The Truth About My MBA: Why I Regret It (And Why I Don’t)

It is one of those things you don’t like to admit to yourself. After all, I did spend a lot of money on my MBA.

Before telling you why I regret it, let me tell you my motivations behind pursuing it.

I studied English at my university and I have two degrees, a bachelor’s and a master’s. It just made me so happy to attend my college lectures. Every day I would wake up eager to learn something new. Whether it was the Renaissance or the Victorian Era, I loved learning about it.

After dedicating five years of my life to the extensive study of literature, I realised the next natural step was going into academics. Except, I didn’t want to teach.

So, I started working freelance as a content writer.

It was going great. I didn’t earn a lot, but I was happy working from the comfort of my home, and I supposed I could earn more after building some credentials. Before that could happen, I lost a few gigs because the companies now had AI to write their articles, and suddenly, it didn’t seem like a viable option anymore.

It was scary to think about the fact that AI had the same skill set as me.

I started applying for content writing and digital marketing jobs. That’s when I got another reality check. Those jobs were paying even less than what I was making while doing my freelance content writing.

So that is when I decided to go for MBA. It promised me a job with a great starting salary. I figured I could work in marketing and come up with creative campaigns for brands. Or I could work in digital marketing and handle a brand’s socials.

Now two years later, I’m here writing this article. The funniest part is all of my batchmates, the ones I talk to, somewhere along their journey also regretted it at some point or the other. I guess it’s easy to do so after the kind of investment one makes for this degree.

Why I Regret Doing my MBA

I had always been the imaginative girl who reads more in every situation.

While reading a chapter in my history book, I could make a story out of it in my mind. Perhaps that is why I was so inclined towards English. I love reading and building worlds within myself. It churned my creative wheels and fuelled my heart with passion.

Now I was stuck studying accounting, statistics, corporate law and learning tools like Power BI and Python. I won’t say I hated it. I love learning new skills, and everything I learned during my MBA was new to me. After all, in my university, I was one of those rare species who studied humanities all their lives. All these subjects were exciting to learn about but didn’t fuel my soul.

For the first year, I tried hard to give it my all and I lost touch with myself. I didn’t read books nor did I write anything except my assignments. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, it kept nagging me. I was feeling a lot of guilt for losing my creativity.

Why I Don't Regret It

I’m also extremely grateful for my MBA degree.

Well, for one, my imagination and creativity were a little too devoid of reality. MBA grounded me that way. I was the girl who hated people who threw facts in my face. Guess what, MBA had lots of people who did that. I couldn’t write one assignment without putting facts to back it up. It made me feel constricted as if I couldn’t get anything done without facts. There was no scope for imagination.

Slowly, I began to realise that without a base of reality, my idea could fall flat. My first-ever idea for an assignment, an app with a subscription for reading manga fell flat. It couldn’t work with all the big competitors in the market, and also why would people pay for it when tons of websites do it for free (surely it’s unethical but it’s hard to put a stop to piracy). In reality, you can’t just do anything without considering if it will be a viable option.

There was a subject called ‘Business Research Methods’. Our professor came in and told us that no one can just start a business without doing any research. First I thought that market research was a big waste of time. After all, I can just open a small restaurant and people will come in, right?

Wrong.

Apparently, you have to conduct research first. Is there any existing business there already? Do people of that locality want a restaurant? What are their eating habits? How much are they willing to pay? It opened my eyes to the concept of viability. Not every creative idea of mine is viable.

There was another subject called “Sales and Distribution Management” I was extremely reluctant to take that paper because of my introverted nature, but it was compulsory. Even before starting it, our professor told us that sales is the basic for marketing. It helps you connect with people since you are at the frontline dealing with customers. If you don’t understand your customers, you won’t be able to sell them your products. It taught me the concept of value creation. No matter what your vocation, you must always create value for your customers. It is also the secret to connecting with your customer, and the one secret to making a successful sale.

MBA also brought my worst fears to the forefront. I had to give lots of presentations. Standing up in front of so many people and talking was daunting for me. I’ve always expressed myself better on paper than aloud. I can’t count how many times I’ve stood before the class with thirty to forty people staring at me. This has normalised public speaking. Not that I’ve turned into a wonderful orator, I’m just not that scared anymore.

I’ve also realised the value of passion and pastimes. Perhaps I wouldn’t have appreciated my love for literature or writing if I hadn’t done my MBA. Sometimes, doing the most mundane things like making a PowerPoint presentation can spark creativity.

During my second year, I started making time for my passions. I started reading again. My confidence has also allowed me to start my own YouTube channel and I’m also thinking of writing fiction again. These activities don’t take much time but they make me happy. MBA has also taught me to think of ways to capitalise on my passions. Soon, I hope my passions will make way for some passive income.

It has helped me become a more confident version of myself. Before doing this degree, I was just a girl chasing her passions and now I’m a woman who’s ready to take on the world and deal with its challenges. Perhaps it sounds corny but it’s true. MBA had prepared me for adulting. Despite my regrets, my MBA reshaped how I see the world, and myself.

Most importantly, it has given me a job. I’m placed and soon will be working in the corporate with a pretty good salary in my city of dreams. I may have started this journey chasing a good job, but I’m leaving it with something far more valuable — confidence and the power to shape my future.