It’s almost as if a Master in Business Administration (MBA) has become a favorite (seemingly mandatory) degree after graduation, regardless of the course you’ve majored in. While there is no denying that the syllabus is holistic and extremely well-rounded in nature, the majority of the students don’t pursue the course for its intellectual benefits. Sadly, most fall prey to the bogus rumor that has been making rounds in the country for some time- fetching an MBA degree means a guaranteed job that pays exceptionally well. That’s a lie. Besides the unprecedented rise in competition among aspiring MBA students, there are also cases of business schools cashing in on the ‘MBA wave’.
Contrary to the popular belief, there are many other options to go for after graduation, besides the much-hyped MBA.
1) Do a course in Computers:
These days, being well-equipped with technical know-how is not only a basic requirement but a highly sought after skill. With the ever increasing competition, it’s absolutely essential to have a skill set that is not only desirable but also rare. You know what they say about being able to do something only you can- “never do it for free.” Having that extra skill of working the computer and programming can help fetch you that job everyone’s vying for.
2) Learn a language:
And when I say learn, I don’t mean an online course. Roll yourself with a proper teaching institute, sit for the exams, and get the degree. Having an additional language under “Languages well versed-in” is always a bright spot that pops up in a resume. A polyglot is revered and given a unique preference, especially when it comes to choosing the employee of the year who’ll be sent to Europe to work in the headquarters of the company. *wink-wink*
3) Pursue that one passion you’ve always wanted to:
I am aware of how clichéd a statement this is, used one too many times. But while the truth is that “it’s never too late to give your passion a try”, try before it is, in fact- too late. You just wrapped up 3 (4?) years of college, they’d assume you want to seek a master’s degree in the course you graduated in, or maybe some other stream.
The question is, did you remember to ask yourself if that guitar is just a hobby or something more? Or if you should finish the designs you’ve been wanting to, or is it finally time to take your novel you wrote months ago to a publisher? Do it, do it now. Don’t give it another second thought.
4) Work with a Start-up:
Start-ups are the new cool. But that is not why you should want to have one. First and foremost, understand that a start-up doesn’t grow out of thin air. It requires more than ‘that one idea’, it takes an incomprehensible amount of hard work and dedication to build one, and even then- a majority of them end up failing. Regardless of the consequences, working in a start-up environment, alongside some ingenious minds, not merely following the mundane protocols of corporate culture but letting your life be infused by that extra drop of creativity- can be liberating and fulfilling- to say the least.
5) Backpack to a new land and stay put for some time:
The latter half of the statement is very important to keep in mind. Most people have a limited time frame to travel in, and so it’s a given that they’ll journey to a place with exquisite sites, visit the famous tourist spots, travel enough to have a reasonable number of pictures to make for a decent album for their Facebook profile and come back to what they’ve always known as home.
This one time, do it differently. Don’t visit a place for the sites you could very well lookup on Google, do it to understand the people, the culture, and the land, in their entirety. Embrace a culture that was hitherto an unknown and obscure phenomenon to you. There are various websites that hook you up to local residents of the city wherein you can book accommodation at a resident’s place and have an authentic and novel experience. Much better than the sea view that the 5-star hotel promised you, right?
An MBA isn’t a bad option, far from it. But the question you need to ask yourself is- Is this what you see yourself doing? More importantly, is this what you see yourself doing now? Give yourself a year, and give the aforementioned things (and more) a shot. You’ll be amazed at how enriching and enlightening an experience it can prove to be. If it makes you a more wholesome and tolerant person at the end of it, nothing can be better.
