Career in MBA Finance – The Challenges and Prospects Ahead

By Prof Pradip Kumar Mitra

Finance being the lifeblood of any business there is ample career scope for a post graduate in management with Finance. Read this article to know more about challenges and opportunities of a career in MBA Finance.

MBA finance as a career demands skills in accounting, finance, and taxation but it also requires proficiency in statistics and econometrics, especially the time series techniques. Students often misunderstand finance as a subject of accounting and taxation only, but it is far beyond this scope.  Nowadays, one needs to build one's quantitative acumen while studying this course and also learn new software and programming techniques dealing in quantitative finance. This will help build a diverse skillset and magnetism to start an attractive career in a good company.

The Challenges ahead...

If we compare the scenario taking place worldwide, especially in B-schools of Western countries like Europe or America, we find a paradigm shift in the teaching-learning process which is foraying into more digitization or instagramming or the use of a number of machine languages. This helps in bridging the gaps between industry and academia and making students experience more of a technology driven curriculum rather than theoretical classrooms. Experiential learning is the new focus for higher education. Along with digitization, artificial intelligence and robotization will also become the pillars for the fourth industrial revolution. The block chain, crypto currency, and nanotechnology have already created their footprints in the industry around the world and therefore in the coming days MBAs will have to shape themselves on the thriving pulse of industrial change and make themselves industry ready. 

While delivering the curriculum, ‘educational technology’ has carved out a niche in this transformation. Flip the classroom is the new instructional method where students get course material, projects and tasks online before they actually come to classroom, where they discuss only the cases or some problems with the faculty. Students are more engaged with business simulation and games that make learning increasingly interactive and thereby more effective.

How to move ahead...

Back in India, the business schools have started orienting towards this direction and thereby trying to make professionals industry ready through this process. So the point is that more dynamism has ventured in the curriculum and one needs to cater to it. MBA finance has thus become a challenging course, not in terms of theory only but also in terms of developing some unique skillset that the industry will look forward to in the days to come. 

Along with learning some applications, the industry also demands that one should get specialised in some areas and become compliant with the processes. For example, if a student is looking for a role in Capital markets he needs to pass some certificate courses like Investment Adviser, Derivatives and Securities Operations and Risk Management etc. which are run and certified by National Institute of Securities Market (an institute launched by SEBI). On the other hand, if a student is looking for a career in Banking then he needs to clear the Diploma in Banking and Finance (DBF) – a flagship course launched by Indian Institute of Banking and Finance which is equivalent to JAIIB (Junior Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers).

Similarly, for Risk Management one should go for FRM course, and for hands-on knowledge on Commodities the course of MCCP by Multi Commodity Exchange, or for Credit appraisal jobs a certificate course is available from CARE. Along with these certificate courses, one should also have a strong acumen in excel and develop programming skills in R-programming or Python or SAS programming. There are also some courses available online for free (Coursera and Edx). Apart from that a thorough training in soft skills like negotiation, leadership, teamwork and problem solving remained as a top priority. MBA finance program in a traditional University set up is yet to gear up with modern curriculum and pedagogical innovation but some of the B-schools have surely noticed the changes and incorporated those in their own PGDM curriculum which are again recognised by the AICTE, Government of India and equivalent to MBA programs as run in a university system. Having said that, it is true that there is no dearth of jobs for the right candidate rather there are jobs galore.One has to become capable to get the offers.

Jobs after MBA in Finance

Thrilling career opportunities are there in various consultancy firms, financial institutions and banks. One can get into relevant jobs in various broking, insurance and mutual fund companies also. Once you are through with five to eight years of experience you can serve in government organisations and get engaged into policy making affairs as a consultant.

Here are some examples that MBA Finance graduates can look at to start with:

• Accounting Professionals
• Financial Analyst
• Credit Appraisal Officer
• Treasury Manager
• Investment and Banking Associate
• Financial Risk Managers
• Investment and Insurance Advisors
• Investment Bankers
• Financial and Investment Consultant
• Research Executive for DEBT and Equity

The pay scale depends on the B-school from where one has graduated but one's acumen in finance will be the deciding factor. Even students from Tier II or Tier III B-schools can get lucrative packages if one has sound knowledge about the subjects and an all-rounder. The salary ranges normally from Rs 6 to 15 lakhs in Tier I and Tier II b-schools depending on the reputation of that school.  

To conclude it can be said that there are plenty of career opportunities for MBA Finance students, the key is how one remains focussed throughout the journey and gears to move in the right direction. As Einstein said, “Knowledge is the Currency” one needs to soak up knowledge from everywhere to rule the roost.

About the Author

Dr. Pradip Kumar Mitra is Associate Dean - Finance at Vivekanand Education Society Institute of Management Studies & Research, Mumbai. He is a post graduate in management (Finance) from Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata and completed his Chartered Financial Analyst and Master of Financial Analysis from ICFAI. He has completed his PhD from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra on Sustainability Reporting for Indian Chemical Industry. He is an accredited management teacher (AMT) recognized by All India Management Association (AIMA), New Delhi.