One equation regarding ISB fee which is not convincing

The fees 14lac is less than the average annual salary after MBA/PGP at ISB.

While the Fees for other International MBA(1yr) in EU or US is surely less than the lowest annual salary there.At ISB we get International MBA at reasonable International Cost(little less) - unless we get International Job its expensive !

One more question : ISB is not linked to an university ,but The ISB certificate is jointly signed by the Deans of Kellogg, Wharton,and the ISB. So does that mean I have certificate from those universities ?...

 

 

Havent yet made up my mind about when or if I'll be applying to the ISB. Iam just at the info gathering stage right now.

Will entry level MCs have option for becoming generalist ...can some in those companies throw some light?

the typical expectation is that at entry level, you get to work as a generalist - across industries and across functions....but as you get more experience and organically grow within the organization, you take a specialist path.....so while at an associate level you may be loosely coupled to an industry (or not coupled at all) at a manager or engegement leader level, that may not be so....the concept is incidently sometimes also referred to as i2g (industry to ground) or i2m(industry to manager).....

so, you may start of by working in public services and move on to telecom and then financial services.....while one assignemt might be re-org of a private sector bank, other could be a trading project for a energy client, and yet another a supply chain assignment for a retailer...later on, as you gain more experience and industry context, you may be naturally drawn into a typical industry....so, maybe when you have worked on 5 assignemts for the goevernment in various roles, the next govmt project that comes along may demand your staffing - for all the experience that you bring to the table......and dont take the "one day you work on this, the next day on another project" too literally - its not exactly "a day" endeavour, but more like a project that may typically last 3-6 months (even more though, sometimes)....

the plus of this job is that you get to interact with high-flier ceos of companies, really get to see the "big picture" and deal with the problems faced at the echelons of power - something that you may not get to do otherwise so early on (or ever)....and u make a lot of money....but the job is very demanding...ur personal life is totally screwed up (i suggest u dont get married if u r planning to b a mc)......while on prjts, u got to be really smart, bright and someone who "always has all the answers" - you also never have time built in to ramp up on things and the expectation is that you will contribute from the first hour (no one is going to pay $400/hr for your time while you r bull-shiting or trying to figure out what is going on)...you may need to put in countless amount of time in airport lounges and hotel balconies and in prepring ppts and documents......and whille it may seem exciting at the beginning, it starts to get on everyone(almost) after a while......and also, not to forget - the job is unforgiving , its typically up or out!!!!

i hope i was somewhat clear....

and thanks ramki! and others for all the inputs....

i have one very specific question vis-a-vis ISB -
which are the Mgmt Consulting firms that recruit at ISB and in typically what numbers?
according to what i know -
Mck  -> 2-3
BCG -> 1-2
Tata Strgy -> a couple (3-4)
are there any other - Bain, AT Kearney....what abt these andn other strgy firms?????
isnt that too less given the batch size that alsmost going to touch 300 the next year?????

 

While I am not trying to undermine any effort made at selling ISB to the world - just wanted to compare a few things:

ISB - Fees: Rs. 14 Lacs, Average Salary: Rs. 8.3 lacs. International salary: USD 66,000. If someone were taking a loan - it would take approx 3 years to pay back the loan itself - and that too with difficulty.

Any other international big names - Fees: Ranging from USD 20,000 - USD 40,000. Starting salary: USD 1,00,000 to USD 2,00,000. If someone were taking a loan - it would take approx a year to pay back the loan comfortably.

PLUS - if there arent that rocking jobs coming their way - whats the big deal with ISB? Whats the USP? Whats the career path of people who go there? How do they ensure that they get absorbed in the top rungs? Why are they even inviting HLL and the likes to take Mgmt. Trainees? Why is ISB not capilalising its relationships with the world of corporates and selling their students in the best possible manner?

I for one am at a loss to understand why should I (6 years W/E, Startup as well as corporate experience, Engineer, GMAT - 690), consider ISB?

Any views?

Mrigank

100k USD would be a pretty darn good starting salary.  200k would be very high, and pretty rare.  That means after taxes you only get about 60-65k.  It would be VERY hard to pay back a 40k loan in one year.  3-4 is a lot more likely, if you're VERY good at living below your means.

I dont study at ISB, but have some accurate stats on strat consulting offers.

Last batch, McK picked 3 - 2 for India, 1 for Germany (German national). I think McK picked 2 from the first batch.

BCG picked one from the last batch. I dont think they recruited in the first batch. Tata Strategic Mgmnt Group - 1 from last batch. No idea if they approached the first batch.

Bain has no office in India, so if they do come it will be for an international placement.

This year ISB has started a program, where companies give projects to teams of ISB students. I hear Mercer has visited campus to give out a project. Maybe, they will come back for recruitment.

The absence of strong strat consulting and I-Bank jobs is my biggest concern in applying here too.

 

When is this happening ... Are they planning on holding one in San Francisco, CA ??

I suggest you check the ISB website, admissions section. The list of road shows, cities and dates are put up there. ISB will typically be travelling with the World MBA tour.

-Ramki

Class of 04

1. He mentioned that although the 170 students of his batch were all able to secure jobs, most of them were disappointed with the kind of jobs they got. More specifically, the companies that came on campus, like Hindustan Lever came looking for Management Trainees as they would have done in other Indian B-schools. Now since ISB has people with experience, its obvious that they were disappointed. He did mention that the top 15 or 20 received good offers. I want to know two things.
2. What are the plans for improving the placements and ensuring that the right kind of companies come on campus and more importantly, they come on campus looking for the right type of job profile.

The primary reason for companies coming to recruit for management trainees is the lack of awareness among recruiters about the work experience profile of the students. ISB is still in the process of selling the concept of a school with students who have work experience and are ready for lateral positions. Instances like Microsoft, which came to recruit one, but ended up recruiting 5 as they liked the student quality, also happened last year. Its a question of awareness of the talent available and getting used to the concept of lateral hiring from a bschool. The second year was much better than the first year in terms of lateral positions. We have 2 batches out working now. Hopefully things will be much better for us and the next batch to come. Every year going by can only be good for ISB.

3. If the salaries after placement are generally not very high, how do you account for the increase in cost to a total of 14 lacs which would be impossible to repay unless your salary is at least 12 lacs per annum after graduation.

One, I would like to mention that the last year was bad thanks to the poor job market. Things have improved a lot this year. Feedback as well as reactions to invitations to visit the campus this year have been much better than last year. We also hope for more international placements. This is an area ISB is working on very much now. One of ISB's goals is to increase the number of international placements by a good number. All said, I know that the pay packets on offer in the campus have to justify the fees atleast for the short term loan repayment. I suggest you apply and also wait and see the placements for our batch. You will always have the choice to back out if you dont like the numbers.

4. The strength is going to go up to 280 for the 2004 batch. How will you place 280 people when placing 170 was not easy?

Placing 170 was not easy? I do not agree. While it was an experience of educating recruiters about lateral placements, there was no dearth of the number of offers even last year. We aim to place 220 this year. It is a question of improving the quality of offers on campus. ISB, the placom and the career office have been working very hard to ensure things improve this year. We hope to find a marked improvement this year.

Ramki

class of 04

One equation regarding ISB fee which is not convincing

The fees 14lac is less than the average annual salary after MBA/PGP at ISB.

While the Fees for other International MBA(1yr) in EU or US is surely less than the lowest annual salary there.At ISB we get International MBA at reasonable International Cost(little less) - unless we get International Job its expensive !

I would like to mention here that the 14 lakhs or approx $28K (depends on the Re-$ rate) you are talking about fees that includes the living costs at ISB. It includes accomodation, food and almost all the administrative charges I can think of. Depending on your lifestyle you may at the max spend anywhere between $500-$1000 for entertainment, emergency expenses etc. but i dont see any more expenses than that. Hyderabad is among the cheapest cities to live in in India. That said, the tuition fees at ISB is 10 lakhs and we hope that improving placements will mitigate your worries soon.

One more question : ISB is not linked to an university ,but The ISB certificate is jointly signed by the Deans of Kellogg, Wharton,and the ISB. So does that mean I have certificate from those universities ?...

You will get one certificate that will have the signatures of the deans of ISB, Kellogg and Wharton.

-Ramki

Class of 04

I also know for a fact that a few of them got into other consulting firms like:

2 got into Stern Stewart (which is well known for finance related consulting)

and some others got into lower rung consulting firms like Eicher consulting, Hewitt Consulting etc.

Also got to know that a couple were picked up after their MBA by the Morgan Stanley equity desk in Mumbai,  (which basically supplments their NY equity  research wing) -- now that sounds interesting.