We speak to working professionals about their back-to-school experiences. As part of this series, we profile a London-based management professional, for whom, not one but two MBAs did the trick. According to him, when picking your MBA, use strategy.

Name: Prateek Sinha
What I do: I work as a development consultant.
Which company: British Telecom
Location: London, United Kingdom

AFTER graduating with a Physics Honours from the University of Delhi and a post-graduate diploma in Human Resources from the Xavier Labour Relations Institute, I landed a job with Accenture India as a management consultant. It was back in the year 1995, and I shelled out about Rs 48,000 for my MBA. Thankfully my family funded my study stint.

Good colleagues, great facilities and a great working atmosphere -- this is how I'd describe my job at Accenture, where I worked for five years. I spent two early years in London working as change management consultant to some large European SAP firms. Something was missing though. I felt the need to explore other career options like finance, general management, entrepreneurship etc. I also wanted to expand my professional network.

MBA pe MBA
To understand the management theory in light of my work experiences I decided to pursue another MBA degree in the UK. I knew I had to go back to school full-time. So, I enrolled myself at the London Business School. I chose to study in the UK because I had already lived in London and wanted to come back and work here. Lucky for me, my wife also got a job there.

Pound-wise
The tuition fee amounted to about £ 36000 (approximately Rs 27,87,040) and a family loan funded this. Personal savings and my wife's salary helped us to deal with the living expenses in the UK, which amounted to roughly about £ 2000 (approximately Rs 1,54,803) per month. I had to spend on a laptop because it was a necessity. This came from my personal savings again. Books, also were a vital added expense.

During these two years, I took up a summer job with a small organisation called Orbis Placement, as a project manager. I landed this job through the LBS alumni. I worked with the group's CEO on a short-term turnaround plan to enhance labour productivity, identifying extra billing opportunities leading to reduction in costs. It not only helped in bringing in those bucks but it was also a great work experience.

Life after my second MBA
Straight after school I joined Capgemini Consulting. Then I worked with Accenture once again in London and now I am with British Telecom, as an internal organisation development consultant. As part of this post I help the top management deal with the organisation and people implications of business change.

For example if a new business strategy or business change project is being implemented, the oragnisation development consultant will assist the leadership team to work through the structural, people, process, and cultural implications of the new strategy or change.

My second MBA helped me position myself as a global management professional. It was entirely worth the time and effort and opened several global avenues for me. Today I have a better paying job in the UK and my standard of living has definitely improved.

On a different note, I was able to pay back the loan to my family very quickly, in just one and half years.

Smart advice
Be clear about what you expect out of your MBA and where you want to work, post. Choose your school accordingly. If for example you want to work in finance in London or New York, choose a good school in these locations, one that offers a finance specialisation.

This will help you build a good professional network in school, which you can leverage later on. Also, make sure you know the visa and work placement rules of your school. In my perspective, once you get to academics after a professional stint your work experiences and maturity help you to get more out of the entire experience.

In the picture: Graduates fill in application forms during a job fair in China.
Photograph: China Photos/Getty Images
(Photograph used for illustrative purposes only)

Disclaimer: While efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided in the content, the web site or the author shall not be held responsible for any loss caused to any person whatsoever who accesses or uses or is supplied with the content (consisting of articles and information).

e-mail: Suraj Anand

Suggest a story idea! Write to us!