Finance vs. Marketing - Which is the Best Specialization in MBA

Finance and marketing are one of the most important aspects of any business, however small or big it is. Having a sound knowledge of the finances as well as marketing strategy is a really crucial step in the entire business life-cycle as it helps you understand the next logical step you need to take for making your business successful. It is no wonder then, that professional courses like an MBA in Finance and even MBA in marketing have had their demand increased manifold over the last 2 decades in India.

MBA in Finance Vs Marketing

The demand for finance professionals in India over the next few years is touted to increase, as per a study conducted by the Monster.com job portal, which makes it an exciting prospect for aspirants to continue with.

Master’s in business administration is one of the most loved postgraduate programs in India and across the globe. The reason is simple. MBA courses open a wide spectrum of knowledge, network, and career scope for those who opt for this field. An MBA degree holder can explore a whole new world of knowledge and experience that no other field can offer.

Though an MBA is one of those post-graduation programs that hold a lot of weightage but not all MBA degrees can create the same impact. If you are planning to do an MBA, make sure to follow the proper approach for the same. A degree just for the sake of it, or one that is pursued in a sector which has relatively lesser jobs can prove to be detrimental to your career.

1. Eligibility

In order to pursue an MBA, you can appear for a variety of national-level entrance exams such as CAT, SNAP, XAT, IIFT, CMAT, IBSAT, and NMAT. You can also appear for state-level examinations such as ICET, JEMAT, CET, etc. Many top universities and colleges conduct their own entrance examination; you can attempt those to get admissions into reputed colleges.

Colleges play an important role in shaping up your career. Make sure to prepare well for the entrance exam and score good marks in it. This is a really important step as it ensures that you secure a seat in some of the most popular MBA colleges in the country, as per your choice.

If you are a working professional, you can opt for online MBA courses., which are not just flexible in terms of timing and approach, but also provide access to a lot of new-age skills in business, finance and marketing. You can complete your masters along with your job. Also, many universities offer fast-track master’s programs for working professionals. Instead of two years, you can complete your MBA course in one year.

2. What is the importance of an MBA degree holder in India?

In the last few decades, there was a dearth of professional managers in almost every industry. Be it IT, manufacturing, imports and exports, textiles, etc. every industry requires a professional manager that can take up the job and help people with their managerial expertise. Earlier this space was usually filled by employees with 20-30 years of experience. But in the last decade, every industry witnessed a tremendous change in this approach. With thousands of MBA professionals passing out every year, every industry is hiring these MBA degree holders for their managerial positions.

3. MBA specialization

If you want to pursue an MBA course you have various specialization options to choose from. It is important to choose an option wisely as your coming career will solely depend on the field you choose. MBA finance, MBA marketing, MBA sales and marketing, and MBA human resource are the four topmost specializations that usually students choose while pursuing their MBA.

See Also :-

• MBA in HR Course
• MBA IT Course
• MBA in International Business Course
• MBA in Digital Marketing

4. Scope of MBA finance in India

MBA finance in India has huge scopes. Once you complete this course you can grow tremendously in your career and can get amazing career opportunities as well.

Here is the list of top five career opportunities for MBA finance pass outs:

1. Chief Financial Officer: CFO is a dream job for many. The job of a CFO is to make strategies. These strategies can be beneficial for forecasting capital requirements. A chief financial officer is responsible to supervise the financial performance of the organization.

2. Credit Risk Management: A credit risk manager is responsible for all the credits taken by the company in the form of a loan or other debts. The job requires an understanding of risk management and risk modelling framework. The hands-on knowledge of risk tools will be an add-on for those who want to work in this profile.

3. Private Equity: After completing your MBA course you can pursue your career as a private equity professional. In this job, you need to create a calculated approach for different investors. You need to design an approach where you can calculate and predict the profit of buying a company and selling them later. Further, there are a lot of certificate courses after MBA finance that can be pursued to gain first-hand knowledge of the private equity field, or tp get a fresher-level job in a P.E. firm.

Financial Advisor: With MBA finance you can gain enough knowledge to become a financial advisor. However, if you have some working experience in the field of finance prior to completing your post-graduation program can make you more suitable for this position. Being a financial advisor, your responsibility is to provide the best investment advice to your clients.

Risk Managers: MBA courses can create so many career opportunities for you. Becoming a risk manager is one of them. This job requires good knowledge of risk management. You need to design and implement practices that can help organizations to face any potential threat.

The job opportunities are not limited to this list. Career opportunities in the field of finance are endless, few require huge experience whereas few allow you to start as a fresher.

MBA Finance or Marketing which is better?

Students usually get into the dilemma of MBA Finance or Marketing which is better? So, while elaborating on the difference between MBA Finance and MBA Marketing, we can say that MBA in Marketing includes promotion and communication regarding various products with customers and clients. MBA in Marketing focuses to increase the sales of the company and a lot of measures are taken into consideration such as Public Relations, Advertising, Market Research, and Corporate Branding.

MBA in Finance is predominantly focused on the financial aspects of the business. MBA in Finance trains students in the field of budgeting, financing, auditing, accounting, handling investments, managing financial resources, evaluating risks, analyzing data, and making financial decisions for business.

Top MBA in finance colleges in India:

Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) – Delhi University, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi – DMS, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur – VGSOM, and Indian Institute of Technology Madras – DMS are some of best colleges for MBA finance in India currently.

If you want to do an online MBA course you can consider these colleges -

1. National Institute of Business Management (NIBM),

2. ITM University, and

3. Amity University, Noida

These universities are accredited by the relevant education bodies and are known to provide a lot of excellent online programs across business management functions, especially for MBA finance.

Scope of MBA Marketing in India

In India, the marketing industry has grown tremendously in the past two decades. This requires professionals with sound knowledge of this field. No matter if we talk about media (print and digital), social media, advertising industry, and brand management sector, the demand for professionals is increasing every day. Especially the growing pool of digital media marketing is opening tremendous opportunities for MBA marketing degree holders.

Here is the list of top five career opportunities for MBA in Marketing and Sales graduates:

Marketing Manager: This profile might sound appealing to you. Well, it is. But at the same time, it holds a lot of responsibilities too. A marketing manager is responsible to keep a close look into the recent market trends. It is their job to implement those trends into the service their company offers to its customers.

Media Planner: After completing your MBA marketing degree you can become a media planner. You can pursue this profile either in the field of print media or in digital media. A media planner is responsible for planning all the advertisements. This job requires closely working with the marketing team and ensuring to achieve all the targets.

Market Research Analyst: The job of a market research analyst is to collect relevant data and analyse it to deliver meaningful insights. These insights will further help business development teams to plan their strategies. Such professionals play an important role in developing new marketing strategies.

Brand Manager: A brand manager is considered as the face of the product among clients. A brand manager is responsible to create strategies that can attract more and more customers towards the brand. They need to work closely with the market research team to analyse the market trend and plan the brand campaign accordingly. Pursuing an MBA in advertising and marketing is the first step to a career in brand management.

Digital Marketing Manager: This is one of the most amazing job opportunities that you can get after completing your MBA in digital marketing. Being a digital marketing manager, it is expected from you to stay abreast of all the recent trends and approaches followed on different digital platforms. Almost every company has a digital presence these days and to manage and promote their digital identities they require digital marketing managers.

The job opportunities are not limited to this list. You will enter the pool of amazing opportunities after completing your MBA degree in marketing.

Top MBA in marketing management colleges in India:

• Indian Institute of Management - [IIM], Indore,

• Vinod Gupta School of Management - [VGSOM], Kharagpur, Department Of Management Studies,

• Indian Institute of Technology - [DMSIIT], Roorkee, Department of Management Studies,

• Indian Institute of Technology - [DMSIIT], Roorkee, and NIT Trichy, Tiruchirappalli are few of the best colleges for MBA marketing.

MBA Finance vs Marketing salary in India

Who earns more MBA in Finance or Marketing

As per sector, MBA in Marketing is getting slightly better salary as compared to MBA in Finance. The average salary in India is Rs 7.5 LPA for Marketing and Rs 7 LPA for Finance.

Conclusion

We have discussed both MBA finance and MBA marketing in detail. Both specializations hold weightage in respective fields.

However, if you have a huge passion for making a career in the field of marketing and want to see yourself as a brand manager or digital marketing manager, you should go for an MBA marketing. Also, if you are already working in the field of marketing and looking for a promotion, you can opt for this course to understand some advanced aspects of marketing that can help you grab knowledge and promotion both. If you are someone who loves to understand the logic behind risk management, or you are good at analysing the market trends you can go for an MBA finance.

The answer to which one is best among MBA finance and MBA marketing depends on your passion and your inclination towards the field. When you are deciding about specialization in a business management course it is very important to consider your field of interest. The field of business management either marketing or finance requires a lot of dedication, hard work, and innovation. If you will choose a field of specialization that interests you, the chances of your success are more.