MBA after graduation vs work experience: Which is better?

In case, you are also thinking whether it is better to pursue an MBA immediately after graduation or should you work for some years and then opt for MBA, you must go through the below-mentioned post.

Being a fresh graduate has its own set of benefits. You are enthusiastic, young and creative and can come up with innovative solutions for cases and problems. But at the same time, you might not have a lot of insight into the real-world issues. People with work experience have a fair understanding of the corporate world and how things work.

Thus, in case, you are also thinking whether it is better to pursue an MBA immediately after graduation or should you work for some years and then opt for MBA, you must go through the below-mentioned post:

Benefits of pursuing an MBA after graduation

Some of the benefits of choosing an MBA after graduation are as follows:

• Personal as well as professional skills: Doing an MBA is always advantageous for the aspirants as it not only offers professional training but also makes you more positive by boosting your personality. By pursuing this course right away after graduation, you will get to improve your personal in addition to professional skills and become more positive about leading the corporate world.
• A good start and career opportunity: An MBA graduate gets a fast start and earns well. As they are qualified during their course tenure, employers are ready to appoint an MBA right away. They do not have to struggle much to get a job.
• Enhanced knowledge: An MBA program will furnish you with the skills you must have to succeed in your selected career. Specialised MBA programs can be helpful for people who are focused on a specific industry. It will open up a range of new opportunities.
• Opportunities for networking and socialising: MBA aspirants get lots of opportunities to work as an intern in leading companies and get to learn a lot of new things about the corporate world throughout their internship. This can prove advantageous to them once they start working.
• Reduced chances of acceptance at top B-schools: Most of the leading B-schools necessitate you to be able to contribute to the discussions in regards to the business and the corporate world. This can only be achieved if you have some professional experience. People who have more knowledge have a better chance of getting through leading B-schools as compared to freshers.
• Hard to make the correct choice at this stage: Making the correct choice in regards to your MBA programme is very important. Before you gain professional experience, it might be a bit hard to have a clear career plan sketched out.

Also Read: Significance of Executive MBA courses for working executives

Advantages of pursuing an MBA after gaining work experience

When it comes to your career, experience matters. Whether you are applying for a job, or graduate education, for example, an MBA programme, you will always be evaluated on your experience, and how it can be applied to your chosen program or career. Work experience before an MBA offers the student with a platform to build on during their studies. 

• More clarity: You will be clearer in your approach about what you want or regarding a particular goal if you select to work for a few years before pursuing an MBA. After you have a set of defined career goals, you can apply to an MBA program of your choice.
• More practical experience: An individual with a few years of experience is more likely to have a grab on the management principles as and when they are trained in the classroom and will give more sensible examples. You will have a better hold on the practicality with different matters.
• Soft skills: After being a part of the corporate world for a while, you will develop the soft skills which might matter. These comprise things, for instance, interpersonal and communication skills which are essential in the corporate world. Work environments offer a range of such opportunities to improve such skills.

Disadvantages of pursuing an MBA after gaining work experience

There are no disadvantages, as such, of pursuing MBA or PGDM after gaining a noteworthy amount of work experience. Work experience plays a major role in the application process and B-schools tend to give liking to graduates with previous work experience.

However, it is important to keep in mind that for on-campus recruitment that will be conducted after the course completion, if the individual who has certain work experience is applying for an industry which is not in line with the previous industry where he has worked, it will not be counted as relevant experience. This means that the importance placed on his experience will reduce.

As an MBA degree is regarded to be one of the most significant degrees of your life, it makes sense to weigh your options and then make a decision consequently after analysing the advantages and disadvantages of both.

Final thoughts

When to pursue an MBA degree, just after your graduation or after some years of professional experience, depends on your motivation and goals. It depends completely on you. Some people are sensitive and learn a lot by just keeping their eyes open. And some people are self-starters. The MBA will give you some basic, but you will require a lot of practical experience to tie it together fast and make it functional before you lose it. MBA is a post-graduate programme that teaches management with or without specialisations. It is mostly better for those with substantial work experience.

Remember that an MBA would not make you a businessman but will give you the “numbers” understanding – a valuable skill in an ever-increasingly complicated world. An MBA is not a promise of success. MBA will be more helpful to you after you get some years of field experience.