MET: Choosing the best MBA courses

MET: Choosing the best MBA courses

Ask an individual from virtually any educational background, what the best course of action would be for advancement in their careers and the first thing they’re likely to say is, getting an MBA degree. An MBA is a popular course that prepares students in the art and science of management. Now while there are a plethora of institutes and colleges offering a smorgasbord of choices in terms of courses and specializations, the real trick is to choose a specialisation and college to suit your skillsets, your interest and importantly your budget. Here are 5 simple steps which will help you choose the right course for your needs.

Step One: Ask yourself, what your reasons are for doing an MBA.

Most often a student pursuing an MBA has one of three reasons for doing so. They’re either looking for career advancement, or a job/profile/role/occupational change, or they’re looking to break the glass ceiling in terms of pure monetary reward. Once you’ve established your reasons for doing an MBA, you will find it infinitely easier to pick the right course for you. For instance if you’re looking for career advancement, you should probably think of an executive MBA and so on…

Step Two: Choose your stream based on where you’d like to work.

What particular line of work you see yourself doing is an important consideration in choosing the stream you will pursue. If you see yourself in the financial services field, an MBA in Finance is a given, if IT is a passion of yours, an MBA in IT is the way to go. Think you can help corporations understand their people better, an MBA in HR is what you need to look at and so on…

Step Three: Reputation is all.

In the world of MBA education, which college you’ve passed out from, is as important, if not more important than the stream you’ve chosen. The demand for MBAs is only superseded by the demand for MBAs from the ‘right’ college. Therefore when contemplating an MBA degree, always check the reputation and track record of a college, along with the perception it holds in the eyes of the industry you see yourself in. You can do this by asking seniors, friends or colleagues and HR professionals.

Step Four: Follow education news.

Reading educational news from sources like websites, discussion boards and even newspapers is a good way to understand the trends in the educational sector and the demand for a kind of professional and ergo, the demand for professional courses. Newspapers also conduct rankings of colleges and individual courses that can come in handy when trying to pick the right course for you.

Step Five: Speak to alumni

A good way of gauging the reputation of a college and the efficacy of a course is chatting up with the alumni of a college that you’re considering. This will give you a student’s perspective and the lowdown on how the course is run, along with intangibles like the best professors, visiting faculty and campus placements.

We sincerely hope that this list comes in handy when considering the best MBA courses for your needs. Good luck