We’ve all been there – A promotion that’s just not happening, a payslip  that doesn’t quite do you justice, or having to see colleagues years younger to you get a career fast-track just because they have a MBA, while you don’t.

When I finished my B.Tech, I thought I’d go and get some experience, before perhaps going abroad for a MBA… The first job that was just be a two year stint became a career, and now, at 36, married, a father of one, and that MBA abroad is a forgotten dream.  I don’t mind that – because I’m a provider, I’m successful in my career – as successful as a B.Tech from a regular engineering college could hope to be! I’ve got my financial plan down, an apartment my job pays for, and a loving family!

BUT – I know what’s around the corner. The day I’m too old and too out of sync to be a techie, and without an MBA, no good to Management as a ‘Manager’.

That’s where the Online MBA from University of Mysore came in. A friend recommended it, and I looked it up. Seemed simple enough. An application procedure that allows me to upload my documents, make the fee payment using netbanking, and a week or so later – I’m accepted!

I was apprehensive about whether I’d be able to juggle my job and the study hours, or whether I’d even be able to fit in the exams into my Project Schedules at work… But I was pleasantly surprised when the counsellor informed me that the Program has a self paced system – An MBA is 24 Courses and a Capstone Project. Pick any course she said, and once you complete it, just schedule an exam online, AND give it ONLINE, sitting from your workplace or home!!!! (Any ideas one may get of getting a 100% can be put aside, because there is physical monitoring using the webcam and screen recorders !! )  . Not only did I have the flexibility of choosing which courses to study in which order and when, I  had an additional 2 years to complete my MBA if I needed to pace myself!  An no, I don’t really need to go get a loan for this program – at Rs.60,000 for a 2 year program, its just about 2500 per month (I paid using my credit card and asked my card company to covert to EMI’s . Well I’m doing that for the card points 😊 . One can just as well pay up front ).

And to top it all – I get a degree from the University of Mysore when I’m done – the same University that not only taught Infosys’s icons Narayan Murthy and Sudha Murthy, and has been producing giants like Shri S. Radhakrishnan, who taught at UOM , and then went on to become President of India, and in honor of whom we celebrate teachers day each year!

The University ranks 27 in the Country (Which, if you look at it, is really closer to a top 10 rank in the Nationwide once you take away the IITS & IIMS who crowd out the top 18 ranks or so!)

Considering the time we all spent cooped up in our homes during COVID (a year and counting!), and the kind of stuff we waste money on, this was a no brainer. I applied, was accepted in a matter of a week, and am happy to say, have completed a 100 days – AND completed and earned credits of a full semester’s worth of courses already!

I haven’t had a reason to call or visit the University to date, and have done all this via a fairly well designed system the University has in place – it’s a partnership with University18, a leading EdTech Company with students in 150 Countries (!!!!).  And yes, they still do ping me once in a while to check if all’s good and going well! The beauty of a Public Private Partnership – All the credibility and weight of a 100+ Year of Government University, and the efficiency of a private performance driven global enterprise.

I’ll add a disclaimer here – I’m writing this on the request of University18. The counsellor reached out to me when I completed 100 days, and asked for a feedback. And no, I didn’t make this up, or get paid for it, nor am I a advertising guy writing this  (ask me a coding question below, and I’ll prove it!)

I’m looking forward to the day about 18 months from that I would be able to put my degree up on that wall space I’ve already got reserved for it… And I’m already hoping and  maybe dreaming again – perhaps an immigration to Canada or Australia? The extra points an MBA Degree puts on your immigration score for sure helps!

Its good to have hope and a dream – and even if its mid-career. For if not me, then who else can change my destiny!

Vikas

A University of Mysore Online MBA Student

(Last name withheld on request)

To know more about University of Mysore Online Programs – visit www.uni-mysore.in or should you wish to checkout some of our other Universities, visit www.university18.com