Of Indians and our fascination for IB/Consult jobs
I have been in this race for an admit to a good BSchool for over a year now. During this period I've met several fellow Indians who are running this race with me. What I find amazing is that we r the most homogenous demographic there is! Atleast as far as the BSchool world goes. Engineer Male probably sums up 70-80% (Or maybe even higher) of the Indian junta (translates to "people") apping to the US Bschools.
As if this weren't bad enough (in terms of diversity), most of us want to get into either Consulting or Investment Banking post MBA! Even I plead guilty to this charge. Infact barring one person, ALL the Indian applicants that I know of, have either of these two as their goal. Why dont we look at Sales, Brand mgmt, Ops, HR, Non-Profit etc. Interestingly, Indian Bschools have a good mix of post MBA jobs!
Been thinking about this, and frankly I am at a loss as to why. A few factors that come to my mind:
- Indians are Quant jocks, and Consult n IB are one of the most quant heavy fields. (Thanks Anon for reminding me of this, forgot to include this)
- Since most of us come from a tech consulting background, maybe we dont bother to look beyond consulting. But then that leaves out IB.
- We are not exposed enough to the other options.
- Post MBA, most non-consult, non-IB donot hire internationals. But most applicants are not even aware of this when they are working on their goals, or so I think.
- Both pay handsomely!
Not sure how valid these points are, but I really cant think of any other reasons. Feel free to shred these to threads!
As if this weren't bad enough (in terms of diversity), most of us want to get into either Consulting or Investment Banking post MBA! Even I plead guilty to this charge. Infact barring one person, ALL the Indian applicants that I know of, have either of these two as their goal. Why dont we look at Sales, Brand mgmt, Ops, HR, Non-Profit etc. Interestingly, Indian Bschools have a good mix of post MBA jobs!
Been thinking about this, and frankly I am at a loss as to why. A few factors that come to my mind:
- Indians are Quant jocks, and Consult n IB are one of the most quant heavy fields. (Thanks Anon for reminding me of this, forgot to include this)
- Since most of us come from a tech consulting background, maybe we dont bother to look beyond consulting. But then that leaves out IB.
- We are not exposed enough to the other options.
- Post MBA, most non-consult, non-IB donot hire internationals. But most applicants are not even aware of this when they are working on their goals, or so I think.
- Both pay handsomely!
Not sure how valid these points are, but I really cant think of any other reasons. Feel free to shred these to threads!
Labels: General BSchool Rant
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Indians are also good with numbers. IB and consulting seem to be the most quant heavy fields in business
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:39 PM
its difficult to justify you moving to sales, or marketing if you have been sitting in a cubicle for 5 years writing C++/Java code...;)) although that doesnt justify the choice of Consulting/IB either...
Posted by
Anonymous |
10:30 PM
I agree with Cornfed, IB and Consulting are the most preferred post MBA jobs inrrespective of ethnicity or nationality .These are the top 2 professions that need all the skills acquired from a full time MBA in an 'actual' sense and that makes them the biggest recruiters. Its a cycle ( maybe)
You can be a gen manager in the same Industry without an MBA or with an E MBA,that leaves non-profit.
A few enlightened souls of India can right now think of borrowing and not thinking of ROI.
Now, i guess what you miss is the long term goal. Those choosing Conulting might have varied Long term goals ( that truly come from with in them) like starting their own venture, taking up general management in the same sector or another. Consulting just has too many exit paths available and for those who can see it offers limitless horizons. Basically that means you mature faster if you can and want to. The exposure to diversity is just incredible.
Posted by
Inblue |
5:42 PM
You planning to apply to 9 schools !! Thats alot :)
I am considering Cornell too.. but not very sure..
Posted by
MBABlogger |
4:30 PM
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