On April 9, EdNet Consultants organised an informative webinar on the topic: “Is Masters the right choice for you to move forward in your career? (Masters v/s MBA)”. The webinar was conducted for the students of Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, to impart well-researched information about pursuing Masters in India and overseas. Ms. Niharika Sondhi, an alumnus of JMC, disseminated crucial information to the students, addressing their doubts about pursuing higher education in various disciplines. She was the chief spokesperson on the panel and has over 20 years of experience in education counselling. Her ability to anticipate the problems that the students might face helped them open up, making the session a success.
Ms. Sondhi, Managing Director of EdNet Consultants, began the session by briefly introducing the counselling services that EdNet Consultants offer. The consultancy is responsible for more than 10,000 success stories, helping students attain admissions and even scholarships from their dream colleges. She is an educational philanthropist, believing that everyone, irrespective of their background, has a right to education. In the past few years, she has helped many underprivileged students fulfil their dream of pursuing higher studies. The entire organisation believes in the power of literacy, and it is this belief that has driven the institution to conquer new horizons. She proceeded to inform the students about EdNet’s research program named ‘E.R.I.A.L Research Fellowship 2.0’, which is oriented towards helping high school students, undergrads and postgrads understand the fundamentals of research.
In the course of the virtual seminar, she also discussed the emerging fields of research and studies, which are creating fertile grounds for lucrative careers. A few of them are Metaverse Research, Blockchain Development and Data Analytics. Technology has now permeated our lives thoroughly and expertise in these fields is bound to make one’s career flourish. While the United States and United Kingdom do excel in imparting pedagogy, universities in countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada have also become worthy destinations for pursuing higher education.
The major questions addressed by her on Master’s are as follows:
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When is the right time to apply for Master’s?
A Master’s degree is not an extension of one’s undergraduate studies. It is a foray into gaining expertise in a particular area of interest. Unless one has identified their interest and is passionate about it, the expert counsellor asks them to refrain from applying for a Master’s degree. Before embarking on such studies, Ms. Sondhi also suggests that the aspirants should peruse the curricula from different universities before short-listing the ones they want to apply.
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Why pursue a Master’s degree?
Students gain knowledge about varied discourses during undergraduate learning. However, in the duration of a postgraduate degree, a student focuses on a specialised area, intending to become the king of his subject instead of being a jack of all trades. Furthermore, this added skill-set is an attractive prospect for recruiters, aiding the students to advance in their careers, which Ms. Sondhi considers the most important advantage of this degree. The internship opportunities that most universities abroad provide also help the students get hands-on learning, making for a great addition to their portfolios.
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Is work experience mandatory to advance into a Master’s degree?
Absolutely not necessary, says our dear counsellor. It is important for a student to introspect and make a decision based on their profile, interests and previous work experience, if any. However, experience in Master’s helps when a person is working in an organisation in a professional capacity or as an intern; they deal with certain issues that demand them to employ their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills to derive an effective resolution. This process is an important one as it serves as a self-assessment test for the students themselves to determine their strengths and aspects of their field that they are more inclined towards. For example, Ms. Sondhi says, a person who has studied Economics can move into a management career because they have a firm grasp of quantitative analysis. That is to say that the decision to pursue a Master’s degree in a certain discipline should be based on the skill-set that a pupil has developed during their undergraduate studies and job stints, instead of the limited modules of their earlier coursework.
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What is the difference between a Master’s degree in Management and an MBA?
Our counsellor says that while a traditional postgraduate course in Management is more conceptual, an MBA course hones professional skills based on experiential learning. If one wants to preside over managerial roles early in their life, an MBA would be the best option. It also allows them to explore other areas such as Public Relations and Marketing. However, a Master’s is to be considered in case a specialisation in a domain is desired.
The session concluded with ex-students of EdNet Consultants sharing their experiences about the challenges they faced and the way EdNet guided them towards success.
“EdNet helped me immensely. I feel a lot more confident, motivated, and enthusiastic about my career path now that I am pursuing my Master’s at Babson”
— Sheha Jain, Pursuing MA in Business Analytics at Babson College
“I was pursuing Bachelors in Commerce with a minor in Economics. Honestly, as a third-year student, you’re not sure what is next for you. I was asked to research the courses at EdNet. Although I did a little bit of reading on Finance, I realised my true calling was Business Analytics. I am currently working at Zeus Associates, as a Business Operations Associate, which is a world apart from what I had studied in my undergraduate days.”
-Neeti Oberoi, Pursuing MSc in Business Analytics at Northeastern University
Master’s is a big decision and we hope we could help you through this article. To watch the webinar, go to youtube.com/watch?v=YUgtz10YB_Y
