This article is guest post by my friend Ganesh, who completed MS and MBA and currently working as Database Developer. If you have more question reading this article, leave a comment and he will respond to you in next article.
MBA in US has become a buzz word recently. Lot of people want to do it, for many reasons. The most prevalent reason is the catchy salary it offers as soon as you graduate and the career growth after that. Everyone wants to graduate with MBA from Wharton or Thunderbird or Kellogg school of business, get job in top consulting firm such as McKinsey with a signon bonus of $20000 and annual salary of $250000 to start with. Lets face it, this will come only to one in million. So, every individual have to analyze their own situation and decide whether to do MBA or not.
MBA or MS?
For the sake of example, let us assume, you have completed BE. You decided to do a Masters degree in US. But, you are confused whether to do MBA or MS. How do you decide ? There are many paths you can take for your career ahead. There are 2 most prominent ones. Technical career path — where you go like software engineer, senior software engineer, designer/architect and so on…. where you don’t manage people. These are ideal careers for people who don’t like managing other people. Come to office, attend meetings do you own job at your own timing (believe me — I have friends who come at midnight and work till 7 am and come to office during daytime only for meetings) and keep going.
Another path is — Management line after being in technical/engineering — Engineer, Sr.Engineer and Manager — where you will start managing your team — do appraisals, give pay raise, if required — like in this economy — fire people. If the second path looks more attractive to you — you should chose a MBA, if the first path brings more of you — you can chose MS. Of course, after coming to US, you have a choice of doing MBA after MS or MS after MBA — as there is no age limit.
FAQ’s – MBA in US Universities
Now, if you have decided to do MBA, there are many questions that need to be answer. I will try to tell about a few. Please do remember, there are are very general statements. Every university is different in their own way.
How many courses to finish MBA?
Typical time it takes to complete MBA is 16 — 3 credit hour courses.
What is a credit hour ?
Typically, one credit hour means 1 hour of class per week. So, a normal 3 credit hour course will be 3 hours a week, which can be 3 days one hour each or 2 days 1.5 hours or one day 3 hours.
How long will it take to complete 16 — 3 credit hour courses?
Most of the international students take, 3 courses in Fall semester, 3 courses in Spring semester and 2 courses in summer. In this way, one can finish in 2 years. This is little longer than the usual MS programs.
How about funding for MBA programs ?
It is tougher to getting funding for MBA programs compared to MS programs. MBA programs do give out full scholarships for best applicants. At the same time, cost of MBA program is also higher than the MS programs. It has higher per credit hour fees and you need to complete more credit hours than MS.
When should you do MBA ?
Most of the top schools ask for experience before joining MBA, typically it is a 3 year experience to get eligible to do MBA.
Read about New Harvard’s 2+2 MBA Program.
Image Credit – Mooby
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
hey,
i am a first yr BE student IN electronics& communication branch. i want to do MBA after graduation. so for that i need to appear in GMAT.
so my ques is when should i start preparing for GMAT?
AND IF 3 YRS OF WORL EXP IS necessary, should i prepare for GMAT after findind a job?
Hi Ganesh,
I have 2 years of work ex with an IT firm as a software engineer. have done my b.tech in computer science, should i opt for Msc in management or should i apply for an MBA. My concern is that normally B schools ask for relevant work ex.
hi Ganesh,
i have 2 years of work exp with an IT firm as a software engineer, have done my b.tech in computer science, should i opt for Msc in management or should i apply for MBA. I am not sure if my work ex will be considered coz B schools normally ask for relevant work ex.
I m in 3rd year of engg. as u have told that for MBA we need work experience. But then if i opt for MS will it give me assurance for a good job. and will i be able to do after MS and then 2-3 yrs of job??? Also i wanted to ask you that after doing MS whether i have to search for job or companies will come for campus interviews in our college/university???
Plz help me out i am in a big trouble……
Hi,
I completed BBA (business administration) through distance education from an indian university. i would like to do MBA inUS. What all i need to apply for? How can i apply straightly to university. Which are the universities , which has less fees??
I heard that state universities /community colleges has less fees? please clear me..
@vineetha: Even with MBA you can stick to your line of track, like become manager in chemical engineering. The problem with Engineering management or similar line is, most of the companies don’t recognize that to be equivalent to MBA.
hello bro,
the above information was indeed very useful to me as i too had the same confusion and now you have cleared my problem.
but there is still a question unanswered!!
is MS in techno-management subjects like Engineering management,operations research etc good when compared to MBA (for me and for others like me)as i would like to stick on to my field (chemical engineering) but in the managerial level.
doesn’t MBA deviate us from our technical track cos we dont ‘touch’ technical line for those 2 years??
Hi,
I am waiting for final result for MBA,,after completion of MBA what course to do? i eager to study.PLs advice
Hi
I am in my 3rd year B. Tech in Production and Industrial Engineering. I plan to do MS followed by MBA in reputed US universities.
I am a bit confused about which MS degree to choose : Industrial / Manufacturing / Mechanical. Is it better if the MS program is related to MBA ( like here Industrial Engineering ) or is it upon my own interest that I should choose the MS program.
Please advise.
Saurabh
Hey,
I have completed my B.E electronics from Mumbai university with 67%.I intend to do an MBA next year and then work for 2 years after the degree.Can I go for an M.S in finance in U.S after that as a higher qualification?What are the job oppurtunities? Or should I go for an MBA in finance in U.S?What will be the career prospects?Also what will be the overall costs for an M.S in U.S vis- a- vis an MBA in US?Are there any chances of funding for both?
hi
i m b-tech 4′th yr student of IT & i want to do MBA in us & want to know that work experience is
compulsory or not. please help i m quite confuse.
@PG: you can start your preparation now for MBA in US
@Stefani: If you are planning for masters in US, you can take finance or any branch, its not a problem. You will have to take more courses as pre-requisites to complete it, thats about it. You can even try medicine here
— no restrictions as long as you meet the requirements for admission.
yea i know…but the thing is…i wanna ultimately do my MBA in a few years..but if i do a masters now …will the part tym work i do during my course….watevr it maybe, count as work exp dat i need to get into a guddd MBA school?…at least an avg one?….
hey im doing my 4th yr in biotech…will complete next year…wanted to do an MBA in the U.S or canada but weighed out all the pros and cons and it luks like to get into gud business schools ill need to work for 3 yrs at least…during this time ill do my masters and work side by side…but if i am not intersted in biotech anymore…is it wiser to master in sumthing finance related or is it a risk shifting completly from BE to commerce all of sudden?…..and wat kinda of work exp should be suitable?plz advice
I have completed B.E. (Mechanical). And having 14 months MNC experience. Whether MBA in India or abroad is good option? Or, working 1-2 years more and then going for MBA or Executive MBA program is more better? Executive MBA is better than MBA?
Please tell me.
hi…
i finished B.E (CSE) and worked for 2 years in a software company…I would like to do master degree in us.the problem with me is …. i studied in my mother tonque. my communication is not very good like others.So i’m little bit worried about taking GRE exam and also i need ur suggestion to improve my communication skill.Can u also suggest me which course is suitable for me? waiting for ur reply
Hie..
I have done my BE in Computer stream in July 2009, I am a fresher ryt now.
I am planning to go for MBA – HR in Canada.
I am having Engineering Aggregate is 55% , and for only final year it’s 61%.
So please help me out, what should i do? in which colleges i should apply? For which exams should i go to prepare?
Is it possible to study MBA there with out having work experience?
So can you please give me suggestions regarding this.
link for guidance about immigration process for students after completing masters/mba & job-seeking job in countries like USA, UK, France, China and Other European Countries
link for guidance about immigation process for students after completing masters/mba & job-seeking job in countries like USA, UK, France, China and Other European Countries
USA seems to be best
Hi. I am doing BE in food technology from Panjab University ,Chandigarh. and i am planning to go for MS in Public health from UCLA. And i needed to ask you can you guide me through this?
and what are the job oppurtunities after this… I l b very glad if u can help.
thank you.
hi.i have just completed engineering in electrical.i decided to do MS,But still in mind MS or mba ???…then two more question arises..
1.MS in which field?..which field is in demand..?
2.MS in which university……
please solve my problem…..
my engineering aggregate is 67%
Hi,
I would like to know something about Missouri State University. I am a resident of Chennai. And there is an ISMS programme in Madras School of Social Works, which is sponsored by Missouri State University, which gives a one year diploma and a direct entry to the 2nd year MBA programme of the Missouri State University (of course if their required GMAT and TOEFL criteria are met) I would like to know about the university and the prospects of placements after graduation. If u have any info, kindly help.
Thanks
@Nilesh: If you are interested in MS, it is better to first come to US, do MS and work for a while, say 3 years, then you can decide, whether MBA is necessary at that point in time.
hey thanks for the reply…
it was a vague idea i had considering the heafty salaries people doing mba get…
im cocentrating on my gre for now…hope i do some good over there..
im planning to do my MS next year in the us…im doing my BE from mumbai university…im an average student…now i was planning to pursue mba after doing my MS…if its feaseble as you ve mentioned …
how much experience do i need…?
and will i get a good enough salary after i do my mba…say from a good buisness school because ive done my masters..?
and will it be worth the salary ill get compared to a masters degree…?
and is there a chance for me to get in a good buisness school cosidering my average acads for now..?f yes ..what should i do
i nowthese are too many questions for me to ask too early…but ill be really grateful if ull clear these doughts for me..
@Jubin: If you are a fresher just out of college, I suggest you do MS. If you have 3 or more years experience after college, then you can do MBA.
@NoName: MBA will certaintly help you. You can do part time MBA. Typically, there will 16 (3 credit hour) courses you need to take. On an average you can take 5 courses per year. So, it will take about 3.5 years.
@Praveen: i think MS in finance will be sufficient if you still want to be in finance line.
@S: Try MBA leadership programs in big companies like P&G, GE… also try freshers job search sites like collegerecruiter.com. All the best !!!
@Afshan: I do know that few universities substitute,work experience for education in MBA. You can email to few universities and see.
I have finished my btech. Now planning for an mba in usa. But now im realy confused about the course which i need to take. Could u all sugest which course will be the best.
I have completed my MS and working as software engineer in a Big company. I want to get into management field and I think MBA degree will help speed up the process.
Do you know how can I do MBA while continuing working as full time software engineer? And how much time it takes for MBA this way?
Hi,
How about M.S in economics/finance etc vs M.B.A.After finishing M.s will i get the same salary as mba or should i do mba too after ms
Hi,
I have done my Diploma and Engineering in Mechanical, I will be completing my MBA by March 2009 in US, I’m looking for a Management job, but I couldnt find one yet, could you all please leave me your suggestions to find a good job in this bad economy.
Thanks
@Ganesh : I do hav 3 yrs of wrk exp …..da only prob is i hav 15 yrs of education…..
@Afshan — There are few universities that does give admission, but typically all the top universities ask for 16 years of eduaction + 3 years experience in industry for MBA admission
@Sam — No specific reason — I got job even before completing my MBA, so I joined it. Now its little complicated to switch with immigration process.
@Hussain — I am not sure about all the countries. The reason why people choose US is, it is relatively easy to get a job after the studies. Also the immigration process is also relatively smoother from student (F1) visa to job (h1b) visa to permanent residency (Green card) to Citizenship.
Hi
I was facing this dilemma whether to go for MBA or MS.But finally I’ve settled for MS. well, i would like to know is it really recommended to do MS in countries like US,UK or Australia as most students generally prefer to go..How about going for MS in Singapore, Canada, France or Sweden et al..Does it has the same value and opportunities as it has in USA or Uk?
Hey,
I have one question? …why are you working as DB developer?…when you actually finished MBA program….Is there any special reason?
Will students having 15 years of education get admission in MBA????
@Afshan :Almost all universities require 16 yrs of education but there are some universities in US that can grant you an admission to MBA program after 15 yrs of education.