My Tryst With An
MBA Degree
- by Vipin Arora *
Having worked in the corporate
world for more than eight years, shifting to a class room environment of a
B-School was a bit of a challenge, and now that I have completed one year at
DOMS IIT Roorkee, when I look back and contemplate, I must admit that the
decision I made was very correct!!!
I was always interested in
pursuing a full time MBA right from the college days, but due to certain
bottlenecks could not do justice to my dreams. Nonetheless it proved to be a
"blessing in disguise". After having worked in a cushy job of a Marketing
Executive in a blue chip company, I was feeling a little restless, since I
wished to learn more about business and wanted to change my approach towards
looking at things. I must say that an MBA degree does just that!!!
It has helped me in basically two
major areas - first and the foremost - thinking on your feet, which is crucial
for survival today, and the second - humility - I have learnt to respect the
talent of others and have come to realize that everyone has one or two very
unique strengths and they must be respected for that irrespective of age and
other factors.
Having said that, I must also add
that my focus in doing an MBA is "value addition" in the context of taking all
that is on offer from my college, irrespective of tricky buzzwords like
"placements", "intellectual capital", etc. etc., and to that extent this
approach has helped me in striving for excellence in whatever I do, and achieve
it!!!
Yet another important skill I
must mention is "adaptability" which they teach you here. If I take my own
example, after having been used to a set schedule for so many years, it was
initially tough to adjust to finicky schedules of a B-school, with lots of
things hitting you at the same time. In fact writing exams was a pain, because I
simply had forgotten how to write with a pen due to use of computers at the work
place!!! But I "managed" and the day a person starts thinking, "I can MANAGE",
from that instant he is a certified Manager!!!
So this is my sojourn till now...
still a year of invaluable & priceless learning remains... and I am looking
forward to it!!!
