CAREER OPTIONS AFTER MBA
One of the most popular options that many students from a variety of streams prefer to take up is Masters of Business Administration or as it is popularly known; MBA. An MBA degree provides its degree holder with a wide plethora of opportunities, in numerous fields. A professional two year degree course, MBA degrees are handed out by some of the most prestigious institutes of our country. Before getting into the jobs available to one after successfully completing an MBA, let us first discuss about the various types of specializations one can do with his MBA degree. It is these specializations that mainly affect the job options offered after graduation.
What are the different MBA specializations?
Choosing a specialization is very important as this will help students get better jobs based on the specific skills that they have honed. Some of the top MBA specializations are:
- MBA in Finance: One of the most popular courses, it is chosen by those students who are interested in the finance management.
- MBA in Marketing: Dynamic and competitive, this specialization helps students develop excellent communication skills as well as understand consumer behavior.
- MBA in Human Resource Management: With this specialization, students learn about mergers and acquisitions, and workforce diversity management among other important things about the emerging economy.
- MBA in International Business: The degree imparts a special focus on multinational corporations and specialized functions like international marketing and finance.
- MBA in Operation Management: A major preference of candidates from an engineering background, this specialization deals with production management and shop floor management related functions.
Along with these top five specializations, there are also others like MBA in Information Technology which is slowly gaining popularity, MBA in Supply Chain Management, MBA in Rural Management, MBA in Agri Business Management and MBA in Health Care Management. The specialization that is chosen by the student is instrumental in deciding the career options available to him after graduation. This has been further discussed in detail below.
Career Options available after MBA
The career options available to the MBA degree holders completely depend upon the specialization done by him. The specialization will decide which industry he belongs to and will ultimately end up shaping his career. This article will discuss the career options available to those MBA graduates who have chosen some of the more popular specializations.
1. MBA in Finance:
One of the most difficult courses is an MBA in Finance. The abundance of opportunities and the various subjects taught to the students like corporate valuation, Investment management, Management control system, Taxation, Financial statement, Tax planning, Analysis and reporting of financial services, is an important reason for the magnetism of this course.
A graduate of an MBA in Finance can get job opportunities in various fields like merchant banking, investment and consumer banking, international finance, corporate finance and institutional finance. He can also serve on government committees and add inputs to the policy-making issues as well as providing consultation services to government and corporate organizations. Some of the jobs available to those who have done an MBA in Finance are Accounting Manager, Chief Financial Officers, Cash Managers, Manager Consultants, Investment Banking Associates, Credit Managers & Specialists, Financial Analyst, Corporate Controllers, Finance Officers and Treasurers, Insurance & Risk Managers, Investment Bankers, Investing Sales Traders and Associates.
MBA graduates in Finance can expect a heavy pay package depending upon the Business school they have graduated from. Some of the top packages from the top B-schools are at an average of 10 - 15 lakhs per annum.
2. MBA in Marketing:
MBAs from the Marketing stream are very more sought after as better marketing is the universal remedy that companies have prescribed for themselves to ward off the ills of recession. MBAs in Marketing can choose from a wide variety of careers in various industries like retail, banking, hospitality, media, information technology (IT) and information technology enabled services (ITES), and free-moving consumer goods (FMCG). They can often find jobs in the positions of brand manager, sales manager, marketing manager, product manager, market research analyst, media planner, and Internet marketing manager.
Their responsibilities in these positions will include several different things. As a marketing manager, they will make marketing strategy that focuses not only on retaining customers but also in bringing in new ones. If they choose the job of a market research analyst, then it will be their job to devise methods of data collection, analyze data, convey the data to the business development team, and help in evolving marketing strategies.
The annual salary of MBAs in Marketing may range from Rs. 1.51 lakh to Rs. 20.43 lakh in popular companies include HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Vodafone, and Amazon. Their career progress and salary depend on their capacity to innovate. They may even rise through the ranks to become product development manager and even vice president of marketing or CEO.
3. MBA in Operations:
A field of specialization that is becoming increasingly popular, it gives its graduates an edge over the others especially is they learn Six Sigma and Lean methodologies. MBA in Operations is a valued specialization across all industries, including telecom, IT, and e-commerce. Career options include supply chain manager, logistics manager, inventory control manager, project managers, and operations manager. With experience, the MBA graduate can even secure consultant contracts.
The average salary of an Operations Manager in India ranges from Rs. 3-15 lakh per annum in top companies like Amazon, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Airtel, TVS Motor Company, and Deloitte.
4. MBA in Technology:
Graduates with an MBA in Technology can find jobs in many technology-based companies all of whom require the services of technology managers. They can also be employed in the positions of project manager, business development executive/manager, product manager, marketing manager, analytics manager, system manager, data processing manager, business analyst, IT manager or consultant, technical program manager, senior product manager, and technical product manager. As technology managers, it will be their responsibility to keep up with fast-changing technology developments and innovations and understand products and services that will thrive in the market.
Salaries in this field, in India, start from Rs. 2 lakh for a fresher and go on to Rs. 12 lakh per annum in a few years, in companies like Caterpillar, L&T, TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, Capgemini, SAP, HP, and Cognizant.
5. MBA in Human Resource Management:
Human Resource Management is often considered as the backbone of any organization, which enables it to run successfully by recruiting a skilled and knowledgeable workforce. As such, there is a high demand for MBAs in Human Resource Management (HRM). Every company needs to hire an HR administrator to take care of various things like settling and handling the activities regarding the hiring of employees, their benefits, compensation, salary settlement, training & development, maintaining the work performance of the employees, and ensuring that all activities are done as per the company policy. As such, they can be employed in the positions of HR Generalist, Staffing Director, Technical Recruiter, Compensation Manager, Employee Relations Manager, Employment or Placement Manager, Director of HR Training and Development, Organizational development and Change Consultant.
The salary of an MBA gradate in HRM in India will range from 2 lakh to 5 lakh per annum, in companies like ABC Consultants, Wise Group, Kelly Services, Manpower Inc, Kforce among others.
Hence, we can see that an MBA is a very rewarding and lucrative degree. Several benefits of doing an MBA like career change, personal development, career development and enhancement of knowledge, skills and abilities leads to MBA being one of the top five post graduate degrees pursued by Indian students, in this day and age.
