The Road Less Travelled

or something like that :)

This post is the first part of a summary of all my relevant experiences until now - related to my quest for an MBA.

Stage 1: The vague idea
It was probably during the last years of my engineering program when I decided that I could, in fact, enjoy management more than the technical equation of life. This realisation dawned upon me partly due to the various committees I was involved in during fests and partly due to the slight lack of inspiration towards the curriculum. Dutifully, I attempted my CAT in 2002, ending up with a decent enough score for the first attempt. However, I lost out on DI and was assured of no call-backs that year. I realised almost at the same time that without some work experience, the program would not really make much sense. So, I went ahead with my first job, putting the idea of an MBA at the back of my mind. I promised myself that 2 years from then, I would do a revaluation of the whole idea and its relevance in my life at that time.

Stage 2: A certainty
Fast forward to 2 years later. I was working and was, at that time, pretty happy with the job and its challenges. However, as promised, I paused to rethink. Now, more than ever, I knew that I would not be doing something technical at 30. I wanted to move to the management side of the industry. I had 2 options - work hard and patiently wait for recognitions which might aid the transition (notice the various factors at play in this option) or invest in the master's to be on the fasttrack towards what I wanted. A lot of discussions and thought into the matter convinced me to opt for the latter option. I prepared for CAT this time and applied only to the IIMs. It wasn't that I was overconfident and obstinate about it. :) Yet again, I was practical enough to realise that I was not really ready. CAT 2004 was a dry-run - something to help me judge myself. I needed to know how much more was required from me. This time, the verbal section held me up. So, now, after the results were declared, I knew I had to work on both, the quant and the verbal. I spent the next few months with quite a busy schedule - work taking almost 14 hours a day and studying in the weekends.

I took a month off before CAT 2005 - I just didn't want anything to disturb me during that time. And as is usual in such cases, just about everything did! :) There was a medical complication in the immediate family and I finally received an opportunity to go on-site (the famous "on-site" for the IT crowd) for long term within that one month. I refused the opportunity after a lot of deliberation - it just didn't seem worth it. My boss was not really expecting that response and I almost received a veiled threat that I would not be considered for any more of such "opportunities" since I refused this one. "Too bad", I thought. "Time to look for another job after CAT". A week before D-day, however, he called me again - this time with another "opportunity". The "on-site" this time was at the client HQ, to do the kind of work that I always wanted to do. You don't know how confusing it all became. I really really really wanted this experience, but the time was right for an MBA. I was prepared for CAT. I had applied to the institutes I wanted to apply to and I was confident. Then again, I just distanced myself from the immediate situation and thought ahead. I decided that the experience was worth postponing my MBA dream for a while. "Soon", I promised myself. I went ahead with CAT 2005 however and thought I had the most difficult test in the world! I was sure that I didn't perform well and secretly was glad that I had another viable option in my life at that time. I left for Switzerland as 2006 began and about a month later received the much-awaited calls. Sigh! There I was again - torn between a professional commitment and a personal dream. There was nothing to do but let one pass - I continued working on my assignment.

Stage 3: Disillusionment and desperation
15 months into the assignment and life was slowly getting all too predictable. As I saw it, the fact that I was at client location made it even tougher for recognitions to come my way. After all, wasn't I being rewarded enough by working there? The trade-off did not look all that tempting anymore. I was homesick and worked to the bone. It was time to do something drastic to get my life back on track. It was time to go home. I timed it so that I could get back to India, settle down and prepare for CAT 2007. This time I also thought about GMAT. I wanted to apply to ISB and the international B-schools as well. But life had other plans. Before I knew it, I was back in Switzerland with another job.

That winter I tried to explore options for a part-time MBA in Geneva and the surrounding region. I spoke to my manager about the possibility of my leaving earlier a few days of the week. I had spoken about my plans to do an MBA during my interviews with this company. So, I was confident about being supported by them. However, after sitting in at few of the classes, I was discouraged. The level of detail that I expected from the program was missing. The part-time program had not enough time to dedicate to each case - and of course, the pre-reads were relatively enormous! What now?? It had to be a full-time program for me. So, I was back at my books and began researching.