among the world’s most important employers. It can boost the candidate’s salary, increase their professional reputation and expand their networking opportunities. Studying for an MBA is often considered as a method to promotion or a career change as the candidate gains an overview of key business practices and develops skills in areas such as management, marketing and accounting. If the student is a graduate with some business experience and ambitions for a high-flying career, then studying for an MBA could be exactly what they need to help them make the next step. The MBA is presently the most popular specialized degree program in the world. Today there are over 2,500 MBA programs offered internationally and most of them are offered in English. Initiated at universities in the United States around the turn of the 20th century, MBA programs have evolved to keep up with the demands of the times. Although regular two-year MBA programs are especially common in India, one-year MBA programs are also becoming very popular these days. Part-time and online programs are also extensively available for professionals who are not willing or are unable to take a year or two off to do a full-time program. Executive MBA or EMBA programs are also part-time programs which are targeted at professionals with more years of managerial experience than traditional MBA candidates. GENERAL SYLLABUS OF AN MBA DEGREE Most MBA programs include a core curriculum of subjects, such as accounting, economics, marketing, and operations, as well as elective courses which allow participants to follow their own personal or professional interests. Many business schools require MBA students to complete an internship at a company or organization as this can lead to great job opportunities for the student after the program. The course often includes a wide variety of subjects including core, foundation and elective or specialism modules. Study topics often include management, marketing, strategy and finance, accounting, economics, corporate finance, strategy, frameworks, human resource management, organizational behavior, leadership, marketing, and information technology. Once the basic foundation has been laid, the student has the option of specializing in any area that he wants to. This can be done by choosing several electives. TYPES OF MBA Courses fall under these main categories: General MBA – this is the paramount option for those who have limited business experience usually around three years. It is the perfect option for those who want to fast-track their career and get into a management role, corporate strategy or the finance industry. Executive MBA – this is usually done by students on a part-time basis and is suitable for the candidate if he is already in a senior corporate management position and has ambitions to come into the boardroom. Specialist MBA – this is the perfect option for those who already have some managerial knowledge and are looking to go into a particular industry or gain promotion in a certain sector. Distance learning MBA – this is also known as an online MBA and is perfect for the candidate who cannot attend university full time and wants to study as well as manage other personal and professional commitments. He can do this with the support from his tutors. Each type of MBA has its own pros and cons. Though there is no single best format, the full-time MBA format is the best and provides students with the most value for their money. The average duration of full-time MBA programs can range between 1 to 2 years. Students can also pursue programs like INSEAD that are shorter than one year. Many part-time programs can even extend up to 3 years as the students work and study at the same time. SHOULD ARTS GRADUATES GO FOR AN MBA? An MBA is not an entry-level business qualification. It is usually taken up by professionals who already have a minimum of three years of business and management experience since graduating from their first degree. The average age of the students pursing MBA courses in many institutes is typically between twenty seven and thirty. This means that the student will be studying alongside fellow business people who can share their insights. Most business schools will require for a few main things, such as a first degree, work experience, and a competitive CAT score. Most accredited MBA programs will candidates to have at least two or three years of post-degree, full-time work experience. However, many applicants have more work experience than the bare minimum. The student’s competitiveness can be judged by comparing their work experience to the average of accepted students who enroll in the concerned MBA programs. The vast majority of accredited business schools require students to appear in competitive exams like CAT, MAT and XAT. This score is examined to see how well the candidate will fits in the MBA programs and particularly in the "core" classes. Some business schools will have a minimum score on these competitive exams as a prerequisite to apply. Beyond work experience and standardized test scores, business schools will also examine the candidate’s undergraduate GPA and other indicators, to see how well they can perform in an academic setting. Some MBA programs look for particular types of undergraduate degrees and some even require four-year degrees, for example. After reviewing the candidate’s application, most business schools will also conduct at least one interview for the candidate to be eligible to be admitted into the MBA program. These interviews generally take place in-person, although some business schools also conduct these using the telephone or videoconferencing. Although not usually required by business schools, anything that the candidate has done outside of work or school, such as volunteer work, club membership, or the like, can also strengthen their application. To get admission in the MBA Course of reputed college, the candidate must score a minimum percentage of 60 marks in his or her bachelor’s degree. Hence, if the candidate has got a good percentage in their Bachelor’s degree, then they have a good chance of securing admission in their preferred MBA course. Some of the most popular MBA specializations that Arts graduates for are Power Management, Petroleum and Energy Management, Agribusiness Management, Environmental Management, Finance and Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Information Technology Management, Logistics Management, Retail Management, Media, Hospital Management, Investment Management, Aviation Management, Hotel Management, Health Care Management, General business management, International business and Operations management. Arts graduates, like all other graduates, will need to clear entrance examinations like the Management Aptitude Test or MAT, Common Admission Test or CAT, Graduate Management Aptitude Test or GMAT and others. These examinations often have sections which include Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Reading Comprehension, Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability. There are many good coaching centers across India which helps students from all streams including Arts, to sit for these exams and be successful in them. Some institutes also conduct their own entrance examinations. These institutes include S P Jain Institute of Management and the Faculty of Management Studies, Aligarh Muslim University. Hence, we can see that an MBA program can easily be pursued by an Arts graduate as long as he fulfills the important criteria of having work experience of at least two to three years, a good GMAT or GRE score and a good Undergraduate degree with a good GPA. He should also be able to ace his interview to get into the best business schools of the country. He can be employed in the positions of Marketing Executive, Marketing Manager, Recruiter, HR Executive, HR Manager, Management Trainee and many others. An MBA will help the candidate learn how to handle responsibilities like Hiring, Training, Team Building and Employee Relations, especially if the candidate has a strong grasp over English and Psychology. If the concerned candidate fulfills these criteria and has a keen interest in business administration, then an MBA is definitely the best career choice for him.