Getting an MBA degree is probably the most foolish decision one may take

An MBA degree will get you nowhere. It might give you a good head start if you pass out from an IIM, or a top business school in India, but it will definitely not ensure that you secure a leadership role for yourself on either an immediate basis or even a few years down the line. MBAs sound cool. Even better, they have been marketed for decades now as the one-stop degree that can land almost anybody with lush jobs that pay big money. This fallacious narrative has been debunked several times, but people’s fascination with the course simply refuses to die down.

According to a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), which represents over 450,000 business entities, only 7% of the graduates passing out of Indian business schools today are actually employable.  The study also found that most of India’s 5,500 B-schools produce “un-employable” graduates. The only ones who actually get placed well are those who pursue MBA courses from IIMs and India’s top-20 business schools.

Training the Cream

Now, here’s the fun part. Top business schools in India which have a good placement record accept students who are the cream of their generation. This is to say that the chances of such students making it big in life are much better than average students.

Therefore, IIMs and top business schools simply bet on the ability of extraordinary students to perform well in life, get placed well and earn big money. Such bets often work to the benefit of the MBA industry, which desperately wants to maintain the hype prevalent in India regarding the course.

It is not like IIMs run charities. They are not training average students for the business world. They are, instead, refining the students who already are sure to make it big in life.

No Return on Investment and Slim Success Rate

An MBA from an ordinary college cost somewhere around Rs 8-12 lakh, but only fetches a job that pays on an average Rs 40,000 per month. According to the Assocham report that I quoted earlier, a majority of MBA postgraduates in India land up in jobs that pay less than Rs 10,000 ($150) a month.

What this means is that an MBA degree becomes a liability for a person in the long run. The recovery of money spent on the course is not immediate for a vast majority of business postgraduates. The break-even period is painfully long.

Meanwhile, here are some numbers.

Out of the top 500 companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), only 144 CEOs of 466 companies had an MBA.

Only 28 per cent of India’s CEOs have a master’s degree in business.

In the 2020 ‘Forbes Billionaires List’, among the top 100 names, only 11 hold an MBA degree to their credit.

To be a businessman, industrialist, entrepreneur or just successful – an MBA is not a prerequisite. Indians must understand this. What one needs is talent, perseverance, and foresight. Merit will always play the deciding factor in the success of a person. We were first told that the class 10 board exams were very important. Then, class 12 board exams were pinned as the deciding factor of our lives.

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It all turned out to be a myth. Today, while seeking jobs, many employers do not even ask for the mark sheets of applicants. Similarly, an MBA degree is just a piece of paper. Nobody can teach anybody business to the extent that a person becomes successful only due to passive knowledge. Nothing can replace experience. Today, if you are considering joining an MBA programme – don’t. Try looking for a job that tests you. That pushes your limits. That experience will work wonders for you in the long run.

The only thing that an MBA can fetch you is a vast network of peers and colleagues. That has its own limited advantages, but in today’s world, that’s the most an MBA can get a person.