Exams..

Once again, there is an dreaded exam tomorrow. To be technically correct, 4 papers on a single day. Any exam night resembles a typical play, you can actually see the same people displaying same characteristics, exam after exam. Couple of guys have called in their moms to take care of the exam fever, few are busy buying new sets of stationary, few others are busy at the photocopying center. yet others  are preparing the chits :o)

Canteen is likely to have more business tonight and so is the nearby Tea & Smoke point. Few of the students will be flipping the books for the first time ever in the semester. But ever since, the powerpoint has been invented, I suspect that the books are likely to have any such privilege. Nonetheless, most of the students are unlikely to have any sleep tonight because they will be "studying" tonight to fight a battle tommorow.

Given, the seriousness and preparedness for the exam, I wonder why do we even have the written/closed books exams at the first place, for any of the professional exam? Would it even matter in your professional life that you do not memorize the OB model or formula for Correlation or one of countless flowcharts or diagrams? One of our favorite professors, fondly said that "90% of what you study will never be required in your life again, unless you become a teacher"

Most of the exams will favor "Rattu Totas" and therefore most talented students do not take any study seriously, bunk the classes and in general hate books. As goes the popular saying,

"I was born talented, but education ruined me".

You mug up and vomit verbatim, next day. Better you mug, more are the chances of success. Mugging might have been good when 40 MB Hard Disk cost few thousand dollars, but certainly not today when data storage is dirt cheap. Punch in all the data and I am sure that Hard Disk/Computer will be able to reproduce it verbatim. I hope that somebody takes cognizance of this and introduces open book/concept testing exams. Ironically, I was never good at memorizing but yet managed to get decent grades.

As I write this, nothing much changes, with the exception that I could hear some distance noises discussing about a tough exam tommorow while I am busy writing this blog ;o)

I too wanted to be an MBA ... Part 1

Why MBA?

Because everybody else who “seemed” successful was doing one or had already done one.

It was year 2005 and every other day, I would read about astronomical MBA packages in the newspapers. One college reported a package of Rs. 2 Crore ($500,000), the highest ever offered in the Indian campus recruitment history. If you ponder a bit about it, you realize that it’s the turnover of a small sized company and probably the lifetime earning of class IV government employee!!  As they say, “Sabse bada rupaiyah”, greed had set in and I too was determined to become an MBA.

However, what they conveniently forget to mention in those news clipping is that Rs. 2 Crore package was offered to a gentleman with 15 years of prior industry experience and that the post offered was that of a CEO of a new formed subsidiary. They also forget to specify that batch size was over 200+ students and that least package offered was around Rs. 6 Lacs ($15000). Btw, did I say that person getting Rs. 2 Crore, would have to retire after 10 years compulsorily because of stress, hypertension, spondilitis and all other ailments. There’s no such thing as free lunch..5 hundred thousand USDs come for a price, often with an irreversible damage!!! 

But you only know about the inside story, once you are in the mud. The glass is always greener on the other side. So the stage was ready, friends & family, and every Tom, Dick & Harry insisted that I must also do an MBA.  Suggestions poured in, ‘MBA opens a new door of opportunity’, ’Your career will stagnate after some time, if you don’t do a MBA’, ‘You are ruining your talent ..’ and so on. Best thing about advise is that, everybody needs one and everybody gives one, but nobody follows.

It’s a bit digression from the context, but I had a handsome paying job at a big MNC. The reason I got into the job after my graduation was that I could no longer bear studies after about 18 years of education; I wanted to be self dependent and earn some cool money. Simply stated I wanted to enter the “Corporate” world. 

It’s worth mentioning about my job because I was too “occupied with work” on weekdays and weekends were to relax so I did not have enough time to prepare for the CAT. Years after years passed by, and CAT attempts kept on increasing… One fine day I realized that I have 3 years of work experience and still I am not a MBA; it was the right time for Plan B. 

I consoled myself, competition in India is too tough; there is no dearth of Indian talent but seats are extremely limited. Harvard admits one out eight applicants, IIM Ahemdabad admits one out of two hundred. There was no way each of the hundred thousand candidates, who appear for CAT each year can make it to IIM-A (the Mecca of Indian B-school).  Easier approach was to go for GMAT, a bit expensive but renowned and easier exam (or at least I thought so..) 

Where am I right now?

How was the GMAT journey?

Was the grass really green?

Watch out this space for the next update… Patience will be fruitful, that’s a promise (I just started blogging… gimme some time :o) 

Continue reading here.. updated after 2 years.. I too wanted to be an MBA ... Part 2

MBA n the dream job

Considering that I am not writing anything on my own this week, thought that this little story might be a good reading experience. Introspect and decide where do you want to land up???

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A boat docked in a tiny Goan village. A tourist from Mumbai (Mumbaite) complimented the Goan fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the fisherman.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the Mumbaite.

The Goan fisherman explained that his small catch was Sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The Mumbaite asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play guitar, sing a few songs... I have a full life."

The Mumbaite interrupted, "I have an MBA from IIM-A, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?" asked the Goan.

"With the extra money The larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Panjim, or even Mumbai. From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Goan.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the Mumbaite.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting," chuckled the Mumbaite, "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the Goan.

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, Sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like with your buddies."

"With all due respect sir, but that's exactly what I am doing now. So what's the point wasting 25 Years?" asked the Goan. The moral of the story is? Know where you're going in life. You may already be there.

Life in the present world is indeed a rat race. Many who have good qualifications too do not know where they are going in life.

(Taken from the Internet, Source: Unknown)

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I just wished that I could have been that fisherman and that I had read this story earlier !!!