With things being pretty busy at work I did not make much headway into the deeper delve into what exactly I aspire of in life. Honestly, I have been trying to figure it for the last year or so and feel that it is not so easy or straight forward :( That said, I have come to this conclusion that one needs to have a broader aim set and take baby steps towards it. After all it is the journey in itself which is as enjoyable as the destination. Not sure if I am making much sense on this though.
Through the entire process, I realized that the joy that I got in resolving problems was personally satisfying. The very reason that I intended to approach the consulting profile is a step in this direction. As per my understanding of a consultant's profile this is the bread and butter of the job profile. The luring facet of facing something challenging on a regular basis is the real motivation for wanting the shift of functions.
That said, I am pretty much aware of two things --:
1. That I might not possibly end up in consulting line even after a MBA since it is pretty competitive and number of people selected by the top consulting firms is pretty much on the lower side compared to the number of applicants. The alternative function / backup option I want to work on is Marketing. I was fortunate to experience and get a very slight feel of how the marketing side of things happens in an organization during my previous work profile. It was personally a really good eye-opener and also the quality of discussions in and around that particular vertical is also one of the main reasons of wanting to do an MBA. I firmly believe that one is only as good as the quality of one's discussions.
2. There is a chance that too many continuous challenges in the consulting industry can result in an imbalance in work-life balance and can also cause issues. Though this is a possibility that cannot be neglected and must be happening to a lot of consultants, this is something that I think might come into play a few years after being the consulting career and either ways it is a chance that I am willing to take.
I intend to have more discussions on this aspect of possible career verticals that are open to me with or without a MBA considering my exposure to a variety of technical aspects within the Telecom sector. I have presently discussed with a few B-School friends and also researched a few blogs on whether it is possible to transition to consulting / marketing vertical with a good brand without a MBA. The inference so far is that while it is not impossible to do so unfortunately it relatively rare and the people who do so have about 8-10 years of experience.
