• 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.

The post Top 5 Reasons Why Experienced Professionals Prefer Executive Programs over Executive MBA appeared first on TalentSprint.

In this modern, data-driven world we live in today, massive amounts of data are constantly being generated and used to gain meaningful insights. So naturally, this space is growing swiftly. According to Statista, the global big data and business analytics (BDA) market was valued at 168.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 and is forecast to grow to a staggering 215.7 billion U.S. dollars by 2021.

To build a product, process the data, and render crucial insights, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Data Engineering, and Machine Learning (ML) modules saves a lot of time and costs. With high-value problem-solving techniques, Data Science firms have sped up digital transformation. By employing such technologies, they power solutions and create new possibilities each day. From data-powered solutions to new experiences and products, these companies make measurable and meaningful impacts for various businesses. 

Data Science and AI are a fast-growing industry and are creating promising career opportunities for data-passionate professionals. However, the hiring aspects in Data Science firms are stringent. Hence, it’s essential to understand the early career opportunities for technology and analytics and the hiring aspects of this industry. 

In the latest edition of the #WhatIndustryWants series titled “Early Careers across Technology and Analytics”, Ashish Sam, Sr. Partner, People & Operations, TheMathCompany, shared his thoughts on the fast-growing career opportunities in the technology and analytics space and how to gear up to tap into such opportunities. In addition, he answered some interesting questions. 

• Is TheMathCompany a product or technology or analytics company? What does technology mean at TheMathCompany?
• What skill sets TheMathCompany looks for in a candidate? What is the hiring process at TheMathCompany?
• What’s now and next in analytics, automation and emerging technologies? What are the skills that would be in great demand in the near future? 
• How important is it for freshers or students to concentrate on projects while learning? 
• Career opportunities in technology and analytics. What capabilities companies look for in a young graduate? 
• How to get trained and build such new capabilities?… and more

The session was moderated by Vikas Bhansali, Head- Corporate Alliances & Career Development at TalentSprint.

Here are the excerpts from the webinar.

Skill sets companies look for while hiring a candidate

While hiring a great data scientist, companies search for those candidates who can formulate the problem statement. Knowing to program, having experience and skill sets is always basic. But the critical aspect of hiring in technology and analytics is the never-give-up attitude of the individual. In the fast-paced world, lifelong learning has become the norm. Having a hunger to learn and do more is a must for a Data Scientist. 

Willingness to learn new things or skills is one of the crucial qualities that companies look for when hiring new candidates. The passion for learning something gives the motivation to find unique solutions to problems. In addition, the thirst for knowledge helps to develop as an individual. It is easy to learn skills, but the candidate needs a great attitude to gain knowledge. Likewise, strong communication and structured thinking are essential.  

Hiring diverse talent is crucial for a data-driven company. Hence, nowadays, companies look for candidates with math, stats, economics, and operational research background apart from engineers. When organizations like TalentSprint train candidates, it creates a pool of readily trained, skilled individuals, and hiring candidates becomes an effortless task.

Attitude – a key area to focus

Programming is a great way to communicate with tools and machines. Hence, these skills are mandatory, and one needs to get comfortable with them. Today, there are a plethora of easy programming languages to choose from. Python, R, and SQL are currently hot skills in the market. However, in the coming months, the demand for these skills can change, and it should not come as a surprise. In the future of the ever-evolving world of data, technology, and analytics, cloud architecture infrastructure big data will be in a boom. Having a good attitude to learn new things is the critical skill set for success. As the line between data scientists and data engineers is getting thin, a candidate should aspire to become a full stat data scientist.

Investment in people development

Every organization in this industry has to invest in people’s growth and learning. Therefore, upskilling knowledge is crucial for every employee and organization. TheMathCompany has a program called ‘Co.ach’. In this program, a 12 membered team is focused on upskilling all the individuals across analytics disciplines. The training modules and programs are rigorous and carefully curated. The customized programs offer capstone projects, webinars, learning modules, and much more. 

For the employees, this company offers a learn from home (LFH) training program. This elective training is for motivating employees to upskill themselves in modern tools and technology. The self-study or group studies sessions encourage the completion of certification courses to build innovative analytics solutions. With the in-house Competency Index, employee growth is measured quarterly, and efforts are made towards people’s development. 

Entering Data Science and analytics space

Data Science and analytics are hot words and in great demand. Storytelling and the ability to solve problems are critical. Adaptability to do various things and having an open mind is always helpful in the data science and analytics profession. 

With the digital transformation, TheMathCompany is focused on solving real-world problems and challenges irrespective of domain or technology with complex data sets and advanced analytics tools.

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