Top ten MBA myths BUSTED!

Ipsita Sarkar Gupta | shiksha.com

Some urban legends never die. But MBA myths are even harder to squash. A million coaching centres, lakhs of websites and thousands of colleges are trying to sell you the MBA dream. And then there is the world – your lovely folks, nosey friends, and that girl from college. Looks like, it really is a one-way ticket to the land of money, happiness and career satisfaction (Yeah, that’s exactly the order of things).

But is MBA worth all the trouble and anxiety? As you gear up for an exciting admission ride this season, we bring to you some known and unknown shockers!

Take a look at our top ten MBA myths BUSTED.

1. Ticket for the Riches

Call it the biggest bluff of the century, but an MBA degree is not the missing link of ‘rags to riches’ story. Between paying off student loans and fighting other B-School graduates for your dream job, do not get lulled into a false sense of security. MBA is not the road to higher salary.

2. Winds of Career Change

MBA does not guarantee a new career. It just gives a better direction to your present career. So if you are an IT professional or a website designer, an MBA will not secure a career in finance or marketing. For that, you need better access to recruiters.

3. Ladder to the Top

It is assumed that MBA is directly proportionate to the current career progression. Wrong! Stats prove that most jobs are landed due to right connections. Your career growth has more to do with good performance and relevant connections than a degree.

4. The Masters of Bull

‘Yak, yak, yak’ doesn’t make one an awesome leader. For too much talk, means too little accomplished. It is the real life story weavers who build a brand. So get your facts right and present it with the right narrative.

5. Successful Entrepreneur

MBA stands for Masters in Business Administration, not Master of Business Aristocrats.  The program teaches you to how to make money for others. For building your business, you need to be an entrepreneur and hire MBAs; not the other way round.

6. The Marketing and Finance guy

If you think MBA is mostly about marketing, finance or human resources, then look around. Even the person behind the manager’s desk in Shopper’s Stop or Lifestyle has an MBA in Retail/Fashion Management. Management is needed in every field. Tap the right one for yourself.

7. Opening the Pandora’s box

Aspirants often think that after B-school, they’ll come up with innovative solutions and drive the organisation to Planet Success. Firms worth thousands of crores are not sitting hawk-eyed, dying to tap an MBA graduate so that they can drive them out of red. They have several think-tanks who can maximize profits. And an MBA grad is just a small fish among those big think-tanks.

8. The Social Wizard

They say you are smarter than people without an MBA for the degree gives you a key to optimize networking. But the truth is no degree can unlock your ability to build a social or professional network. You are what you are.

9. The Easy-life

Talk to any B-school graduate. They are anything but happy. Stress, targets, leadership, selling, no personal life, student loans, other loans, and Oh!... targets again. That’s what a normal day is for MBA grads.

10. Degree over Rank

While an MBA degree is much coveted, it holds true for top few institutes only. We hate to break this, but institute rank does matter. Else how do you account for government closing shutters for thousands of colleges?

Still don’t believe us! Go ask your seniors if we are lying.