We have already done a post on helping students decide between MS and other degrees as options for higher studies. We dealth with MIS vs MS. We thought this time we take a shot at MBA vs MS. Now, there are various ways of doing this. But here, we are basically talking about doing an MBA from India (or your country) versus doing an MS. These seem to the be the hot options among a lot of gen-X these days. A lot of students in colleges in India these just want to do an MBA because its what everyone seems to be doing. People have a tendency of following the herd. And the herd at this point in our economy seems to be heading to B-schools. But why? And why not do something else? Coz b-school is the ‘in-thing’? Coz people get fat pay-packets after they graduate? Coz its easy to do?

Well this is a question that you need to ask yourself. Why Do you want to do an MBA? Getting a graduate degree in general is not a bad idea - people with Masters have been known to excel in the corporate ladder more than their peers without a degree at the Masters level. But coming back to the question of MBA. It is definitely one of the most respected degrees at the Masters level. But lets do a cost benefit analysis here. Lets try to see how much a good MBA course costs and compare that with the costs of an MS and then compare the benefits of either.

A 2-year MBA course from a top notch b-school in India (such as for example MDI Gurgaon) is priced at around Rs.700,000. Now, after a student graduates from this 2 year program, the average salary of such a B-school student stands at around Rs.1,000,000 per annum. This info has been culled from various sources around the internet, like this. Now, take for example an MS at one of the SUNYs (State University of New York system of universities). One year at one of the SUNYs averages to about $20,000 in tuition. Which comes to about Rs.1,000,000 (at a conversion rate of Rs50=$1). Now the assumption here is that you are able to get a job on campus which pays for your living expenses. For most people, MS is about a 1.5 year experience, so the total cost can be assumed to be around the Rs.1,500,000. Now a fresh graduate from one of the SUNYs with a Masters, can expect an average salary of about $70-85,000 per annum in the US. Lets go with a very conservative estimate of $65,000 per annum. Which comes to about Rs.3,250,000. Clearly you are in a position to pay off your education loans within the first to second year of getting a job in the US.

Coming back to India (or your home country) with a Masters degree from one of the top US institutes really increases your market value and especially with a few years of American work experience can really give a boost to your resume like no other bschool can. So, in the end - a little bit of risk appetite might actually be required to get students to try out for MS - but the returns are clearly pretty big. Comments?