Other Side-01: The Dumbest Question

They say there are no dumb questions… Of course, there are, and one of those questions is the Dumbest !

“Aap ne Engineering ke baad MBA kiun kiya ?”

(Why did you go for MBA after Engineering?)

If you are an MBA (& formerly an Engineer) and you are being asked this question during an interview – it should raise a red flag !

A red flag regarding the competence level of the person who is evaluating you !

(Afterall, interview is a two way thing !)

The person interviewing you is perhaps not skilled enough himself/herself to answer this question and needs to go through the MBA curriculum prior to sitting in-front of the hot-seat.

Some might jump in defense to say that “No, they ask you to know about your motivations.”

I’d say: “Well, now the MBA has been done and I have a diverse skillset! What you should be more concerned about at this point, is the future ambitions that I hold. So next question please !”

I have decided to write this article to remind a few key things to all my “Engineer-turned-MBA” friends who have gone through a similar situation. Of course the recruiters are welcome to take notes too.

Decisions like going for an MBA are not made in the heat of the moment, and motivations forge over a great deal of time. It requires great courage on the part of the Engineer to get out of his/her comfort zone and pursue something that has been stigmatized as a “different field”. (Not to mention the financial considerations that dictate a huge investment and opportunity cost over a span of approximately 02 years)

Before I proceed, I’d like you to ponder upon a question:

“Why do we have to compartmentalize education?”

I am not an educationist, but what I have observed throughout my (local) academic and professional career is that individuals are “labelled” and “tagged” by their majors in field of study i.e. Engineers, Computer Scientists, Designers and the list goes on. Even, if I recall my own Engineering journey, I can hardly remember being taught more than 02 courses on general management, and those too, treated as step-siblings to Engineering majors. Showing any interest in a neighboring discipline has conventionally been considered a breach of pact or rebellion against the “mother-field”. The wide gap between the industry and academia in the local context, only aggravates the situation, where even choice of the “mother-field” is not a very well informed one, at the first place.

Nowhere does it say that one cannot continue the technical role after going through a few dozen courses on business, administration and resource management. Even if one decides to pursue an Engineering role (and many do) after studying the numerous dimensions of Business world, one’s ability to add value would significantly enhance in comparison to the past. Though things are changing over time, but still the acceptance towards such an unorthodox behavior remains low.

It becomes even trickier when a graduate in a particular discipline enters work life, which is more about managing resources – either Human or Material, necessitating a skill set that most “Technical” people need to polish. No doubt, there is always an option to keep oneself restricted to the R&D or work that requires diving deep into one’s core field e.g. writing a code for 08 hours a day or observing the de-dusting activity on machines for several years on repeat. BUT if one wants to grow in one’s career and explore the breadth of the corporate world (atleast in the local corporate ecosystem), one needs to develop a thorough academic as well as strong practical background for the challenge that one is going to undertake.

The way I see MBA, it is not a “different field” at all, rather an extension of the educational and self-development journey that broadens one’s worldview. The same Engineer whose greatest worry in the world used to be designing air-conditioning systems for clients or perhaps planning lubrication activities for 50 machines twice a year, suddenly starts seeing the implications of his/her contribution towards the whole business. The concepts of customer satisfaction, revenue, cost, leadership, marketing and human resource management, that once seemed distant and unrelated, start making a lot of sense. The best possible outcome – your next career choice is more informed and aligned with your natural aptitude.

At this point, I must make it clear that the whole article is not meant to force everyone to go through an MBA program, rather the purpose is to highlight the significant personal-growth that an individual undergoes by learning about the core concepts of managing an organization and surviving in a wider business ecosystem.

So, my Engineer-turned-MBA friends, the next time you are asked this question, you should be more confident in responding to this and must keep faith in your “well thought-out” life-choice rather than the interviewer’s twenty second judgment.

Also, it is about time that the recruiters and interviewers start accepting these facts and save a few minutes of their (and the candidates’) precious time by not asking:

“Why did you go for an MBA after Engineering?”

As for the future, we can only hope that more of our academic institutions realize the aforementioned gaps and revise the “Technical” curriculums to include atleast basic course-work on the practical understanding of the work environment and its challenges into which the individuals are going to fit once they graduate, essentially minimizing the need to opt for a separate two-year degree in Management and Business skills.

Best Wishes,

Usama Ahmad Choudhary

An MBA – An Engineer