Getting enrolled into a management programme has for long been a popular choice for engineers. Most premier B-schools have as much as 60-70 per cent representation from this field.  

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What makes the combination so popular? Engineering programmes, especially in India, emphasise technical depth in the chosen specialisation. Engineers from premier Indian engineering schools are considered to be the best in the world, in that field.  

However, there are a number of essential business skills involving leadership, strategy, finance, teamwork, verbal, and written presentation, among others, that these programmes bypass.  

Let us look at the roles management students typically aspire for in the C- Suite, and how the engineering plus PGDM (MBA) combination can work well for them.

Complementary and incremental skills enable the engineer to literally graduate beyond a strictly operational or technical role and step into leadership roles, all the way up to the C-Suite.  

This approach is driven by a demonstrated understanding of multiple corporate issues, as well as the ability to work with diverse layers of the corporate hierarchy. Civil engineers can rise to the top in construction/infrastructure companies, mechanical engineers in manufacturing, computer science engineers in ITES/ SaaS, electrical engineers in the power sector, and so on.  

In fact, in some industries, such as IT, a restrictive and singular skill set could mean that a career is cut short abruptly.

The knowledge that an engineer gains in a management programme are in addition to what he/she has gained in the engineering course. The knowledge gained is not just incremental, but also complimentary, especially in core operations roles.  

Technical expertise in a chosen engineering field - say mechanical - combined with leadership, strategy, finance and other skills mentioned above, positions the student to understand more holistically issues in core operations for an industrial concern.

A combination of engineering and management skills is particularly valuable in some exciting areas like artificial intelligence, big data analytics, machine learning, virtual reality and augmented reality that is poised for growth.  

These fields require a depth of technical expertise that engineering offers, and a strategic mindset to exploit the opportunity, which the MBA provides.

If there is one skill that is vital for business and which an engineer lacks, it is finance. Engineering and finance complement each other well in terms of having little overlap while utilising quantitative skills.  

CFO responsibilities in the industry now typically extend beyond book keeping. Responsibility for strategy and a solid understanding of operations are also integral to success. The engineering foundation not just provides quantitative aptitude, but also a better understanding of operations.

Building on an engineering base with a solid PGDM (MBA) from a leading institute, positions a young graduate well to enter the services sector, a segment that is thriving and will remain relevant to the economy.  

For example, management consulting is a service that utilises the full talent of engineering effectively. Similarly, investment banking too requires a degree of industry knowledge that can come from engineering and significant financial acumen, which a management education can provide.

In addition to all of the above, there is also an advantage that comes with the engineering plus PGDM (MBA) combination - diversification.

Four years spent in engineering with like-minded people from a similar background who go through a similar experience, leads to deep personal networks. However, the network does not have much diversity in it, which can prove to be a handicap later in the career trajectory.  

A dissimilar and complementary network is created in working and living full time with a different set of peers.  This is not to say that the PGDM (MBA) is the only right alternative after one completes B Tech. One may wish to develop deep expertise in the chosen field, and hence opt for an M Tech or MS or even Ph.D. at a later stage. These are perfectly valid choices.  

However, if the corporate sector and the C-Suite within it is the target, then all the above reasons point decidedly towards the above mentioned combination, particularly the dynamic times we live and work in.

Author is Director at FORE School of Management, New Delhi