MCA or MBA - The Debate

MCA Or MBA - The Debate!!!!!!

Now just looking at the topic many will be excited to read this post. People who are happy with their course will read for how  Well their stream is portrayed compare to other. People who are not Happy will read it know what more things that are bad in their field of choice. But sorry to disappoint you. This post is not for the Optimistics or Pessimistics but for Opportunistics  who exactly wants to know the reason for this debate. The reason is simple. The Opportunistic want to know what course He should pursue. I hope by the end of this write up you would have some Clarity in your thoughts or rather great confusion (Sorry for that :-) ).

Yea Being a Mumbai University MCA graduate I may save a few points for MCA but then its human tendency. But worry not most of my very good friends are from top Mumbai University MBA Colleges and hence are always giving me insights in this stream. As for knowing about MCA and life/career after that, I guess my knowledge on this subject is OK.



MBA:-

• Now when you ask anyone what is better MCA or MBA, he may say that MBA is better. The case Might be that person may not have even heard about MCA. MBA has become a Guru mantra for todays generation. And with increase in enrollment crowd there have been plenty of Institutes and Universities coming up in various parts. 
• MBA jobs are totally Management oriented. They dont really involve any product or entities but majorly how well the product is getting sold or market. MBA is mainly concerned with increasing or facilitating the sale of the product in the most efficient way and easing the flow of the same. "Manage" is the only word MBA should concentrate on. And hence their job involves managing. This managing can be anything from finance to IT. Now let me add to this that 95% pursuing MBA are looking for a managerial job profile and the remaining 5% are doing to to know the nitty gritty of starting a business venture and are business minded people hoping to make a name for them as a Business Tycoon.
• MBA is a universally recognized course and this is a major factors which swings the debate to MBA. Being a universally accepted degree , a MBA certificate from a Top university of the country will see you accepted in mostly all major industries and MNCs today.
• Now lets focus on the course details. MBA has loads and loads of streams. you name a field and I guess a MBA course will pop up on Google search. But the study of MBA is basically the stuff how you relate your self with the on going activities. MBA studies are nothing but being practical. Nothing is based on theory but only how things work in the market and how can you improve individual business. I guess its the only course where a person can pass if he is strong in his practical ideals applications. 
• Reading the above bullet you may thing this is easy. Sorry friend your mistaken. Yea case study sounds easy right!?!!?!? But that is not the case. Very few people have got this thing in them which will take them through all this. Being practical and making profits is not easy at times. Apply your logic on paper and in class room may look easy but working on the same principles in real world is where the world kick backs to you. For doing MBA you should have this skills of a MBA, and mind you Many Many and Many people lack this but get through their MBA studies.
• I have seen a trend ( I may be wrong here sorry for that ) that most students in MBA are like show offs. Even my friends say the same. Even they wonder "What this guy is doing here ???!??!" but then you cant help it. People tend to forget that socializing and extrovert personalities are not the only qualities a MBA should possess. 
• The most important point of all is the College you choose for MBA. In my College ending years I was harshly reminded of this fact. MBA from any xyz college will take you no where. There have been instances my friends told that in their jobs after their Degree Graduation, the pay scale for a degree graduate and MBA graduate was the same. Now MBA students must have really worked hard for their MBA but didnt get enough in returns. Who is to be blamed for that ???, The only logical answer is their college. 
• Many people may say that "MBA ka Kaam is Araam karna." But I would say "Are Bhai Araam karne se pehle He has successfully managed his work". MBA doesnt mean only resting but it means having such strong managerial skills that somewhere down the years that all you do is rest. But yes I have also seen people who have done their MBA and still have to do mind torturing task and the reason is improper managerial skills.

MCA:-

• MCA is a professional course recognized by mainly India. And this is biggest drawback one could think of for MCA. Being recognized only in India limits the job opportunities one can think of for MCA. Many MNCs in India do recognize MCA for their job qualification, but then many dont. Limited in this scope itself makes one thing about it. 
• As with MBA, even MCA courses are provided by a wide variety of Universities. If your a local train traveler , I am sure you would have seen a advertisement of a some XYZ university providing all times of courses from 10th, 12th to MCA,MBA,PhD. This adds are alluring as the course duration is at times nearly 1/4th of the actual duration in a well recognized university. I have done my MCA from Mumbai University, The so called top University of India. :-P .
• MCA from different university differs a lot in terms of syllabus and duration. Mumbai University has different types of MCA course. The which I did was a 3 year full time course. I guess you missed my point. I just mentioned 3 Full years for a Post Graduation as compared to MBA. Lol one can say he has 1 year extra of Post Grad studies behind him. And score a point for MCA. MCA as we may think is not out and out technical course but according to me can be said as the mixture of Management subjects and Technical skills. 
• MCA course doesnt prepare you for just coding, testing and debugging. MCA course not only develops you for horizontal growth in your career ( Horizontal growth means moving from one programming platform to other ) but also emphasis on the Vertical Growth ( team member to team leader, team leader to project leader and so forth). Now most people miss this aspect of MCA. The Mumbai University MCA colleges have many different subjects which concentrate on this subjects like Principles of Economics, Project Management, Communication Skills, Customer Relationship Management and more others like this. Generally students miss this Salient Highlight of a MCA course. 
• The job opportunities for a MCA grad as a fresher are for development primarily. But once you have sharpened your skills and ready to take a plunge then there is a vast sea opportunity for MCA. MCA grad need not be connected to only technical aspects in a company. But can achieve the managerial job profile of a technical department. And by doing so we can also foray into Managerial team of a company. 
• Mumbai University MCA course is a tough place to be in . I say this only because every semester exam of MCA is a University Exam. And once your papers go out the examination campus then God Save You. The MBA students are saved of this trouble.

Now coming back to the so called debate I hope I have rightfully specified the pros and cons of each. I would say not the cons but all things are pros. The choice is always with you on what you want to do.
I would say Personal Interest should play an important role in determining the result of this debate.
I have interest in both things. But then have something special for Computers. The result of this debate is now left for you to decide.