An MBA is a prestigious degree that will enhance students' career by providing them with reliable skills. Being a fresh graduate has its own perks. But at the same time, they may lack insight into real-world issues. People with few years of work experience have a good understanding of the corporate world and how things work. So, students are wondering whether it is better to pursue MBA after graduation or MBA after working experience. Check out this article to know more about who can pursue MBA.
Yes, a 97 percentile in the CAT exam can fetch calls from several IIMs, such as Trichy, Rohtak, Ranchi, Udaipur, and newer ones like Amritsar and Jammu, as well as top B-schools like SPJIMR, FMS, and MDI. However, ABC IIMs usually require 99+ percentile for the general category, and a strong overall profile remains key to conversion.
Advantages of Pursuing an MBA after Work Experience
Disadvantages of Pursuing an MBA after Work Experience
Thoughts on MBA after Graduation or Work Experience
MBA After Graduation or MBA After Work Experience - Which is better?
MBA after Graduation or Work Experience?
Students are enthusiastic, young, and creative and can come up with innovative solutions to problems. It is true that pursuing an MBA after graduation has benefits. Students have a lot of energy and are in the mindset of learning, not making money.
It will give them the psychology of experimentation, trying new things and finding innovative solutions to problems. But, on the other hand, candidates with some work experience have practical knowledge and know what works in the real corporate world.
Whether you are a fresh graduate or someone with work experience, both situations have certain advantages and disadvantages. Fresh graduates are less competitive compared to candidates with work experience, as colleges try to maintain a definite class profile with a certain minimum percentage of fresh graduates.
The advantage of pursuing an MBA after graduation is that you are on a learning curve and your education is not interrupted by working. This makes it easier to learn in a college environment and can do jobs and projects much faster than someone with a few years of work experience.
However, there are some advantages to doing an MBA after gaining work experience, too. Most companies prefer a candidate with a few years of experience because it makes it easier to train the employee to new work conditions. You'll understand concepts faster and better because you can see them in the context of work.
An MBA is like an ocean of opportunities. It is very important to intelligently analyse your area of interest and check if it matches your career expectations.
Some of the advantages of opting for an MBA after graduation include:
1. Enhanced Knowledge: An MBA programme will give candidates the skills they need to succeed in their chosen career. Specialised MBA programmes are helpful for those who focus on a particular field. This opens up many new opportunities.
2. A Good Start and Career Opportunity: An MBA graduate starts fast and earns well. Employers are ready to hire an MBA immediately because they were qualified during their studies. They don't have to struggle much to get a job.
3. Personal as Well as Professional Skills: Studying MBA is always beneficial for students, as it not only provides professional training but also makes them more positive by improving their personalities. By pursuing MBA after graduation, students will improve their personal skills in addition to professional skills and become more positive about navigating the corporate world.
4. Hard to Make the Correct Choice at this Stage: Making the right choice regarding your MBA programme is very important. Before you gain professional experience, it can be a bit difficult to develop a clear career plan.
5. Reduced Chances of Acceptance at Top Bschools: Most of the leading Bschools require students to contribute to discussions related to business and the corporate world. This can only be achieved if students have some professional experience. As compared to freshmen, those with more knowledge are more likely to study at top B-schools.
6. Opportunities for Networking and Socialising: MBA aspirants get a lot of opportunities to work as interns in leading companies and learn a lot of new things about the corporate world throughout their internship. This will benefit them once they start working.
Disadvantages of Pursuing an MBA After Graduation
Some of the disadvantages of opting for an MBA after graduation include;
Limit to Learnings: As an MBA student with no work to show or relate to, it can be difficult to connect subjects with real practice. Also, as a newbie, they have little professional knowledge about their field and all their knowledge comes from others.
Reduced Acceptance Rates: Once you clear the CAT exam, work experience gets a candidate more marks before the entrance exam. If you're a fresher, you should make the most of your CV by listing some volunteer experience, projects, internships, or small entrepreneurial experience to offset any work experience.
Advantages of Pursuing an MBA after Work Experience
When it comes to your career, experience matters. Whether you're applying for a job or applying for graduate education, for example, an MBA programme, you'll always be evaluated based on your experience and how you can apply it to your chosen programme or career. Pre-MBA work experience provides a platform for students to build upon during their studies.
Soft Skills: After being a part of the corporate world for a while, you will develop soft skills. For example, it includes interpersonal and communication skills that are essential in the corporate world. Work environments provide many opportunities to develop such skills.
More Clarity: If students choose to work for a few years before studying for an MBA, they will be clear about what they want or their approach to a particular goal. After students have a set of defined career goals, they can apply to the MBA programme of their choice.
More Practical Experience: A person with a few years of experience is more likely to grasp management principles when trained in a classroom setting. With practice, they will get a better grip on different things.
Disadvantages of Pursuing an MBA after Work Experience
There are no disadvantages in pursuing MBA or PGDM after gaining a significant amount of work experience. Work experience plays an important role in the application process and B-schools tend to give preference to graduates with previous work experience.
However, it is important to remember that if a person with specific work experience is applying for an occupation that is not compatible with the previous industry they worked in, it is for on-campus recruitment that is conducted after graduation, which does not count as relevant experience. This means that the importance given to his experience will decrease.
Since an MBA degree is considered one of the most important degrees of a student's life, it makes sense to weigh their options and then make a decision after analysing the pros and cons of both.
Thoughts on MBA after Graduation or Work Experience
People pursuing an MBA degree after graduation or after work experience depend on their goals and motivation. It totally depends on them. Some people are sensitive and learn a lot by keeping their eyes open.
And some are self-starters. An MBA will give them some basics, but they'll need a lot of practical experience to quickly put it together and make it work before they lose it. Remember that an MBA won't make people entrepreneurs, but it will give them an understanding of "numbers"-a valuable skill in an ever-increasingly complex world.
An MBA is not a promise of success. MBAs will help students a lot after they have some years of field experience.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Is it better to do MBA after work experience?
A:
Barring a few minor ones, there are no major drawbacks to pursuing an MBA with a few years of work experience. Management schools give more importance to professionals than freshmen.
Q: Which IIM prefers work experience?
A:
Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta etc gives weightage to work experience as well.
Q: Can I do MBA without cat exam?
A:
Yes, candidates can [pursue an MBA without CAT entrance exam, candidates can take other entrance test like MAT, XAT, GMAT, or NMAT etc. OR by applying to colleges that offers direct MBA admission based on academic performance, interviews, or work experience.
Q: What is the salary of MBA with 10 years experience?
A:
An average MBA salary after 10 years of work experience can vary significantly, but the salary falls between Rs 15 to 20 lakhs to Rs 25 to 35 lakhs per annum in India.
The results for the CAT 2025 entrance, which is conducted on November 30, 2025, were declared on December 22, 2025. Candidates can download and see their results on the official IIM CAT website. On the website, click on the "CAT 2025 Result/Scorecard" link to download the result by entering the required details.
The link to the website where you can check the published result is attached herewith. The result will be out soon. You can also check the cutoffs on the website of Careers360.
CAT does not restrict eligibility based on stream. Candidates from commerce, arts, science, engineering or any other background can appear for CAT and apply to MBA programmes offered by IIMs and other top B-schools.
The basic eligibility criteria for CAT are:
You must hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university with at least 50 percent marks (45 percent for SC, ST and PwD categories). Final-year graduation students are also eligible to apply.
Being a commerce graduate can actually be an advantage in areas such as accounting, finance, economics and business studies, especially during MBA coursework in finance, marketing and operations.
After qualifying CAT, admission depends on multiple factors including CAT percentile, academic background, work experience (if any), performance in GD, WAT and personal interview rounds. Many IIMs and B-schools follow a diverse academic background policy, which means non-engineering candidates, including commerce graduates, often receive additional weightage.
Apart from IIMs, several reputed institutes such as FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad, and many state and private universities also accept CAT scores for MBA admissions.
So, as a commerce graduate, you are fully eligible to appear for CAT and pursue an MBA, provided you meet the minimum academic requirements and perform well in the selection process.
If you want, I can also help you with realistic CAT percentile targets based on your academic profile or suggest suitable MBA colleges.
With a CAT 2025 raw score of 84 and strong sectionals, your expected percentile may fail in the high 98 range , depending on scaling. Your excellent academics and 2 years of work experience strengthen your profile .IIM Lucknow calls are possible but competitive for EWS engineers , while FMS Delhi looks mainly at CAT score and VARC , so you have a reasonable chance there . Final calls depend on cutoffs and composite score.
For a raw score of 56 in CAT 2025 Slot 3, your expected overall percentile is likely to be in the range of the 90th-95th percentile. The exact percentile can vary slightly on the final normalization process and the process and performance of all test-takers. In this
article
you'll find more about the CAT result.
A career as Marketing Director is also known as a marketing expert who is responsible for the overall marketing aspect of the company. He or she oversees plans and develops the company's budget. The marketing Director collaborates with the business team to plan and develop the marketing and branding strategies for the company's products or services.
A Business Development Executive identifies and pursues new business opportunities to drive company growth. They generate leads, build client relationships, develop sales strategies, and analyse market trends. Collaborating with internal teams, they aim to meet sales targets. With experience, they can advance to managerial roles, playing a key role in expanding the company’s market presence and revenue.
Content Marketing Specialists are also known as Content Specialists. They are responsible for crafting content, editing and developing it to meet the requirements of digital marketing campaigns. To ensure that the material created is consistent with the overall aims of a digital marketing campaign, content marketing specialists work closely with SEO and digital marketing professionals.
A Sales Manager leads a sales team to meet targets, formulates strategies, analyses performance, and monitors market trends. They typically hold a degree in management or related fields, with an MBA offering added value. The role often demands over 40 hours a week. Strong leadership, planning, and analytical skills are essential for success in this career.
A marketing manager is a person who oversees a company or product marketing. He or she can be in charge of multiple programmes or goods or can be in charge of one product. He or she is enthusiastic, organised, and very diligent in meeting financial constraints. He or she works with other team members to produce advertising campaigns and decides if a new product or service is marketable.
A Marketing manager plans and executes marketing initiatives to create demand for goods and services and increase consumer awareness of them. A marketing manager prevents unauthorised statements and informs the public that the business is doing everything to investigate and fix the line of products. Students can pursue an MBA in Marketing Management courses to become marketing managers.
An SEO Analyst is a web professional who is proficient in the implementation of SEO strategies to target more keywords to improve the reach of the content on search engines. He or she provides support to acquire the goals and success of the client’s campaigns.
Digital marketing is growing, diverse, and is covering a wide variety of career paths. Each job function aids in the development of effective digital marketing strategies and techniques. The aims and objectives of the individuals who opt for a career as a digital marketing executive are similar to those of a marketing professional: to build brand awareness, promote company services or products, and increase conversions. Individuals who opt for a career as Digital Marketing Executives, unlike traditional marketing companies, communicate effectively through suitable technology platforms.
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In a business analyst job role a lot of analysis is done, things are learned from past mistakes and the successful strategies are enhanced further. A business analyst goes through real-world data in order to provide the most feasible solutions to an organisation. Students can pursue Business Analytics to become Business Analysts.
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