Click to play videoNew Delhi: In 2007 alone, approximately two and a half lakh students will be writing the CAT exam. 5000 will crack it and of these, only 1600 to 1700 will get into the IIMs. But there is no reason to despair for there is always the option of taking up a job directly after graduation.
And with competition becoming tougher each year, for many students, cracking the CAT is no longer the be-all and end-all.
"If my CAT doesn't work out, let's say - a lot of us our giving our CAT - and if it doesn't work out, then jobs are a good back-up and sometimes, jobs are so good that it actually makes you think about whether you should crack the CAT or not, or get a couple of years of work experience," a student at an MBA coaching centre said.
Some students have already got good starting pay packages straight after graduation, without needing to add an MBA degree to their CVs.
An instance in point is Udbhav who, after a mediocre show in CAT, chose to join the consultancy firm Watson-Wyatt after graduating from St Stephen's College in Delhi. With a pay packet of Rs 3.6 lakhs and year with the firm, Udbhav has no regrets.
"I would say one year of work for me has been great," he said. "For me, pursuing a career is also as important as my professional and academic achievements," adding that he's getting the best of both worlds, learning and earning.
HR Professional and Udbhav's colleague Barna Nayar adds that working right out of college may have been a good move for Udbhav.
"Not doing an MBA immediately after your graduation will not affect you in any way," she asserts. "Typically after graduation if you go out, you work, you learn the ropes, you have some work experience under your belt, and then you do your MBA - is preferable."
More and more multi-national companies have come to the realisation that rather than getting a candidate with an MBA degree at a higher pay, they can hire a fresh graduate at a much lower salary and give them the kind of specialised training they require, and hence get an employee as productive as an MBA graduate, or more.
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