finance MBA gets dollar-paying jobs much easier, so it offers a bigger return on investment, while a marketing MBA gets jobs specific to the Indian market. Do students agree?
"No!" is the resounding answer from B-school campuses.
Shradha Damani, who is pursuing her marketing MBA at Welingkar, Mumbai, thinks success is all about "individual skills, aptitude and initiative" regardless of specialisation. She adds that marketing offers better growth challenges.
Rupesh Srivastav, who is doing a finance MBA at NMIMS, Mumbai, does not agree either, but his reasons are different. He feels "returns depend on the institute one graduates from."
Mirap Trivedi, a marketing batchmate at NMIMS, nods in approval. Earnings depend on "the kind of companies that come to your campus for recruitment," he says.
Miten Jain, who is pursuing a finance MBA at Welingkar, thinks sectoral cycles also play a role. Besides, some companies allow you "to hold twin portfolios of finance and marketing".
To Rahul Sabharwal, who is doing his post-grad programme at IIM-A, the issue is not based on return-on-investment, but on a choice of lifestyle.
Initial pay packets make no difference to his batchmate Sharath Coorg either. To Coorg's mind, the calculation should be driven by a single factor: ambition. "Marketing has been traditionally recognised as the most critical business function," he says, "and a company invariably prefers a marketing man to lead the company."
But what are Sabharwal and Coorg's specialisations? None. IIM-A doesn't have any.
How come? "It gives students the flexibility to mix and match courses from different streams," they reply in unison.
What do you think? Is a finance MBA better than a marketing MBA? Or will any kind of MBA do? Do let us know.
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