What happens after getting in an IIM?
This is a study that was carried out on engineering students from NITs who decide to do an MBA.
The study looks at some of the following questions:
> Why do they choose doing an MBA?
> What happens after they get into an IIM?
> What are the challenges before & after?
> What changes occur?
> How is the overall experience?
And everything is summed up with a Bonus Illustrated Essay on the same :)
Some insights from what some interviewees had to say!
P1
“In a nutshell, MBA is all about balance. Balancing assignments while taking out time for your personal hobbies or relaxation That is what the 2 years teach you.”
“There will be days when you'll be completely exhausted with too much work and the other days when you are literally chilled out. So its all about how do you manage”
MBA gives yo 2 years of safe space for doing a lot of mistakes and learning from them and finally you come out as someone who can handle stress.
Textbooks exists for everyone, internet is free for everyone but these 2 years of MBA teaches you the balancing and juggling a lot of things together that cannot be learnt just from textbooks.
P2
In B-schools you are alone, In bachelors you might have friends to figure out your problems but here, even though you might have friends, you’d find yourself alone fighting your own battles.
Even when you know its about your own performance and how you are improving, human tendency is to compare, even when people's goals may be different.
When you are in a campus, your life is within campus and you tend to compare yourself to people in your campus or batch, and you think about why you are not improving.
My institute has taken some steps to help students with depression, they have partnered with YourDost & some startups which connect to psychologists & other facilities for students
P3
I was preparing for MS while I ended up in an IIM almost accidently. I was always interested in entrepreneurship, infact I initiated an E-cell in my previous college.
My plans changed due to the pandemic. I had a foreign exchange semester and EOI internship with PPO opportunity but now I am thinking of initiating own venture immediately after college.
E-cell is there for Entrepreneurship but most people come here for a job.
I finds passing MBA easier than Bachelors as I like discussions in classroom & that cover most of grading. Exams happen every 1.5 months which can be overwhelming but the weightage is less and you get
used to it slowly.
P4
What I liked the most is that they don’t treat you like kids and treat you as grown ups and leave things on you to figure out. We have Co-ed hostels and that helps while preparing for exams.
Too much competition, I can say this because I used to feel so dumb sitting in finance classes and had no idea about what was going one but then we had B.com students & CAs who know everything. Asking doubts in class becomes difficult when others are responding as they’ve understood.
People are willing to help ones they are themselves satisfied, although there might be little selfish motivations.
I loved going to Classes, used to be a lot of fun & interactive. MBA is all about discussions, and what diverse people bring to the table but in virtual mode nobody interacts on the platform.
P5
MBA was a good option when thinking of long term in career and not just the money.
My role in earlier job was similar to that of a product manager without the development part as the company was small and roles were not clearly defined. I had client interaction & there was a 2 week sprint system.
Still, I Didn’t feel being involved in ideation process, some things I was building felt like were useless & so I wanted to be involved in the initial ideation process.
Wanted to be involved in thinking for long term implication, getting & working on feedback and settle to a leadership role.
P6
I scored 99%ile in first attempt being in industry but I knew I could do much better and wasn’t yet saturated with the technical role.
Joined coaching for mock test as not much material available outside, and putting in money gave motivation to stud. Later, I Joined 2 coaching for Interview preparation phase as it weights almost 60%
MBA gives a jump to career, shaving off 5 years extra to reach management roles, the growth in management is infinite as compared to tech field. It also helps in switching industry & opens diverse field opportunities
I wish to be a part of placement committee & get Tesla, Facebook, startups with new tech/products etc. to campus. I might think of self venture after few years in industry.
I found some recurring themes based on the interviews and tried to structure the study in that manner. The themes were:
•Learning Model, Role of professors, Syllabus
• Selecting Specialization
• Virtual experience
• Academic Pressure due to Classroom Diversity
• Entrepreneurship Myth
• Placements & other Focus areas or Goals
Hope you find the study accurate & useful. Feel free appreciate or give any different opinion or feedback on the same.
Find the Illustrated essay here
Have a nice day! :)
