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Choosing between MBA and M. Tech after B. Tech

 

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So you are Bachelor of technology graduate finally. That’s great! Or you might be pursuing B. Tech and planning for the future. That’s even better! So what would you like to do Take up job or want to study further? Or do you want to study while being on the job? Studying further might seem intimidating as of now, but the fruits are worth the effort. This will not only add to your qualification but will also help to advance your career in the long run.

However, choosing between MBA and M. Tech can be quite confusing for many. For this, you would have to thoroughly understand what opportunities each would bring your way and which career path would they shape for you. In this article let us try and figure out that.
 

M. Tech vs MBA

First and foremost, you have to understand that there is no point comparing M. Tech and MBA courses. Both are specialised degrees and have value in their respective grounds. Both M. Tech and MBA provide excellent career options and have gained importance over the time. M. Tech or MBA is always an additional advantage to an engineer whether it is in terms of experience, knowledge or seniority.

Whether it be an IT, manufacturing, or R&D driven establishment, there would be requirements for both M. Techs and MBAs. The M. Techs would be more of a subject matter specialist, whereas the MBAs would handle product sales and marketing, project management, IT process, human resources, consulting and customer service management etc.

Doing M. Tech in a particular field would make you invaluable for a company that has business profile of that field. Being an MBA on other hand will give you a totally different business perspective and is much broader in scope.
 

Measure your Interest and then make a choice

Preferably, you should make the choice on the basis of your career goals, capabilities and interests. In case you want to continue your career in technical field, then M. Tech is the right choice for you. After this you can even switch to research or teaching. But if you want to work in the corporate sector, then MBA is the way to go. It is a management course and hence would enhance your managerial, leadership presentation and communication skills etc.

After MBA you get the entry to the field of business and administration where you can go in for options like marketing, sales, human resources and operation management.

Specifically, M. Tech is suitable for a product- based industry where technical skills are required. Whereas MBA is more suitable for a service and customer- oriented industries. Engineering graduates having a management degree are perfect for front-end sales, customer facing jobs and field applications. But, if an organisation is innovation hungry, then pure engineering with a master’s specialisation is a lethal combination!


Prospects for MBA and M. Tech Professionals

The first choice of stream in MBA for a B. Tech candidate should be Operations, as technical know-how and operational work go well hand in hand. Secondly, they can opt for MBA in Finance or IB, and then followed by MBA in Sales and Marketing. There is no point choosing an MBA in HR after a B. Tech.

It's also recommended to get a work experience of three to five years before opting for MBA and going for PGDM courses as cream institutes like ISB or IMI choose to train people who already have an industry experience. This helps an individual decide the exact domain in which he wants to make a long term career.

These days the industry follows a trend. Most of the product companies look for Product Managers with a B. Tech degree and in mostly cases an MBA degree as well. However, B. Tech and M. Tech candidates are the first choice for getting into technical architecture and engineering teams.

It is alarming that lately B. Tech graduates are choosing to go for MBA as it boosts the monetary gains and the avenues for career enhancement. Today India seems to have been witnessing a shrink in the supply of qualified and seasoned M. Tech professionals as there are various diversified fields to choose from after B. Tech. M. Tech provides an opportunity to specialise in a particular area of interest, such as embedded technology or robotics and thus enhances a techie into a technologist. From here, one can get into hard-core research assignments or handle the tech operations for a top IT company. Hence M. Techs can seek career opportunities in corporate sector with core engineering companies such like L&T, or they may wish to go for research & development too.

M. Tech can lead to exceptionally high paying and well settled careers but at a lower frequency, which is the main reason B. Techs go for MBA.


Starting off

To enrol for M. Tech in a reputed institute like the IIT, you need to crack the GATE entrance exam. In case you plan to pursue MBA, then there are entrance exams like CAT and MAT which you need to clear.

Though it is easier to continue M. Tech in the stream as you did your BE or B. Tech, but apart from that you can go for many other options like— electronics and controls engineering, embedded systems technology, VLSI design communication systems, digital communication and networking, power electronics and drives, information technology, remote sensing and GIS, computer science engineering, biomedical and instrumentation engineering etc.

While on the work, you learn to put your theoretical knowledge into use, still to improve upon your knowledge of design or research aspects, you need to go for the masters. It will always be difficult to crack the entrance exam GATE while you are on job. Hence it is recommended to qualify the GATE exam in the final year of study and get a job thereafter. The GATE score is valid for two years.

MBA on the other hand, as we talked earlier, is preferable after you have gained some work experience.


Part-time: Good Choice for working professionals

In case you are a working professional who cannot take time off work to attend a full-time course, a part- time programme will give you the opportunity to pursue the advanced degree. Scholastically, part- time programmes are identical to full-time courses. With the part-time course, you can work full- time, while attending classes on holidays, weekends or after the job hours. So you can improve existing skills or develop new ones without affecting your current job.

To pursue a part-time programme in M. Tech, the minimum eligibility is B. Tech or M. Sc., or equivalent in relevant field with a CGPA of 6.75 on a 10-point scale, or 60 per cent marks in aggregate for general category, plus some work experience. Also, you must submit no objection certificate from your employer at the time of interview. Here selection is generally made on the basis of a written test and interview.

Likewise, many colleges and universities offer part- time MBA courses. The advantage of a part- time MBA programme is that you can bring and discuss real- world situations and problems into the classroom, from where solutions can be explored that could be implemented in real life cases. In fact, such discussions and presentations make the classes more interesting.

Tuition assistance and student loans may be available. Plus, there are many employers who sponsor their candidates for higher education.

A part- time programme will also save you from the hassles of a long commute to classes on a daily basis, because you would be attending classes only once or twice a week. But at the same time you must be ready to sacrifice your weekends for classes lasting morning till evening.


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