In highly-competitive job markets like India, where there is no dearth of talent for companies to choose from, you need to upgrade to have the edge over others. And for professionals and students from across the industries, the common option to boost their career is an MBA.
While doing an MBA opens up many gates for aspiring professionals, the dilemma of whether to pursue it in India or aboard is a persistent one for many years now. Well, the answer to that would be it depends on your plans, requirements, and resources. A close study of the parameters you should consider to make this decision may help ease the process for you.
Here are the critical parameters of pursuing an MBA you should consider before you can decide to study in India or abroad:
Your Career Plans:
Getting an MBA will not just be merely getting a degree. It will drive your immediate career path. Hence, the first thing you need to start while making this decision is, what do you want for your career. If you are looking to work in Indian companies and live in India even after your MBA, then you can explore the top MBA colleges in India, such as the various IIMs, ISB, XLRI, etc. These colleges provide world-class placements services.
Though even by studying in these Indian MBA colleges, you may have a chance to secure a job abroad. However, if you are serious about working abroad and across countries, your chances are doing so are much higher if you opt for doing an MBA abroad. However, before you make a choice, make sure you screen the visa and work permit rules of that particular country. Also, you can research about the job opportunities, average salary, the economic conditions, and standard of living in that country. Even if a country offers an excellent study experience, it would not be worth considering if it has stringent work permit regulations, which might make getting a job difficult.
Entry Requirements:
Most Indian B-schools accept graduates without work experience. Though work experience is given some weight in the admission process, your score in the entrance tests carries the most weightage, which provides freshers with a fair opportunity to get into these top business schools. While CAT is the most accepted admission test in India, other admission tests like XAT, CMAT, and MAT are also popular among business schools.
On the contrary, an admission to international business is not a straight road. Though GMAT/GRE/IELTS do matter, schools aboard have a more extensive selection process, which includes multiple essays, recommendation letters, interviews, etc. Additionally, most business schools abroad accept candidates with minimum years of professional experience.
Evaluate your strengths and your profile to see where you fit in the best.
Work Experience
Again, even the topmost business schools in India, such as IIM-A, IIM-B, and IIM-C, accept applicants with no professional experience. A high CAT score generally does the trick accompanied by decent performance in group discussions and interviews.
However, business schools abroad approach it a bit differently. Excellent work experience has a significant impact on your chances of getting an admission. If you manage to showcase your work experience through your essays and letters of recommendation of your bosses or peers, in a way that resonates with the admission officers, consider your admission done.
Most US business schools accept candidates with average work experience or 3 to 4 years. In contrast, the UK and European business schools have MBA classes with an average work experience of 5 to 6 years.
The Study Experience
You don’t just study in the classroom lectures in an MBA. There are other sources in the course like networking, peer group, and internships that give you enriching study experience. The abroad business schools prioritize creating diversity in the classroom. They encourage profiles from offbeat professionals with diverse backgrounds.
A diverse classroom will help you understand multiple perspectives of a similar problem. Abroad universities have students coming from all over the world, which adds to the culture of the class. Though Indian business schools have brilliant and talented students, most of them would be young freshers with no professional experience and similar educational backgrounds. The make of your class contributes a lot to your experience and development.
The Cost and ROI
One of the critical factors in deciding whether to do an MBA in India or abroad is the total cost of the MBA program.
The tuition fees for two years at premium business schools in India, such as IIMs would cost you a few lakhs to a maximum of 21 lakhs in case of the top-ranked college like IIM Ahemdabad. If you add other expenses like accommodation, meals, course material, books, and additional costs, the total costs will come around to a maximum of 30 lakhs.
However, the ROI is impressive here as an average salary for an IIM student after the course would be 21 to 28 Lakhs.
On the other hand, an MBA abroad ( especially the reputed ones) come with an expensive price tag. Most two year MBA programs in the US will cost in a range of $ 90,000 to $ 1,40,000. In the case of a year program, the tuition fee would cost from $55,000 to $ 80,000. You still need to have funds for medical insurance, transportation, living expenses, etc.
When it comes to ROI, on average, an outgoing student will get an annual salary in the range of $85,000 to $ 1,20,000. However, the point you have noted here the salary you get in your placement is not proportional to the ranking of the business school. For example, even though Harvard Business school has the top ranking, other business schools rank higher on the salary parameter.
The decision to do an MBA in India or abroad will shape your future for many years to come. Hence, analyze your requirements against the various aspects of both the options to get to a logical conclusion.