CAT preparation in 6 months

Replies

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  Kaustubh Katdare

  Harshit_Shah

  Is it practical if I prepare for CAT exam in 6 months time.. ie. I've all the 6 months for myself..?? Is it possible to crack it ??

  It is possible and 6 months is enough time to prepare for CAT. You'll need greater dedication and I'll recommend focusing on solving as many mock tests as possible.
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  kusuma463

  hi friend can u give me the guidance of how to prepare for CAT entrance
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  Kaustubh Katdare

  @kusuma: My advise would be to join a reputed CAT coaching institute for preparation. It will bring a discipline in your preparation and also introduce you to different ways of problem solving and give you ample practice.
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  Harshit_Shah

  @The_Big_K: Dude, doing MBA directly after completing Bachelors is more preferable or after getting some work-experience..? Expecting a reply from you bro..
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  Kaustubh Katdare

  Harshit_Shah

  @The_Big_K: Dude, doing MBA directly after completing Bachelors is more preferable or after getting some work-experience..? Expecting a reply from you bro..

  I personally recommend opting for higher education once you've spent at least 2 years in corporate world; idle would be 4-6 years for further studies in Management. However, one big challenge is keeping the self-motivation high after having worked in the industry for some time. It's hard to let go off the salary. Lot of aspirants go on sabbatical if their company offers it.
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  Harshit_Shah

  But what if I aim for the IIM's through CAT directly after my bachelors? Does it become necessary to wait for 2 years to crack CAT ? In other words, how does job experience really influence your MBA degree ?? I would be grateful if I would get some guidelines from u, The_Big_K
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  Kaustubh Katdare

  The decision is entirely yours. Once you've worked in the industry, you get a feel of how things work and that helps you make a decision whether you should 'really' go for MBA. Experience gives you an edge over others who've similar academic background and score in entrance exam.
  
  You may of course go for MBA directly after graduation. I think it would be better to work as an 'engineer' for few years than managing spreadsheets and power points for the rest of your life.
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  Harshit_Shah

  One last query, The_Big_K: Once I begin my job, how can I prepare for my CAT exams ?? I mean morning till night I would be busy in job so there would be no time for CAT preparations.. So how do people normally prepare for the CAT exams along with their jobs ??
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  vik001ind

  @HArshit they sleep 4hrs instead of 8 hrs & study the remaining 4hrs each day including full day study on weekends. I'm engineering graduate & I'm going for MBA directly.
  Why to waste time when life is short.
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  Kaustubh Katdare

  Harshit_Shah

  One last query, The_Big_K: Once I begin my job, how can I prepare for my CAT exams ?? I mean morning till night I would be busy in job so there would be no time for CAT preparations.. So how do people normally prepare for the CAT exams along with their jobs ??

  If you want to do something different from others; you'll have to be ready to put in extra efforts. Sleep for not more than 6 hours, skip those movies, vacations and consume every moment you get preparing for the exam.
  
  You'll need time management, spare 8 hours for job, 3 hours for routines & daily travel, 6 hours for sleep, you'll be left with plenty of free time to manage. Huh?
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  vik001ind

  Today the job takes atleast 10hrs, at some cases more than 12hrs. most People leave their homes at 8am & reach back home at 8-9 pm..
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  Harshit_Shah

  @vik001ind: Even I think the same way.. I feel why not do MBA from one of the top 10 or top 50 colleges of the country directly after bachelors and get a gr8 start-off from the beginning itself rather than working 2 years in a small company..? Big_K I would like if you would reply to this regarding what you have to say, as there's always logic behind your responses and I like the way you reply.. So reply soon bro.. 😀
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  Red Hawk

  @Harshit_shah : I would recommend doing MBA after gaining some work-ex. When you join in a company, you will come to now more about your field. Then you can actually deduce the need in that particular field and do your MBA accordingly. That will help you get a high position in that field of work.
  Many of us intend to do an MBA immediately after finishing our Bachelors because we dont have that urge or motivated spirit to do it after working for 2 or 3 years. As Harshit said, we want to settle in life soon. We are not ready to learn anything after joining in a company. We must change this mind set. I am in my final year of B.E. I am planning to wor for 2 years minimum. After that i will prepare for CAT and do my MBA. I am clear in that.
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  vik001ind

  Red Hawk

  @Harshit_shah : We must change this mind set.

  Its your mindset, everyone has a different theory about how he wants to plan his life. I don't find any apt reason of doing that. Many people who support work-ex before mba have one only one reason in mind that they will be preferred in b-schools & will receive high salary after completion of their mba in comparison with non work-ex. People who want to do without work-ex had to work harder & they saves some year. They start from top position instead of moving upward step by step. That saves alot of things.
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  Harshit_Shah

  @The_Big_K: Dude, now lets hear what you have to say regarding this..? Both Red Hawk and vik001ind may be right in their own ways but without any guidance from someone who has already experienced this, we just can't know.. So Big_K hoping you to reply soon regarding this as what you have to say ?
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  Kaustubh Katdare

  First of all, if anyone is think that if you go for MBA directly after graduation and end up at a fairly senior position in any company - must check the facts. Post MBA, only the 'role' offered to you in a company is changed. For example, a CS engineering student may get a technical position at a junior level; but the same candidate with MBA won't be put as a project manager. He/she might get a junior level job in marketing, or as a business analyst. These two should not be mixed.
  
  Whether to work before opting for PG or directly go for it is individual decision and I don't want to influence it. I only want everyone to make a decision after knowing the facts. It would be best to check with what kind of roles/profiles your friends were offered post MBA.
  
  Lot of students believe that that they'll be 'seniors' to their friends who are in the technical field; if they do MBA. I think that is wrong. Both management & technical tracks are different and depend largely on the industry that you join. There is a definitely different salary bracket for both tracks. I'll ask CEan Mayur to throw some light on this. He opted for MBA immediately after graduation.
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  Harshit_Shah

  @Big_K: Thanks bro for sharing with us your knowledge with us.. It has cleared many queries in my mind. And yeah, if CEan Mayur can share his experiences with us, it might clear the picture a lot better.. So if possible do ask him to throw some light as you said before.. I am simply proud to be a CEan where I've met people like you, Red Hawk, vik001hind and many others..!
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  Mayur Pathak

  Thanks Biggie for bringing this to my notice. This is a dilemma most people face in their lives and it is very just to make a concrete decision at the time of graduating out of your engineering school. I can actually give you the pros and cons of doing an MBA immediately after your graduation or I can advice you to get some work experience. But that will not solve your problem. Let us get to the root cause first.
  
  Without meaning any disrespect to Biggie, Vik, Red hawk or any one who has replied to this thread, the entire discussion and the opinions expressed by others are meaningless. Harshit you will have to understand that when you decide to do further studies, you are actually making a career choice. And it is important for you to make it looking at your interests and not on the pros and cons of any thing. Are you fascinated by a career in a managerial role? Do you always want to be the best marketing, HR, sales manager and become a business tycoon? In that case I'll advice you to start your CAT preparations immediately after reading this post. Whatever work experience you get before MBA will be useless if you want to done the hat of any of the above roles I shared above. But if you are a self motivated engineer and you enjoy 'doing' thing than managing them, I think you should continue your further studies in technical field or get a job in the field of your interest. Please be informed that every one knows who was the engineer to design the Burj Dubai (We have interviewed him. You may check the Small Talk section). But no one knows who was the head of project management or for that matter who sold the apartments and hotels. If your interest is to 'create', continue doing that. But if your interest is to 'manage', go for MBA immediately.
  
  By the way if any one says that you can not be a project manager without an MBA degree and that is why you should do MBA after 4-5 years of coding/on the shop floor... you may choose to walk away from that person. It is nothing like that. And in my opinion, taking a mid career break to study again for a year or 2 and coming back at a higher level is very difficult. We have couple product managers in my company who were in technical roles, took a break and did MBA from XLRI and SP Jain and joined back as product manager. Both are finding the new role extremely frustrating. I'll compare it with an F1 race. The drivers who pit stops more finds it very difficult to compete with the ones who run on a single stop strategy. So it is better to fill yourself adequately before entering the race.
  
  This might sound like just one side of the story. But for me, this is a better side of the story. If you still have some doubts... feel free to get in touch any time 😀
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  vik001ind

  @Mayur thanks for clarification.
  
  

  mayurpathak

  I'll compare it with an F1 race. The drivers who pit stops more finds it very difficult to compete with the ones who run on a single stop strategy. So it is better to fill yourself adequately before entering the race.

  nice one!
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  Mayur Pathak

  vik001ind

  @Mayur thanks for clarification.
  
  
  nice one!

  I'm sorry I missed your point. I guess you wanted to say the same thing.
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  vik001ind

  @Mayur But aren't people with work-ex are preferred in b-schools & they receive much higher packages than non work-ex?
  The average salary offered at IIMs at present is about 12lakhs while the top notch students get beyond 40 lakhs. Isn't the work-ex is the reason for this discrepancy? Note that more than 40% in IIMs are non work-ex.
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  Mayur Pathak

  vik001ind

  @Mayur But aren't people with work-ex are preferred in b-schools & they receive much higher packages than non work-ex?
  The average salary offered at IIMs at present is about 12lakhs while the top notch students get beyond 40 lakhs. Isn't the work-ex is the reason for this discrepancy? Note that more than 40% in IIMs are non work-ex.

  Yes and no. You will have to prioritise. Is MBA a means to get high salaries? If yes then some thing is not right here.
  
  Consider this. You joined as a fresh candidate and were offered 12 lacs. In 6 years, you changed 2 companies and got 3 appraisals. So how much should be your salary now and how much more can you command? Will it be matching? Moreover you have an advantage. You have spent 2 years lesser than the experienced guy to get a package of 40 lacs. By the way, not all people have relevant work experience to command very high salaries. If you did QA for 6 years in some well known IT company in India and then went to IIMs, how much salary will you command from an investment bank? Do you think they will offer 40 lacs?
  
  PS: Salaries appear fat because people are offered overseas placements.
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  vik001ind

  @Mayur They do offer 30-40 lacs within India. I want to clarify onething coz I had some argument with my friend about doing mba without exp.
  I told him that a fresher candidate with low starting salary (12 lacs) can equate an experienced person having higher salary (30-40 lacs within india) within say 1-2 years at max while saving some years (no experience). Is it true? of course taking into account your theory about salary & command!!
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  Mayur Pathak

  vik001ind

  I told him that a fresher candidate with low starting salary (12 lacs) can equate an experienced person having higher salary (30-40 lacs within india) within say 1-2 years at max while saving some years (no experience). Is it true? of course taking into account your theory about salary & command!!

  If the qualify of the candidate and his experience suits then yes, it is possible. These things cant be taken as a thumb rule. I have seen fresh engineering candidates offered a salary of 20 lacs above in IIT Powai. Every thing is possible.
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  vik001ind

  Thanks BigK & Mayur & everyone in the discussion. It really helped!
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  Harshit_Shah

  First of all thanks to The_Big_K for telling Mr. Mayur to throw some light on this hot topic.. Yeah, it has helped a lot to clear many queries which I was facing before.. Now I just want to clarify two more questions Mr. Mayur:
  1> Is 6 months enough for preparing CAT with the Goal of IIM in mind right after completing bachelors and provided that I am totally free and the whole 6 months would be spent only for CAT preparations ??
  2> In case, I opt for going for work experience, to what extent does it become tough to return back to studies and start preparing for CAT exams.. Well you seem to be an experienced guy so asking you this bro as I don't have any knowledge regarding this..
  Yeah, I forgot to thank you also Mr. Mayur.. The information was really helpful..
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  CIVILPRINCESS

  wow nice explanation mayur😀
  i was keeping track of this thread since i'm also interested in doing my MBA immediately after my graduation... nice discussion. thanks guys😁
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  vik001ind

  No 6 months, Only 3-4 months are left for cat!
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  CIVILPRINCESS

  yeah i heard this year the CAT is scheduled to happen from 27th october to 23rd november😀
  
  so only three months left for the 2010 CAT takers
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  Harshit_Shah

  @vik001ind: Dude, I am talking abt giving the CAT next year, so are 6 months enough for preparing for it ? Thtz wht I was asking bro..
• 

  Kartik Vyas

  Well friends, A lot of interesting perspectives in the trailing thread. Well the thing about MBA right after college or with workex is like discussing whether Murali was better or Warne. Here's my take:
  
  It surely is easier to get into a Finance/Marketing profile as a fresher as compared to someone who doesnt have relevant work exp. So for example if your work experience is in say IT (Telecom) so your chances of getting through a core Finance profile are lesser as compared to someone who has joined fresh after Electronics and Telecommunication engineering. But if you want to go back to the sector where you have work experience then you are at a very good position.
  I personally feel that one MUST have some work experience under one's belt before doing MBA but the current situation in placements/market is such that the playing field is better for someone who is a fresher. This is because:
  1. A fresher has nothing to lose (in 9 out of 10 times a post MBA salaries are better than salaries offered to mere graduates) while someone with work ex has a benchmark set for him/her.
  2. Freshers are supposed to be more flexible and mobile than people with work exp. HR people seem to think that someone who has worked in an AC office for 2-3 yrs (read IT) cannot roam around in scorching heat to handle sales and marketing.
  3. Your work exp is like a Cricket bat in your hand while you are running towards a playground. If you reach a football/volleyball or basketball ground you wont be allowed to play with the bat in your hand while if you reach cricket field you shall be directly asked to bat. But this luxury is available only if you go back to cricket. A fresher is like an athlete without a racket/bat in hand so he/she can start playing any game.
  Despite these things if you have work experience you can appreciate the course much better and you know how a real corporate/enterprise works. So you can relate to things better.
  
  Last but not the least - There is more to MBA than just salaries. Salaries are most often bloated. 95% of the people who complete their MBA DONOT earn more than 100k per month in the first year of their job post MBA. And they make you work real hard for every penny of it.. Remember there is no easy money in the market except maybe the marriage market 😛.
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  Mayur Pathak

  Harshit_Shah

  First of all thanks to The_Big_K for telling Mr. Mayur to throw some light on this hot topic.. Yeah, it has helped a lot to clear many queries which I was facing before.. Now I just want to clarify two more questions Mr. Mayur:
  1> Is 6 months enough for preparing CAT with the Goal of IIM in mind right after completing bachelors and provided that I am totally free and the whole 6 months would be spent only for CAT preparations ??

  In my opinion, 3 months are enough if you devote yourself to the 'cause' of cracking the CAT. See, the exam only tests your aptitude. If you did not know it already, the questions are based on the maths, science and english we studied in our school (5th to 10th). So it should be easy for an engineer is it not? The right focus can actually help you to prepare in 3-4 months. But focus is important.
  
  

  Harshit_Shah

  2> In case, I opt for going for work experience, to what extent does it become tough to return back to studies and start preparing for CAT exams.. Well you seem to be an experienced guy so asking you this bro as I don't have any knowledge regarding this..

  I can only imagine that it should be tough. Your learning never ends even when you are working. So it is easy in that sense. But the bigger problem is to leave your salaried job and start studying. Apart from studying, there are other compromises to be made. For ex. you will not be earning money for the next 1-2 years (depending on the course you choose). You will now have to go through the assignment-classes-vivas-exams routine. And your experience will now be 1-2 years lesser than your peers who did not opt for an MBA. If you overcome these dilemmas, I guess returning to the college life must be very interesting.
  
  

  Harshit_Shah

  Yeah, I forgot to thank you also Mr. Mayur.. The information was really helpful..

  You are welcome! 😀
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  durga ch

  What Mayur said is right regarding the salary thing, but I personally know people who have made decisions to leave their safe jobs behind and pursue full time studies. But saying that - you will have to decide if you are OK to take a risk leaving our job. I think there are few companies which permit their employees to pursue education on full time basis- no surprise to assume only after other obligations.