So, you are a working professional (most probably IT professional), who has a decent salary. But you have realized that you don’t enjoy technical life and may be you should move into management. Also, some of you may be facing mid life crisis. By now, you already have done many trainings in all the organizations you have worked for. You already have obtained all the certifications like PMP, CCNA, MVP and whatever else exists. You already have all the soft skills training. And now, you met someone who told you about a part time MBA program from some local institute providing MBA degree from recognized university. which will take you to the moon. That too, without you going for any entrance exam or interviews, without quitting your job or salaries, without any major impact on your current lifestyle. And it’s like a dream come true.

You choose part time MBA because you do not want to give up your job and salary And you have a belief that getting a degree will help you make that great leap into a new career. So, you start answering all those marketing and sales calls from various institutes offering MBA degree in association with universities. You check the glamorous past placement records which have been faked. You look at all the faculty profiles, 80% of whom are just guest speakers.

And here goes the cheque from your pocket ranging anywhere from INR 3 lakhs to 10 lakhs (USD 5000 to USD 15000) to BUY a degree.

Why did I emphasize on the word BUY ?

Very simple. Because with the payment you made, whether you study or not, you’ll get a degree for sure. And you would have completed an MBA in disciplines like Business Analytics, Product Management, Product Leadership, Operations Management, Entrepreneurship and so many other disciplines too.

I understand when people go to IIMs/ISB/ any international business school for a full time program. They would have gone through a process to get selected for full time programs and I am sure they’ll be learning a lot from well established professors who have been there, done that and also have close connections with the industry. Full time MBA programs have high quality placement records. And a full time MBA program makes you focus on your goal i.e. Learning Business and Management.

But part time MBA is a good way to fool yourself. and because, your belief in a degree is so high that so many institutes open a shop to provide you a degree in any case. You just need to sign up, attend weekend classes (even if you don’t , it does not matter), just give some superficial exams, do some dummy projects and voila !! the convocation day arrives and you become a post graduate. And you become an alumni of the university you have never been to.

Now, the routine starts again. The next day of convocation,** you still go back to same job you were doing earlier. More or Less, you sit on the same chair, attend the same meetings as you did earlier.** Nothing changes in your life except your linkedin profile has one more degree to mention. And now, you start talking management lingo without any context. Months go by and nothing much has changed. You tried looking for a job but nothing happened. The institute (the one you paid huge amounts for a degree) washes its hands and blames your inability to learn as a reason of not providing you placements.

Another Year goes by. By now, you have realized that none of the companies whether startups or large corporates give a shit to your degree. You are an elephant who cannot dance. And hence, you cannot get hired. And by now, your alumni network of so called MBA school has also vanished in their own world. You are still trying to figure out what next in life . Because as per degree, you are a qualified product leader but a leader who has not built any product in real life.

But Why am I telling all this ?

Because I want to say one thing. MBA is not bad if it is done from a reputed business school. If it is done full time with complete focus. and you have gone through a bit of pain to secure admission into it. And to be honest, no company in the world cares of about part time MBAs. Would you like to hire a candidate who has completed his MBA from an open school like IGNOU ? If not, then why do you expect someone else to hire you. Your part time degree is no better. If you actually look closely in the current scenario, may be you’ll find only one product manager out of a hundred thousand product managers globally (or even in india if there are more than ten thousand product managers) who would have done MBA in Product Management or Product Leadership. and if you cannot find more than a few, think again.

Instead of going for a degree, save that money. Invest in learning on your own. May be invest it in building a product on your own. Isn’t it better to get baptised by fire ? Get a mentor who can help you to understand the reality of life. Face it. When you have some experience, you are good to learn on your own. Never talk to people who joined the part time degree course, talk to the CEO or senior management of the companies you wish to join and check with them if they’ll hire you just because you BOUGHT a so-called MBA DEGREE. if many of them say yes, go for it. But I doubt if any rational person will ever be in favour of it.

If you are still thinking about degree, ask a few questions :

1. How many people have actually achieved the goals after acquiring the part time so-called MBA ?

2. Is the money really worth the degree you are buying ?

3. If you can pay the money and get a degree, others can too. That means, you are in a mediocre society which will not take you anywhere.

4. and the final question, what are you trying to achieve by a degree that can not be done without it ?

And if you have completed and acquired an MBA degree, I am sure you would have studied about human behaviour too. That means, no human being accepts that he got a raw deal. Even if he does not like what he got, he/she will still publicly talk good about it. Because, no one wants to look like a fool by accepting a mistake that they made such an expensive , wrong or foolish decision. So, Get the answers to above questions and be truthful to yourself atleast.

Again, If you are serious about MBA, then quit your job, prepare for CAT/GMAT or any exam like that, and get admission in a reputed business school which offers you full time program. Because that’s the only degree industry cares about.

If Part time degree was any good, 90% of India would have been MBA by now and India would have been economic super power and everyone would have been a CERTIFIED ENTREPRENEUR or a CERTIFIED PRODUCT LEADER.

Don’t fool yourself or others. Get Real.