In 1988, when your columnist was studying at business school in Europe, for an MBA degree, a friend had humorously pasted a sticker on the rear windscreen of his car, which read “No MBA, no Condo, no BMW”. It was a period in time when the phrase ‘young urban professional - yuppie’ was first coined. This consisted of a segment of employees that worked for investment banks, strategy consulting firms or held important roles in customer facing industries. Their career progression was assured and in the very least, decent employment opportunities were almost guaranteed. Simply put, an MBA was an obligatory ticket to a high- profile career in Europe, America and elsewhere.
But more recently, that seems to have changed and blatantly so. According to an article, published in The Economist, a UK based weekly, at the top 15 business schools, the share of students in 2024 who sought and accepted a job offer within three months of graduating, a standard measure of career outcomes, fell by six percentage points, to 84%. Compared with the average over the past five years, that share declined by eight points. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has a decent claim to be the world’s top university. But at its business school, the deal is coming unstuck. During the decade to 2022, on average 82% of its students searching for a job had accepted one at graduation. In 2024 this figure was 62%. The reality is actually worse, as some students that claim to be entrepreneurs are in reality unemployed. For lesser souls, graduating from the tier 2 universities, the employment scenario is even shoddier.
The top consulting firms are not hiring and a few, in fact, are laying off staff. Big tech, another former source of career opportunities has reduced recruitments from the top colleges by much more than 50% and instead now seem to prefer technical graduates with advanced degrees in engineering and the applied sciences. So, does it make sense for youngsters to pursue the MBA dream? Not really, your columnist would argue, as the sums do not add up. High tuition fees make the process overtly expensive and the return on investment no longer guarantees the financial rewards that were a given in yesteryears. Companies look for practical experience, communication skills, problem solving abilities and adaptability. Simply put, several employers are veering around to the concept that business is learnt in the market place, with sleeves rolled up, rather than in a classroom, especially where most professors and tutors have never actually worked in a business environment.
It is plausible that a shift away from a business degree is temporary and business schools, normally astute in their offerings, will adapt to offer what employers really want. But the greater likelyhood is that an era of specialists will become the norm. Job aspirants will consequently, need to specialise in technical areas. More importantly, for young Indian students – with business degrees or ones in subjects such as international relations, seeking employment in western countries – the opportunities are becoming trickier to come by. Often unable to find something that fits with their aspirations or qualifications, graduates end up serving in retail outlets, hospitality and other areas for which they are over qualified. The age of the generalist is now rapidly vanishing being replaced by one of specialists, especially in applied sciences, technology and engineering. The condo and BMW now come more easily to them.