GD Topic - Is Work Experience Required for an MBA?
6 people are having a discussion on the topic (Alexander, Bryan, Charles, Damon, Ellen, Fred)
Group Discussion Starts
Charles: Hi all, the topic given to us is: Is work experience required for an MBA? Master of Business Administration is one of the most preferred course among students. But I think one must have work experience of at least 2-3 years of before joining MBA program. If you have work-experience then you can relate it with your studies. And it will help you to understand the theoretical knowledge in much better way.
Alexander: I agree with Charles. The most important think in this is – You already know how different organizations works. You are familiar with basic organizational structure and different work related policies. Sometimes it is not easy for a fresher to understand the business terminologies while studying in class.
Damon: Moreover if you want to do MBA from prestigious institute it is better to have work-experience. They focus on student with good work experience.
Image: pixabay
Bryan: Well, But there are many prestigious institutes which follow 60:40 ration for fresher and experienced students respectively. I agree with your point that work experience is good for better understanding, but I don’t think it is necessary to do MBA.
Fred: Adding to Bryan’s point, I would like to mention that premier institute focuses on peer-learning. So freshers can learn from experienced students easily.
Ellen: And why would one waste 2-3 years of his/her career in doing job if he/she can earn more after doing MBA! If one is capable enough to gain the knowledge then work experience is not necessary.
Alexander: It is not possible for fresher to understand each and everything from experience student. You can understand the basic overview of organizational environment but you cannot gain the feeling of which type of culture they followed and influence they had over others etc.
Ellen: I don’t think understanding all these will make any difference during study. If you have good theoretical knowledge then you can easily score good marks.
Damon: MBA program is not about getting good marks but it is about learning concepts that we can apply during job. Work experience moulds students into professionals. And those who have good technical knowledge do MBA to get managerial knowledge.
If you won’t be able to apply your knowledge during job then your marks will not matter at all.
Charles: Even MBA programs are more focused on Case-Based learning. If you have no exposure in corporate then you won’t be able to contribute anything fruitful during class discussion.
Fred: But if institute will start selecting only experienced people then it will surely lose out on fresh talent. Also there is no exact evidence that freshers won’t get any value by doing MBA program.
Bryan: There is large number of companies which only consider freshers during recruitment. Because they find it is easier to train freshers compared to those who has experience in other industries. Also companies which are offering entry level positions prefer freshers.
Charles: Even there are companies which allow students who are having specific work experience. By doing these they save on training cost as they don’t have to make extra efforts to train that person again for the similar type of task.
Alexander: I agree placement is the important part. But there are many advantages if you have the work experience. He/she can understand the value of team-work. He/she has already applied theoretical knowledge for practical implementation. He/she must have faced some problems while applying it and the same he can focus to resolve during MBA programs.
Ellen: I do understand your point. But considering company’s preferences, peer-learning, and pool of fresh talent I think there are definitely scope for those who are fresher. Moreover, there are various programs like summer internship and industrial visits, which will give relevant exposure to freshers as well.
Conclusion
Considering the structure of MBA program – It is very much important to have at least 2-3 years of work-experience. You will be able to contribute and learn more if you have corporate exposure. Also large numbers of companies prefer experienced candidates during interviews.
But one can also join MBA program being a fresher. As there are various programs which focuses on providing corporate exposure to students. Premier institute’s culture of peer-learning can also benefit them.
Facts related to the topic
• Across all regions, the ratio of applicants with more than 5 years of work experience has increased. Further, the age of MBA applicants has increased by 0.7 years in 2012, to a global average of 28.3 years.
• According to a Financial Times report, a 24 year old professional can get a hike of approximately 145% in their salary post an MBA degree.
• People with 1 or less years of experience are almost as good as freshers - as far as practical knowledge is concerned.
• Asian universities are not very strict about average work experience when it comes to admission in MBA but a working professional is always preferred by the faculties.
• The average work experience of MBA students accepted to business schools in USA falls within the range of 3-7 years.
This article has been researched & authored by the Content & Research Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.
Browse various similar group discussion topics. The Group Discussion section covers more than 100 topics.
Continue Reading :
