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Education Plus
MBAs are now taking the road less travelled
DEEPA KURUP
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Niche sectors are attracting management professionals.
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Some students opt out of campus placements, opting for entrepreneurship instead.
Photo: H. Satish
Different strokes: Many management graduates are entering sectors such as real estate, media and hedge funds.
Gone are the days when an MBA degree only meant a high-profile job at an investment bank or consulting firm. If one is to go by this year’s placement profiles at major B-schools in the country and associated trends, it certainly seems that management graduates are choosing to walk the road not often taken.
Perhaps it is the “booming economy” even in the face of a probable recession or slowdown. Or maybe it is a result of the “professionalisation” attempts made by different sectors which are recognising India as a potential market and are looking for personnel who understand the economy and can manage their business. What ever be it , the fact is that management graduates have a wider spectrum of options and these twenty-something-olds, who often draw fat pay cheques, are open to taking greater risks.
This does not mean that the balance has dramatically tipped in favour of other options or that regular profiles like Consulting or Investment have taken a beating. Though they retained their more than fair share of the pie, this year saw a surge in a number of different sectors such as Real Estate, Lifestyle, Hedge Funds and Media coming in for placements, thereby offering the student a variety of options.
While real estate firms were a major draw among students at IIM-A, they also had a significant presence at IIM-C and IIM-B. Also, despite the sub-prime crisis and global investment banks feared to have been going slow on recruiting, Indian investment banks seemed to be on an aggressive mode, also for the first time.
IIM, Bangalore, set the example and was followed by IIM, Lucknow, in not releasing the salary packages, stating that it was detrimental to the sanctity of individuals and corporates. However, the news of other IIMs and the pay packages drawn by these MBA graduates stirred quite a debate in the media this year.
Taking risks
Amidst the furore, the point that has been lost is the story of students who are opting out of the placement process to start on their own. While this in itself is a very positive trend and shows that the management graduate has come of age in his options and his willingness to take risks, job offers made by various other sectors also reflect the vibrant economy.
Students, especially those sitting for lateral placements (that is, those with two or more years of work experience), seem to have diversified in terms of their interest which is also probably a reflection of the diversity in the backgrounds and educational qualifications of students opting for MBA. While till last year, IT and ITes was predominant in the lateral process, which meant that students were leveraging their work experience to get fatter pay cheques, it was not so this time. Real Estate, Media, Hedge Funds and Industrial Marketing made their presence felt, picking up more than 10 per cent of students from campuses.
“While traditional sectors happen to be the first choice, niche sectors also hold interest among students,” said IIM-Bangalore placements chairman Sourav Mukherjee. “During my time we were worried about treading any new path since we were worried what effect it would have on our career trajectory. Today, students can afford to be braver and exercise more options, given the market.”
Positive sign
Philip J., former director of IIM-Bangalore and currently president of Xavier Institute of Management Education, says that the diversification is a trend that is not specific to the IIMs. XIME, which saw 70 per cent of its students placed in IT/ITes last year, had less than 50 per cent students opting for it this time.
“From a concentrated dosage of the IT sector to a diversification of sorts, the change is very heartening and an extremely positive sign. I predict that its share will even reduce to 30 to 35 per cent by next year,” Prof. Philip says. The prominence of any one sector will be ironed out by the mushrooming economy.
Thailand-based Lebua Group, a part of hospitality industry, NDTV, a media group, DLF and Lodha Group, among others, were a few first-timers that recruited from all over. However, the numbers are not significant enough to say that there has been a radical difference, points out Mr. Mukherjee.
What is a positive sign is the fact that the profiles of companies looking at graduates have diversified. “The students joining such sectors remained minuscule, more so for the fact that students do not want to enter specialised fields at this stage rather than the monetary concern,” Mr. Mukherjee added.
Students at the Ohio Christ Academy of Management also chose to diversify into Retail and considered equity research and mortgage analysis profiles in Lifestlye and Retail chains.
“Students were open to Real Estate, Radio Broadcast and the like…there are a lot of options right now and a well-educated and informed student is not afraid of taking these chances,” says Raghu Iyer, director of the institute.
The experience factor
The fact that a lot of MBA graduates today are coming in with experience probably adds to the effect. Increasingly, most top-level B-schools are profiling their students in their selection process to see that there is a diverse lot.
“With freshers, they are open to anything. Your academic performance, more than anything else, will decide where you go. With experienced people they have more specific ideas and exercise their options,” says Mr. Mukherjee. Institutes are also working towards increasing exposure of students to different industries.
“Personally, I think information is the key. Earlier, interaction and information was confined to investment banks and consulting firms. The student today is much more networked and informed, thereby being empowered to make more choices. Students request the placement cell to provide more options too,” says Aditya Kasyap, a student of IIM-B.
IIM-B and IIM-A have had placement deferment policies (which allows candidates to postpone their participation in placements for two years, thereby giving them time to start their own companies) for a long time now. Four students opted out of placements this year.
“This is very heartening. The college has an entrepreneurship cell to even support such students. I really hope that this means that more students will be encouraged to start out on their own,” says Prof. Mukherjee.
IIM-B introduced the Research Aptitude Test (RAT) for its Fellowship programme in Management, along the lines of Common Aptitude Test (CAT), amidst plans to double its intake, increase the stipend and attract more corporate sponsorhips for Doctoral Fellows.
Apart from increasing Fellowships, the financial assistance for research scholars will be extended to five years from four and the annual contingency for academic expenses will be doubled to Rs. 50,000 per annum.
Monthly stipend for students has also been increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000 and House Rent Allowance to Rs. 8,000.
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