MBA or MTech: What should a BTech graduate opt for?

By Abhijeet Singh 

Growth and success of an individual is directly proportional to the decisions and choices made at every milestone. This applies to the career decisions predominantly. Opting for higher studies after Bachelors of Technology (BTech) is one of those calls. There can't be a straight answer amongst the most popular choices whether it should be a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) or Masters of Technology (MTech).

A lot of effort and thought has to go into making a good choice. The parameters that need to be considered include the individual's long term goals, area of interest, and the skill set accumulated so far. Going for an MBA after BTech helps a person take care of the full spectrum of an assignment that’s technical and requires strategic expertise to accomplish it. A BTech graduate can transform technical leads into productive business outcomes. This combination puts an individual's career development on a fast pace for sure.

However, having said that, this is only applicable for someone whose inclination is over and above technology and who wants to get into the corporate management field and is interested in a leadership role.

The first choice of stream for a BTech candidate should be MBA in Operations, because technical know-how and operational work go hand in hand. Second choice could be an MBA in Finance followed by MBA in Marketing & Sales. After all, there is no point choosing an MBA in HR after a BTech.

It's also recommended to get a work experience of three to five years before opting for MBA and going for PGDM courses where ISB or IMI choose to train people who already have an industry exposure. This helps an individual decide the exact domain in which he wants to make a long term career.

The industry follows a trend these days. Most of the product companies look for Product Managers with a BTech and preferably an MBA. However, BTech and MTech candidates are the first choice for getting into technical architecture and engineering teams.

On the contrary, it's also alarming that lately BTech graduates are choosing to go for MBA as it boosts the monetary gains and the avenues for career enhancement.

But at the same time, India seems to have been witnessing a shrink in the supply of qualified and seasoned MTech professionals as there are various diversified fields to choose from after BTech. MTech provides an opportunity to specialise in a particular area of interest such as embedded technology or robotics and enhances a techie into a technologist. One can get into hardcore research assignments or handle the tech operations for a top IT company. So precisely the domains in which an MTech can seek career opportunities are corporate sector with core engineering companies such as L&T or they may wish to go for research & development and teaching. MTech can lead to exceptionally high paying and well settled careers but at a lower frequency. One needs to appear for GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering).

At this point, to keep it precise, I would say MBA is relatively generic when compared to MTech and it always opens avenues for choosing a career option in different domains and verticals. However, MTech is a highly specialised course wherein mostly the core discipline has to be considered while opting for a career option.

About the Author

Abhijeet Singh has an MBA from IMI New Delhi and bachelor's degree in Computer Applications. He currently the product head for VitalSpring Health Information Technology Networks India.