Does Industry Experience help in MBA education?

I was visiting a relative over the last weekend when their neo-graduate son aspiring to get into a B-School asked me –“so, do I apply for an MBA right away, or pick up a job and apply a few years later?” A binary response was imminent. Having pursued MBA education after three years of industry experience – and immensely benefited from that choice – the response was obvious and immediate, but the finer print aka “T&C Apply” that followed can be too overwhelming for new graduates to consume across a cup of tea, and hence this blog.

First things first – choices available NOW

Even before we delve into the pros and cons of work ex with respect to an MBA course, it is very important to evaluate the choices that one has immediately upon graduation. The choice is trivial, if you do not have any job offer, but an admission offer from a good B-School. Look no further and join up. The MBA degree from a good school would get you much wider choices of placement, than what you see after your graduation. The choice is again default if you do not have either a job offer or an MBA admission – use up the time to prepare for B-School next year.

The choices become more difficult and complex – bordering as a case study for the B-School itself, in either of the following two scenarios.

You have a good job offer, but no MBA admission

Quite like the default option discussed above, you may be tempted to pick up the job and park the MBA education for the time being. Think again – the problem statement is not so simple.

Even if the job offer is in your dream industry and a preferred role, if you aspire to be a management professional at heart, it may not be a bad idea to drop a year and prepare wholeheartedly for the MBA degree, putting your best foot forward and securing a place in the B-School of your choice. Here is why.

Quite often, as you get into the industry, the work pressure is intense, especially at the entry level, the weekends are no exception, and preparing for an MBA along with the job may not be everybody’s cup of tea. For some, reverting to education after a couple of years in the industry no longer remains an option – as they get settled comfortably in a financially independent regime, no pressure of exams and assignments. The MBA dream soon sublimates even before you realize it, and the incentives, promotions, and career progression within the firm become attractive enough to take a step back and appear on Campus. Not to mention, the temptation of happily getting married and feeling settled in life.

You should prefer a job over an MBA only if you believe you can prepare for an MBA along with your work or revert to the rigor of a B-School environment, a couple of years down the line. If either is a weak spot for you, you should resist the lure of stepping into the employment zone and retain your focus on higher education.

You have a good job offer and an MBA admission

This can be a really tricky situation. You have a good job offer, plus an equally attractive admission offer from a B-School of your choice. Can you have and eat it too? Of course not. You have to make a choice.

If you fall into a category that may find preparing for an MBA daunting, with your job, or you think you may lose motivation to study at all, after a few years of work, think no further and pack up your bags for the B-School. As said before, an MBA degree under your belt will offer, by and large, a wider array of opportunities than what will come to you immediately after graduation. Not just in terms of a pay packet, but also in terms of roles, locations, perquisites, and flexibilities. Continuing education soon after your graduation should not be challenging either. Be aware, that you will feel lost or succumb to competition from your peers at the B-School who joined after gaining work ex. Having said that, you would be among the younger lot when you graduate from the B-School, and that will give you an edge in the corporate ladder, in the long run.

To pick up your job over B-School is an altogether different ball game. It pretty much represents the management axiom “no risk – no gain” or shall we say, “low risk – low gain”.  As you enter the corporate world, with your aim still set on the MBA degree, here is what shall unfold before you.

You shall be knee-deep into your daily job. Some industries have long and strenuous probation, often in a remote, field or plant location – offering very little room for self-study – at least in Year 1. Be prepared to establish trust, loyalty, and expertise in your new job, putting MBA dreams on the back burner. The more you dive deeper into your job, the richer would-be dividends at B-School, as and when you feel ready for the same. And there would be plenty – provided you have done full justice to your job. If you work half-heartedly, the gaps will show up in your professional profile, even if you secure an MBA offer, and either you risk being rejected at the interview stage, or benefitting very little from the work ex, during the MBA degree. Young, fresh graduates would outsmart you – and you would neither gain the industrial advantage nor the age benefit – should you try taking a shortcut at your job.

Once you learn to cruise at your job, it is time to unfasten your seat belt, open the overhead locker, and unpack the B-School kit – that you carried with you – all along. While others in “flight” may be watching their favorite entertainment, dozing off, or simply gazing outside the “window”, you double up your routine to work diligently and prepare as diligently for the B-School – best in Year 2 at your work. A year at the job would have exposed you to the opportunities, nuances, and challenges of a corporate environment, the work dynamics, the people chemistry, the financial zig-zags, the market forces and not to forget the regulatory regime as it applies to your industry. The work experience will not only mature you as a professional, but it will also unfold the rationale behind many of the quantitative and qualitative questions posed in MBA entrance, offering you an edge over other aspirants, both in objective, multiple-choice questions, as well as subjective, analytical content.

Most MBA entrance tests assess you on performance within constraints – given the time, you can crack ALL questions. But with 70% time, you have to prioritize and respond to the most critical set of questions – that you can discover only with your maturity and enhanced wisdom, gained at work. Even your guesswork would improve, as your vantage point shifts with an additional industry expertise. Whether it is a written test, group discussion, or interview, your responses would no longer be theoretical, but rather backed with empirical evidence or real-life anecdotes, likely to impress the selection board. The same holds true for your assignments, tests, and interactions during the MBA education.

The Verdict

It is no doubt that industrial experience is an asset for MBA education. The admission committees at various B-Schools are actively scouting for candidates who enrich their class profile. Provided, you can bring forth that flavor, commitment, and maturity. The same calls for double riding at work with utmost sincerity towards your employer and relentless hard work toward MBA entrance tests. Once you are past the hill and land a good offer from a B-School of choice, you will enjoy your fruits of labor, having perched yourself on a much higher branch, than the rest of the class, offering you not only a competitive edge, a wider horizon, but also a longer range in your corporate career.