Page 27 – Are we as smart as the degree we hold ?

One more of my friend threw away a thriving career to pursue higher studies . This has lately been a regular occurrence within my peer circle . Everyone wants to do an MBA/MS/etc . Now , I don’t blame them. In India , it is a very natural thing to want to do your MBA . The formula is , Boy :  Do well in your undergrad – get placed in a multinational company – work for a couple of years – do your MBA -comeback to the same job . Girl : Do well in undergrad – get married – do your MBA – deliver a baby – become a teacher or start taking dance classes at home(JK) . This is the route most of the freshly passed out under graduates would take . Its a taboo if you haven’t done your MBA and in most of the middle class families you are literally looked down upon, if you are just an undergrad .

Now this entire cycle has got me thinking . The questions which arise are :
Is this method as time tested as it is made out to be ? Is obtaining a masters degree absolutely crucial in your career ? Most importantly , does it determine how smart you really are ?

I used to be of the above opinion while I lived in India. It was mostly because of what I was taught in school and talked into at home . I was constantly told that the only way I can become successful is to complete my masters . My mother wasn’t very excited when I landed a job in one of the best firms in the finance industry and nor was she very kicked when I told her that I was selected to work abroad . Why ? Because this would mean delaying my masters . I believed them and it wasn’t very hard to believe because everyone around me was doing the same thing . Following the same cycle , treading the same path . I even gave a couple of entrances and did reasonably well in them . But now , living in a country which is among the most developed nations in the world , my opinion has considerably changed .

For one ,I am absolutely sure that it is no yardstick to judge how smart you really are . Fortunately, because of my role at work I have had a chance to interact with people from diverse backgrounds . MBAs from Oxford and Harvard to people who have a degree in Shakespearean poetry . Now most of them are geniuses in their own way . Sharp , articulate , witty , smooth talkers and extremely bright . These are the people who literally run the world and absolutely none of them care how many letters you have in front of your name . No one even asks if you have passed school , forget an IIM degree. All that matters is how smart are you ,with or without that fancied degree . Are you smart enough to learn , adapt and perform in a competitive environment . If yes , you are smart enough .

We have all met those smart IIT/IIM types who cant string words together to form a sentence . Who have the social skills of a dead whale .  Ones who act like they have grown two horns just because they are out of an IIM , but still wouldn’t be able to differentiate between your and you’re . Manner less pricks who would snap their fingers at their juniors.

Having said all this , I would still be doing an MBA and  mostly from an IIM or atleast an equivalent in Asia . Why ? Because :

• I have an ego which is ginormous (This is a real word . It is a love child of gigantic and enormous ) .  I would get a degree just to play safe and not risked being looked down upon.
• Lets face it . Which girl at this point would marry an undergrad . None of the above arguments would work . Last I heard , Indian girls are adamant about marrying only scientists from NASA. Phew !
• My family has this ugly habit of printing wedding invitations with the educational qualifications of the bride and the groom . Any self respecting tamilian will tell you that your educational  degree should be big enough to cover atleast two lines of the card to be even considered for marriage . I can foresee a life of bachelorhood awaiting me . Sigh !
• I need the IIM brand name if I ever want to write a book . Why ? Because, irrespective of  content , the book wont sell if the author is not from IIM (Case in point , Chetan Bhagat . Who has successfully managed to sell utter tripe , thanks to his IIM degree )
  Side note : CB worked in the same company I work for now, before he became an author .
• So that when IIPM calls me (they used to call ten times a day , non stop) , I can confidently say : No , thank you . I am already an Em Bee Yay . Please cut the crap and never call me again . Also stop asking me for references . None of my friends are dumb enough to consider your college and if they are , they will no longer be my friends .
• Lastly , I need to make my parents happy , They will cut me out of the will if I don’t get that damned degree .

Thankfully for me , my employer has tied up with the best management schools in India , which means I might not have to forgo my career to pursue the useless but seemingly necessary masters degree .

So bye people , need to go study for my GMAT 🙂

PS : Part II of the Pipe will be written soonly . I had a change of  heart with the climax .
Also a hilarious gtalk conversation will be published once the co chatter (?) gives the necessary permissions . We are discussing royalties at this stage .