What no one tells you about BMS and BBA. The inside scoop from an ex-student.

Bachelor’s of Management studies is a Mumbai university course otherwise known as BBA (Bach. Of Business Administration) across India. Read more on the course content here.

In India, very few students are prudent enough to have a fall back career – or a field of study which they could take when their chosen field is out of reach. I was in that place just over 8 years ago. In the 12^th std., I wanted to do something in Medicine, but my scores in the entrance tests (MH CET at the time) were low and those in Biology were not overly impressive. I decided to take an alternative course that was separate from Science because science had already dimaag-ka-dahi-ed my brain.

I was drawn to BMS because of it’s glamour at the time. Reading material on the web I saw that it was a sought-after course for Commerce undergrads. People were giving first preference to BMS and then to BCom/BAF. There was an entrance test too to add to the exclusivity which basically meant the course was hard to get. In my mind, I automatically, and rather foolishly, ascertained that this was a premium course. The course was supposed to have a lot of presentations and was to be the pre-MBA kind of course. Having lost out to engineering and Medicine, I thought eventually getting an MBA would be good for me and here was a course which would make it easier. Also, I loved giving presentations and had a knack for public speaking.

I wouldn’t have gotten in to BMS if it was not for the Mumbai University to scrap entrance tests in 2008 – because of low demand – a fact that in retrospect I should have thought over.

I graduated in 2010. By God’s grace I had much fun in the course over three years. It was a cakewalk for me personally. It is very important to have decent classmates. They make all the assignments and group work easier. Thereafter some of us got jobs ourselves while others were recruited on campus.

That’s where we learnt some hard truths about BMS.

Do you have questions about BMS or BBA? Please leave a Comment

I’ve spent 5 years in the field after having done a BMS degree which ended in 2010. Me and a lot of my batch mates have a few opinions to write about the BMS course this summer. The results for HSC 2016 are on 6th June 2016. You have two months to make a choice.

So in that context, I’m open to answer most of the common questions regarding this course. I’ve seen a plenty of questions on a post I’ve written earlier on BMS.

I’ll be consolidating my views and those of my colleagues in a few blog posts. I will do my best to have most of them answered if not all. Stay tuned for the series on BMS in the next couple of months.

In case you’re considering doing a BMS/BBA course, please leave a comment below for any question you would like answered and will include a response in a subsequent blog series.

6 Things to keep in mind before joining BMS

UPDATE: This post was a rather satirical/sardonic view of BMS at time when I had just finished college. 5 years hence, people in the comments pointed out my views seemed different, however far from it, I actually implored people to stay away from BMS from the start. Reading the title of this post you’d know that this is a cautionary (stay away if possible) post. Regardless, because of the confusion and the number of comments surrounding my views on BMS, I have just recently put up a post  completely panning the BMS/BBA courses for reasons mentioned therein. Rest assured I have more than 6 reasons. 

BMS or Bachelor of Management studies, is a relatively new course brought out by the University of Mumbai. This is a course designed to give that sharper edge for candidates to manage a business right after they graduate. It’s a very rich course and has a huge advantage over the traditional B.Com degree due to the wide array of topics it covers – from Exports and International Finance to Production and Human Resource, from Finance to Inventory and practical projects etc . This is the all-in-one course designed to make you stand as a ‘demi-MBA’ among the graduates. So if you’ve picked the newly discovered ‘scientophobia’ (fear of Science 😛 ) or if you want to go a level higher than arts and don’t want stick into the rut of Commerce, BMS is the solution for you! All the same you might be that hard-working, talented individual too, but it really doesn’t matter, BMS is a ‘one size fits all’ course.

Before you hop on the BMS bandwagon, please keep in mind the following things. This is just a word of caution for you and all your fellow batch mates so that you don’t find yourself wishing you were doing a simple Arts degree.

Don’t make a mistake following the rat race (by antwerpenR, Flickr)

Caution #1

11 things I am thankful for this year

Pic by James Almond on Flickr

I really doubt if time passes at the same rate of 24 hrs. per day. It really seems to have zoomed past this year.

2010 has been a year in which I’ve crossed over to a new phase of life. It’s been one hell of a ride. There have been challenges, mistakes and problems staring in the face. In spite of all the crap, there’s always a silver lining. Here’s to 2010.. some (only a part of the whole) of the things I’m really thankful that happened this year:

How to land your first job in a famous bank : Part 2

 

Getting ready for the Interview

My tales of doing things by the book and still not making it the way I should.

Have you landed your interview? Congrats! You made it

How to land your first job in a famous bank : Part 1

JOBS: Looking for a door to open?

I hope you’ve read part one of the story right here: Part 1.

When school would get over, it would be like a full tension-released situation.. free for the next two or three months till the next year or college was to start. When you graduate though in India, you’re not looking forward to freedom; you’re looking forward to the job that’s going to imprison you for the next most valuable part of your life. As morbid as this may sound, you actually look forward to it with zeal! I so wanted it too.

With all the tips and the advice in and around, it was overwhelming indeed. As you may have guessed there is no custom made job finding pattern. Sometimes even studying well doesn’t seem to cut it. Well, here’s some more advice.

I tried doing everything by the book you know.. to get my dream job or something close to it. But my story is a bit different.  I did everything and nothing to get my first interview. Did you read this line? Everything and nothing..

What you need to do get an interview in a bank or a Financial Institution

For getting an interview:

1. Pray: if I didn’t pray, it was surely my parents who kept praying. Praying has a calming effect. It’s kind of like throwing the weight of the job search on the almighty. You know he’s going to work behind the scenes somehow. It’s great to do that, but expecting him to email you with a mail saying “Neil, God has the right job for you, APPLY NOW” is foolish.  For a while that’s what I expected God to do (A bit of exaggeration).