Fresh MBAs and IT Companies

The combination sounds as inseparable as ctrl+c and ctrl+v. But when it comes to making a career choice there is a fair bit of confusion as to what an MBA will do in an IT company, especially in the first few years. Marketing companies have it easy, in the first 18 months, you would be traveling in delivery truck along with an often drunk driver in rural India trying to understand branding, strategy or trying to believe that you are actually understanding. Even banks have it easy, they make you an assistant vice president – customer relations and you would be given a phone and list of customers to cold call. well, not really, but back in b-school, most of us seem to have known what we do in banks, marketing companies. Few lucky ones even knew what we do in consultancies. But no one, I repeat no one ever seem to have understood what we do in an IT company.

• Most of the MBAs join in one of the industry / service practices in IT companies. The practice is a place where a bunch of experts work together to develop business, create solutions, support delivery and maintenance activities, do research & marketing and perform various corporate functions like planning, recruitment, expansion etc.
• MBAs typically have a choice to become a domain consultant, who will have immense clarity on what the industry is all about and support few accounts in that area or to become a sales person doing BD or BRM activities. They also have a choice to become project managers, but as I see it, PM / Delivery support roles are not so famous with b-school grads.
• BD/BRM roles are glorified and most sought after by MBAs, but the path remains tricky and takes ample time to realise the dream.
• In the first 12 months time, the MBA would have done several proposals, one or two requirement gatherings, quite a lot of research and may have participated in business / account / relationship planning activities. This may involve fair bit of traveling.
• Doing actual sales or consulting, interfacing the fortune 500 clients in the first 2 years is not possible, at least thats what I have understood from several of my friends as well as my experience. Instead you get very close to that by developing the proposal, solution, analysis etc.
• After repeating the same process for 18-24 months, MBAs get to manage small/medium relationships, be a critical part of consulting engagements or support on-site business development. Often this might take an year longer, but thats where MBAs would end up after first few years.

Do comment in case you have specific questions about the what to expect.

Related: Why aren’t IT jobs glorified in B-Schools?