XAT- Xavier Aptitude Test 2026
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A major question for many MBA aspirants is whether to pursue an MBA in Finance or HR? MBA in finance and MBA in HR both have their pros and cons. HR and Finance are the most popular MBA specializations preferred by the candidates. Candidates should understand the different factors like required skills, industry trends, career opportunities, long-term goals, etc to decide which out of the two specializations is suitable for them. This article serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding the Finance and HR specialization to decide the one to choose for an MBA.
For the first year of the MBA, the candidates are taught the same curriculum. Upon entering the second year of the MBA candidates are provided with the choice of selecting an MBA specialization. Candidates can choose from a variety of alternatives like Finance, Marketing, HR, Operations, Retail, E-Commerce etc. Specializations like Finance, Marketing, and Operations tend to have more salary than others like Human Resources.
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Finance and HR are two very different MBA specializations to deal with. Both have a skillset unique to them. Some skills might appear to be common but those are the general skills common to every MBA specialization. The skills that one gets specialized in after these MBA specializations are given in the table below.
MBA Finance Skills | MBA HR Skills |
Financial Analysis | Employee Relations |
Financial Modelling | Recruitment Strategies |
Investment Strategies | Organizational Behaviour |
Risk Management | Performance Management |
When it comes to career opportunities finance is a much more preferred MBA specialization than HR. An MBA in finance can get a candidate a high-paying job in top companies operating in fields like Investment Banking, Asset Management, Equity Research Analyst, and Financial Analysis. The HR specialization on the other hand has limited career choices for candidates. Candidates with an MBA specializing in HR tend to stay within the domain of recruitment. The industry can vary though. Different career roles for both MBA specializations are given in the table below.
MBA Finance Career Roles | MBA HR Career Roles |
Financial Analyst | HR Manager |
Investment Banker | Talent Acquisition Specialist |
Financial Manager | Organisational Development Consultant |
Equity Research Analyst (Buy/Sell Side) | Chief Human Resource Officer |
Institutional Trader | Performance Coach |
Fund Manager | |
Chief Financial Officer | |
Financial Consultant |
The industry trends for MBA in Finance and HR are quite different. Finance roles are generally high paying with roles that are of crucial importance to the company. They often have to make sensitive decisions concerning money. HR roles are also important for the overall health of the organization. The HR roles are also well compensated, especially at senior levels. The best part about HR roles is that they are needed in almost every sector which makes it a very safe choice. Finance roles can have a serious impact during a period of recession.
The long-term goals and career plans are important to consider when deciding whether to do an MBA in HR or finance. Depending on how a candidate sets long-term goals for their career the choice of either MBA specialization can have a great impact. Candidates wanting to see themselves associated in an important leadership role with any of the big financial institutions should ideally go for an MBA specializing in Finance.
But if a candidate is looking for a safer career route irrespective of industry and wants more work-life balance they should choose HR as their MBA specialization. The pay scale might get stagnant. Candidates choosing finance should prepare themselves for a hectic work life with tight deadlines in exchange for great pay and the opportunity to get relocated to a tier-one country.
It depends on factors like the required skills, industry trends, career opportunities, long-term goals, etc to decide which out of the two specializations is suitable for them.
In terms of salary and pay scale, an MBA in Finance tends to pay a lot more than an MBA in HR. At senior levels HR roles are also well compensated but nowhere near finance roles.
For choosing between HR and Finance various factors should be considered like what are the expectations from one's career, the skillset they excel in, long-term career plans, etc. Based on how both specializations tend to prove for each factor candidates can decide for themselves.
The starting salary of an HR after an MBA is generally between Rs. 4 to 10 lakhs per annum. The salary will increase with more and more years of experience. The salary for MBA HR can go up to Rs. 30 lakhs per annum on the higher end.
With a CAT rank of 5419, your percentile is around 95 to 97. This means you may not get into the top IIMs like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, or Calcutta, because they usually take students above 98 or 99 percentile. But you still have good chances at newer IIMs and other top MBA colleges.
You can get admission into IIMs like Amritsar, Raipur, Jammu, Udaipur, and Bodh Gaya. These IIMs accept students with lower percentiles, usually between 90 and 94.
Apart from IIMs, you can also get colleges like MDI Gurugram, IMI Delhi, Great Lakes Chennai, and maybe even FMS Delhi or JBIMS Mumbai depending on your category and performance in interview rounds.
You should now start preparing for the interview, group discussions, and written tests that most colleges will conduct after shortlisting you based on your CAT rank.
Here are websites you can check for cut-off and admission details:
https://www.imsindia.com/blog/cat-cutoff/
Hello Sahitya
For FMS Delhi, your percentile should be 99%+ and it should be 99.5%+ to be on the safer side.
Now coming to the academics:
1. 10th marks: 75%+ are given 10 out of 10
2. 12th marks: 75%+ are given 10 out of 10
3. Graduation marks: FMS doesn't considers graduation marks for screening.
So if you have 75%+ in both 10th and 12th, you will get full marks in academic score.
To know more about FMS: FMS
Hope this answer helps! Thank You!!!
Hello Ayush
This is definitely a myth that with 0 work-ex you can't get IIM ABC because freshers still get into them although the competition is brutal but if you have good academics (9/9/9) and a good CAT (99.5%+), you have a chance.
These are some other good colleges except IIM ABC which you can aim for:
TIER 1:
Tier 2:
To know more about CAT: CAT by Careers360
Hope this answer helps! Thank You!!!
Hello Aspirant,
With an AIR (All India Rank) of 1,60,000 in NEET and in the OC (Open Category) there is a very slim chance of getting an MBBS seat in a government medical college, especially in General Category seats through All India Quota (AIQ), but here are some options:
You can also participate in state counselling rounds, as sometimes, seats remain vacant/unfilled, including mop-up rounds.
Hello aspirant,
The question papers for CAT MGU University can be found on their official website, or you can also visit careers360 website for the same.
The link of which, I am attaching here,
https://university.careers360.com/articles/mgu-cat-2025
Regards
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.
Individuals who opt for a career as a business analyst look at how a company operates. He or she conducts research and analyses data to improve his or her knowledge about the company. This is required so that an individual can suggest the company strategies for improving their operations and processes.
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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