India 
USA 
Whether or not they liked it, earlier, highly experienced professionals had only one option for learning and making career progress – the executive MBA program. Even today, some of them still think it is the only way to grow in their career. No wonder, the executive MBA program continues to be one of the most popular programs among experienced professionals. If you are one such professional aspiring to propel your career, then you have few questions to ponder over.
- Is it the only way to progress in my career?
- Does it help to enhance knowledge or build new capabilities in the relevant field of my interest?
- In today’s dynamic fast-paced tech-dominated world, can a general management approach work for all professionals?
Highly experienced professionals come from different educational and professional backgrounds and naturally have different learning needs. Many of them opt for new learning programs to stay up-to-date, enhance skills and be relevant in today’s fast-changing world. Getting a degree just for the sake of it is not their goal.
Experienced professionals who are hard-pressed for time and eager to enhance their knowledge and capabilities, have started opting for short-term yet intense executive programs offered on various state-of-the-art interactive digital learning platforms. Such platforms have partnered with prestigious academic institutions and global corporations to bring highly trusted programs that are a blend of high-end academics and industry-leading practices.
What is making these highly experienced professionals prefer such executive programs over traditional executive MBA? We discovered the top five reasons.
1. Focused approach
Unlike a traditional executive MBA, in executive programs you need not learn all the mandatory modules which add little value. In executive programs, you can learn only the specific programs that you think are relevant to your current work or role. For example, if you are from a banking, financial services, insurance, management, or consulting and technology background, then you need not learn a subject on traditional inventory management. Instead, you can focus on learning things like blockchain in finance & fintech that are more relevant to you at this point.
2. Time is money
The duration of an executive MBA could be for one-year or two-years. In today’s dynamic, hectic, and challenging work schedules, highly experienced professionals are hard-pressed for time. Many companies are even contemplating having more extended workdays with six days of working. In such a rigid schedule, can you even think of spending long term on a typical executive MBA program that may lose its relevance by the time you complete it or you may even lose interest in? Whereas, if marketing is your area of interest then you can finish a highly focused short-term executive program on AI-powered marketing in just 6 Months.
3. Money and value
An executive MBA at a good academic institution costs a lot. In India, it may cost roughly anywhere between INR 4 to 50 lakh or more, depending upon the institution you choose. Doing an executive MBA is not just about getting a degree. The quality and reputation of the institute also matters, and that comes at a hefty price tag. If not company-sponsored, many experienced professionals even go for a bank loan falling into undue financial and mental stress. Is it worth it? It’s time to explore uniquely designed short-term executive programs offered by globally recognized institutes of India but are less expensive.
4. Choosing the best
When you are doing a course, you have to do it from top academic institutions. But unfortunately, top academic institutions have limited seats for such programs. Should it stop you from learning and upskilling? No, you can still learn from the top, and prestigious academic institutions in India like the IIM, IIT, IISc, IIIT etc. through their executive programs offered through various interactive digital learning platforms.
5. Learning opportunities
Executive MBA programs do not provide as many options when it comes to choosing topics of interest. They have a restricted number of subjects that focus on General Management and some specializations and hence may not offer much flexibility. In comparison, the executive programs offered by digital learning platforms can continuously keep updating and add newer programs at a much faster rate to match the changing dynamics of the business world. That is the reason you find a lot of focus on technology in these executive programs. They understand how technology will transform the business world within no time and design courses that may help you stay at the forefront of tech transformation. They also provide a great platform for guided discussions, skills development, and networking.
Being a full-time working professional may not leave you with much time to learn new things and enhance your knowledge and skills. You may struggle a bit to find a program suited to your interests academically, professionally, socially, geographically, and schedule-wise. In such a scenario, specific, short-term, industry-relevant executive programs through instructor-led interactive LIVE online mode offered by various high-tech digital platforms may be a better option for you over a traditional executive MBA program.
In this dynamic business world, learning never stops. Arm yourself with new capabilities and stay relevant.
