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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.
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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.
Check out the list MBA Colleges in India
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.
Check out Career Options After MBA and Salary
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.
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International Finance and Accounting (integrated with ACCA) |
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Digital Business |
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Apart from these, there are dual MBA specialisations where one can opt for a combined purpose and opportunities to excel twice in your career.
Know more about the Top Dual Degree in MBA Colleges in India
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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)
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.
Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta etc gives weightage to work experience as well.
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.
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.
On Question asked by student community
You can get the previous year's CUSAT CAT papers in pdf format sample papers from careers360 article. Follow the link given below from careers360 to get the the CUSAT CAT previous years question papers.
Link- https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/cusat-cat-sample-papers
Hello,
Since the CAT application form correction window is closed, you must contact the CAT help desk immediately to explain the situation, as you can't edit a wrong date of birth after submission. If it's a major error like date of birth, you may need to go to the exam center with proof and the correct admit card, although getting it corrected before the exam date is the most important first step.
I hope it will clear your query!!
Hi there,
You have to apply separately for each symbiosis college, like SIBM Pune, as they as not automatically included. The CAT form automatically includes many IIMs, but the SNAP exam is a separate test that is given for admission to Symbiosis Institute, which requires its own separate application and fee.
Hope it helps!!!
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Hello,
To get admitted to the Institute of Management Studies (IMS), BHU, for an MBA in 2026, you must clear the CAT entrance exam. For that you need to fill out the application form of the CAT in August 2026, which you can get on the Official CAT website
I hope it will clear your query!!
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