For most B-school
candidates selecting a specialization is a Herculean Task. It is so because your
career is dependent on the specialization you pick during MBA. Moreover, you
need to find out the latest trends, market dynamics and future industry demands
based on which you can opt for a specialization.
According to MJ
Xavier, director, IIM Ranchi, “There are three things that one has to take into
consideration while deciding on the area of specialisation. First, you should
examine your aptitude, interest in a desk job, liking for travel and whether
you like interacting with people. Then, look at market opportunities.
Currently, there are opportunities in finance, marketing, human resources,
business analytics, media management, health management and hospitality
management. One should also examine the educational background and experience
and then find a match between them.”
Most of the B-schools
give their students significant time to think about MBA specialization and that’s why you have to select your specialization
in the second year. Mr Xavier also cautioned that you need to select your specialization
depending on your academic interest and professional experience.
If you have a
degree in BSc Microbiology or in medicine with interests in social work, you
should probably specialise in public health or health management. If you are an
engineer with a couple of years of experience in a consulting firm, with
interests in a desk job, you should get into finance or business analytics.
Conventional
areas such as finance and HR are no longer the most sought after popular
choices in today’s constantly changing market. It’s IT, operations, marketing
and consultancy that are climbing the popularity ladder. Also, the
specialisations are not limited to marketing, human resources, finance,
IT/systems and operations management. Now there are more options available
such as entrepreneurship, rural development, sports management, hospital
management, and brand management, giving more variety to students.
One more aspect that
you should know before you decide your MBA
specialization is to know about the kind of job opportunities available in
the market and whether the particular area will interest you in the next few
years. Another suggestion is to understand your priorities well in different
specializations as industries and organisations have different ways of
acknowledging the efforts of their employees.
While some industry
may offer good appraisals and decent salary hike at a higher level, others may
offer a lucrative pay package at a lower position.
Other aspects such
as whether the company believes in flexible work hours, allows you to work on
other domains and gives you the opportunity to innovate are equally important
before you decide your specialization.
Out of these above
mentioned MBA specialization areas there
are a few areas that are evolving and very popular among students are hospital
management, communication and entrepreneurship. The success story of B-school
candidates who declined lucrative job offer and took up to run their own show
has inspired many students and more and more candidates are enrolling for these
options.
MBA
is the latest trend in the education industry. Today, almost every MBA program
offers a wide variety of courses and specializations to choose from. In fact,
this part of education has swept almost every sector and industry. From MBA in
business management to MBA in Healthcare Management, every small or big field
today requires management skills catering to the demand of modern day business
dynamics.
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