An MBA has long been the chosen path for graduates seeking career advancement. While the MBA program began a century ago with the goal of developing managers with general management skills, with time the importance of the specialization you select has increased significantly.
MBA specializations often cover a wide range of domains, with the traditional ones being Marketing, Finance, OperationsManagement, and Human Resource Management, and some new-age ones likeData Analytics, Product Management, etc.
Now, if you are a candidate who does not have an inherent fixation on any of the specializations, as most MBA candidates do, it is quite unwise to choose any specialization based solely on whims and fancies or hearsay from others. Decisions made on these loose parameters can at times lead to bad career decisions.
Thus,it makes more sense to make a rational decision rather than a random one.
Understanding Roles: Cost Center vs. Revenue Center
Following the simplest of classification criteria, there are two types of roles in any company.
Cost Center Roles:
These are roles that are essential for the smooth working of the company but have limited or no impact in driving the revenue. Thus, a company spends resources/money on maintaining such functions. These include roles like:
- Accounts managements
- HR management
- Internal operations management
Revenue Center Roles:
Revenue center roles are directly responsible for driving the topline of a company. These are highly important needle-mover roles. Some of them are:
- Revenue Leads
- Brand Managers
- Product Managers
Note that both these roles are equally important for a company to function.
However, if you're seeking hypergrowth and don't want to settle for average career progression, then here is the advice of the day for you: revenue center roles offer more opportunities.
This is because when a company experiences significant revenue growth, customer-facing roles like sales, brand, and product are typically the ones this growth gets directly attributed to. They naturally receive greater recognition and personal growth opportunities.
This does not mean that other roles, for example,
an HR, have no hand in this, as they are the ones screening and hiring new talent responsible for this growth, yet their contribution is comparatively limitedcompared to the ones mentioned above.
Once you decide that revenue center roles are for you, it is then important to understand what job within this huge bucket is more relevant and has a higher growth promise than the others.
The Role of Digital Transformation
We know how digital transformation has not only affected people but enterprises as well.
The digital impact extends beyond digitally native companies like Zomato and Blinkit to legacy corporations such as HUL, ITC, Tata Group, and Nestle. These organizations are investing heavily to enhance their digital capabilities.Thus, there is a demand across the spectrum of companies for digital-first roles like Product Management, eCommerce, Growth, Digital Brand Management, etc.
Thus, it makes sense to build skills for digital-first roles. Combining the two perspectives (revenue center roles + digital-first roles) creates a category ofjob roles with the highest growth potential.
High-Demand Digital-First Roles
The most promising career paths combine digital expertise with revenue-generating potential. Some of these roles that are highest in demand and hottest in the market right now are:
- Digital Brand Management
- Product Management
- Algorithmic Equity Trading
- Growth Marketing
- Founder's Office
The easiest way to land these roles in good firms—either legacy firms or well-established, digital-first companies like Blinkit, Mamaearth, etc.—is to go to a Tier 1 B School.
Limited Access at Tier 1 B Schools
While top business schools offer the easiest entry into these high-growth roles at prestigious companies, only a handful of students secure these spots. So, does this imply a limited market demand for such professional roles?
The answer is no; the case is quite the opposite.
The industry today needs more talent skilled in domains like eCommerce, Product, Growth, Brand, Strategy, Media and more. The one thing in common between these roles is that all of them need specialist skills to do well. While Tier 1 B Schools are the launchpad for people to get there, you will also find students with the right skills but not from Tier 1 B Schools also doing extremely well.
The Challenge with other B Schools
Graduates from Tier 2 or lower B-schools most often find themselves in roles like Field sales at FMCG companies, BFSI sales, IT/ITeS operations roles, and similar profiles. While these are also good roles with decent career prospects, the demand for these roles is not growing.
The fact is there are thousands, if not lakhs, of students getting placed in these same pools of jobs every year. Thus, it is not simply that these jobs have average career growth; there is intense competition for them because demand is limited, and supply is increasing.
Strategic Skill Development
It is a golden opportunity for young graduates to understand today's business landscape and find routes to get into these high-growth, digital-first roles.
Roles such as Brand Management, Product Management, eCommerce Category Management, and Business Strategy require specialized skills best learned through practical application.
Even if you don't get a chance to get into tier-1 B-schools, there are other ways ofbuilding specialist skills.
The Altera Institute’s PGP in Applied marketing
Innovative educational models are emerging to bridge the gap between traditional learning and industry demands. This is where B-schools like the Altera Institute are able to find a space for themselves and are able to attract top recruiters like Godrej, Himalaya, Blinkit, and Mamaearth, among others, for their students.
They offer a PGP in Applied Marketing that represents a forward-thinking solution for aspiring professionals seeking to break into high-growth, digital-first roles. This 15-month program reimagines professional education and has the following USPs:
- What is taught: The curriculum at Altera is designed by leaders from top companies like HUL, Mamaearth, Reckitt, and more.
- Who teaches: 100% of the program is taught by industry mentors—all of whom are CXOs and business leaders from 20+ leading companies.
- How is it taught:The curriculum is application-focused, where students apply what they learn through various case competitions, business simulations, and live projects with leading D2C firms like TheWholeTruth Food, Bombay Shaving Co., Pilgrim, etc.
The combination of these factors ensures that students can meet the demands for top roles at companies that come to hire them, some of them being Godrej, Himalaya, Blinkit, Mamaearth, Wella Company, Purplle, etc.
Summing Up
Understanding the evolving digital landscape and strategically developing specialist skills to position yourself for high-growth, future-ready careers is the strategic way forward. Whether through prestigious B-schools or targeted skill development, the key is to align your professional journey with the dynamic demands of the digital economy.