I am doing my MBA online and I am at the point of selecting a specialization. My options are finance,hr, business analytics and marketing. I went only as far as being able to eliminate marketing and business analytics because the former has never been to my liking and the latter is unknown universe to me.
To say a few things about myself, I am a 32 year old bank Teller who has around 7.5 years of experience manning the cash and front counter in a bank. I have come back to study after 11 years of gap.
I am now in a dilemma about whether to choose HR or Finance. I have been told by my family and friends to pursue Finance since I have a bachelor's in commerce. While I don't mind studying Finance for an MBA, I am not great at analytical reasoning. My mathematical ability is below average. I am extremely pathetic at decision-making. The subjects in my university curriculum for finance is not so daunting. However, I am not too keen in working in the investment banking domain. I like HR because i am interested in administrative roles as I have been part of customer relationship counters. The thing is that I do have an affinity for accounting as well. The thought of not being able to pursue finance also is saddening. I have been given to understand that in order to get a job in accounting I need either CA CMA or at least an MBA in finance. I would attribute the cause to my relatives scaring me with unemployment horror stories when one takes HR or anything that's not close to number crunching. I could have done CA or ICWA but due to poor decision-making in the past, I ended up taking ACS and completing the ACS final exams. But I have not applied for membership. Over the last few years, I realised that the job profile of an ACS was never my cup of tea. I don't see myself doing llb either as i don't have what it takes to be a lawyer. Now I don't have the financial freedom nor time to work on acquiring a CA or a CMA licence whether from India or from abroad.
Today when deciding on which field to pursue, I am completely confused. All I hear about HR is that it has low vacancies and less pay, replaceable job roles. It scares me if I can't have decent prospects in the field. On the other hand, people say Finance has a great future. Having worked in a bank I have less exposure to actual Finance. I am comfortable working with people. Due to ACS, i also like labour laws. But I don't know whether I can shift domain to HR.
So here are my queries
On paper HR looks good for my profile but is it worth missing out on Finance?
If my analytical ability is not much to talk about, can I still be able to learn and become better?
Do companies offer accounting roles to mba finance candidates?
Can I do HR roles after completing MBA finance? I like HR as much too.
Is online mba treated on lar with regular MBA by recruiters?
Also what technical skills do I need for HR as well as Finance to better my chances
Kindly help me out by sharing your wisdom
Eagerly waiting for replies
From India, Chennai
To say a few things about myself, I am a 32 year old bank Teller who has around 7.5 years of experience manning the cash and front counter in a bank. I have come back to study after 11 years of gap.
I am now in a dilemma about whether to choose HR or Finance. I have been told by my family and friends to pursue Finance since I have a bachelor's in commerce. While I don't mind studying Finance for an MBA, I am not great at analytical reasoning. My mathematical ability is below average. I am extremely pathetic at decision-making. The subjects in my university curriculum for finance is not so daunting. However, I am not too keen in working in the investment banking domain. I like HR because i am interested in administrative roles as I have been part of customer relationship counters. The thing is that I do have an affinity for accounting as well. The thought of not being able to pursue finance also is saddening. I have been given to understand that in order to get a job in accounting I need either CA CMA or at least an MBA in finance. I would attribute the cause to my relatives scaring me with unemployment horror stories when one takes HR or anything that's not close to number crunching. I could have done CA or ICWA but due to poor decision-making in the past, I ended up taking ACS and completing the ACS final exams. But I have not applied for membership. Over the last few years, I realised that the job profile of an ACS was never my cup of tea. I don't see myself doing llb either as i don't have what it takes to be a lawyer. Now I don't have the financial freedom nor time to work on acquiring a CA or a CMA licence whether from India or from abroad.
Today when deciding on which field to pursue, I am completely confused. All I hear about HR is that it has low vacancies and less pay, replaceable job roles. It scares me if I can't have decent prospects in the field. On the other hand, people say Finance has a great future. Having worked in a bank I have less exposure to actual Finance. I am comfortable working with people. Due to ACS, i also like labour laws. But I don't know whether I can shift domain to HR.
So here are my queries
On paper HR looks good for my profile but is it worth missing out on Finance?
If my analytical ability is not much to talk about, can I still be able to learn and become better?
Do companies offer accounting roles to mba finance candidates?
Can I do HR roles after completing MBA finance? I like HR as much too.
Is online mba treated on lar with regular MBA by recruiters?
Also what technical skills do I need for HR as well as Finance to better my chances
Kindly help me out by sharing your wisdom
Eagerly waiting for replies
From India, Chennai
Hi,
The initial post was posted on 1st Nov,2023 and again today (25.6.24) you had requested for advise. It is more or less 8 months gap and you are yet to choose specialization for your MBA online course ??
Not sure whether it would be relevant and useful now. I would suggest you to choose Finance considering your under graduate degree Commerce and also 7.5 years in a Bank.
" online mba treated on lar with regular MBA by recruiters" : Regular MBA from reputed Universities cannot be compared with online MBA. Of course Employers will give more preference for regular MBA course than online / correspondence course. But in your case your past experience of 7.5 years is an added advantage.
If it is HR you need to start from the bottom line. To start with to do mundane HR clerical work your MBA HR degree would be sufficient. But to move further beyond and to reach pinnacle of HR domain you should gain in depth knowledge in various Labour laws and statutory compliances as well.
From India, Madras
943The initial post was posted on 1st Nov,2023 and again today (25.6.24) you had requested for advise. It is more or less 8 months gap and you are yet to choose specialization for your MBA online course ??
Not sure whether it would be relevant and useful now. I would suggest you to choose Finance considering your under graduate degree Commerce and also 7.5 years in a Bank.
" online mba treated on lar with regular MBA by recruiters" : Regular MBA from reputed Universities cannot be compared with online MBA. Of course Employers will give more preference for regular MBA course than online / correspondence course. But in your case your past experience of 7.5 years is an added advantage.
If it is HR you need to start from the bottom line. To start with to do mundane HR clerical work your MBA HR degree would be sufficient. But to move further beyond and to reach pinnacle of HR domain you should gain in depth knowledge in various Labour laws and statutory compliances as well.
From India, Madras
@vmlakshminarayanan
Thanks for the insights. I had to take a gap due to personal reasons and I will be continuing starting next month after choosing a specialization.
If I need to grow in HR field, should I look towards a regular MBA? If so, should it be the top schools?
From India, Chennai
Thanks for the insights. I had to take a gap due to personal reasons and I will be continuing starting next month after choosing a specialization.
If I need to grow in HR field, should I look towards a regular MBA? If so, should it be the top schools?
From India, Chennai
Community Support and Knowledge-base on business, career and organisational prospects and issues - Register and Log In to CiteHR and post your query, download formats and be part of a fostered community of professionals.
Orange Retail Finance India Private Limited Mail - You have an update from HR-Final.pdf
Job Description - HR & Admin.doc