MBA or M.Tech - Which is Better?

M.Tech or MBA is an ongoing debate playing with the young generation's minds for years. This is a typical decision that every student needs to make right after completing their bachelor's degree. Concerning career transition or skill-sets, both these courses help one step in two different directions.

MBA vs M.Tech is one of the most debated topics among engineering graduates. While M.Tech takes the student into a whole new pathway and further explores the world of engineering, MBA takes them to the journey of business & management. When selected wisely, both these academic choices will lead the aspirant in a successful career path.

As it is generally crucial for any career-related decision, choosing between MBA or M.Tech calls for first understanding an aspirant's calling. The choice must be dependent on an aspirant's interests, capabilities, and goals.

MBA vs M.Tech: Highlights

MBA and M.Tech are very diverse fields of study. An M.Tech degree offers a plethora of opportunities in academics, R&D, and other technical fields. At the same time, MBA opens up scopes in finance, consultancy, business administration, and different roles, which are not technically oriented. If any student is in a dilemma between MBA vs. M.Tech, here is a quick at-a-glance comparison of the two of the famous master's courses in India:

Factors	MBA	M.Tech
Full-Form	Master of Business Administration	Master of Technology
Duration	Two years	Two years
Eligibility	BBA, B.Tech, or any Bachelor’s Degree	B.Tech/B.S./B.E./B.ARCH
Entrance Exams	CAT	GATE
Average Starting Salary	INR 7- 10 LPA	INR 7 LPA
Employment	Deloitte, PWC, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Vodafone	Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Intel, Samsung

MBA vs M.Tech: Overview

Before analyzing which is better than the latter, let us first understand what the courses offer in general. MBA is one of the most popular and reputed postgraduate programs in India. It is a two-year course focussed on business administration and management. MBA has a diverse scope of specializations under management. The varied specializations help graduates from other streams find a knack for leadership and their core line of study.  Statistics suggest a significant demand for specialized MBA graduates in several fields promising a bright career.

Read More: MBA

On the other hand, M.Tech is a technical post-graduation specialization course majorly pursued by engineering students. M.Tech has its standards and reputation in the job market, like the MBA degree. Just like the B.Tech course, the M.Tech course involves practical coursework that aims to make students industry-ready. Understandably, there's always a substantial demand for specialized engineering graduates in several coming-of-the-age domains.

Read More: M.Tech

Compared to M.Tech, MBA is relatively easy in coursework difficulty, but it is the exact opposite in workload. M.Tech and MBA have a lot of differences that need to be weighed before making a concrete decision. Let us discuss some of the fundamental differences between the two.

MBA vs M.Tech: Eligibility Criteria

MBA and M.Tech have different eligibility criteria. However, both the post-graduation courses require graduates to have at least 50% in their undergraduate coursework. While M.Tech has certain restrictions based on an undergraduate degree, MBA accepts undergraduates across various domains. Some of the eligibility criteria for the courses are as follows:

• For any aspirant to pursue an MBA, the essential eligibility criteria are graduation in any discipline or equivalent from a recognized university. Most institutes follow the minimum score criteria in graduation, 50 percent on average or equivalent.
• While the eligibility criteria to pursue M.Tech is that the aspirant must graduate in B. Tech/ BE from a recognized institute, and the minimum aggregate marks required is 50% - 60% (varies from college to college)
• To enroll for M. Tech in a reputed institute like the IIT, a student needs to crack the GATE entrance exam.
• If the student plans to pursue an MBA, there are entrance exams like CAT and MAT, which they need to clear.

MBA vs M.Tech: Entrance Exams

We got to know that both MBA and M.Tech admission depends on students' entrance exam scores. There are plenty of entrance-level examinations conducted by various governing bodies. The primary national-level entrance examination conducted for M.Tech admissions is GATE, and for MBA, it is CAT and GMAT.

M.Tech Entrance Exams

• SRMJEE
• IPU CET
• MHT CET
• BHU PET
• VITEEE

MBA Entrance Exams

• XAT
• MAT
• SNAP
• MICAT
• TISSNET

MBA vs M.Tech: Pros and Cons

Understandably, both MBA and M.Tech are equally reputed postgraduate degrees in the job market. Graduates of both MBA and M.tech receive several job opportunities in several domains about their field of work. Both MBA and M.Tech are equally worthy enough to establish a successful career. But, which is better than the latter? The question is quite common for B.Tech graduates, who seek guidance for a successful career. To get a concrete idea about the course, let’s understand the pros and cons of these courses.

Pros and Cons of MBA

MBA is one of the most reputed management programs in the country. MBA from premium institutes from IIM has its value in the job market. MBA course trains the graduates in management and business administration, which allows them to handle broader scopes. Some of the pros of  pursuing an MBA after B.Tech undergraduate are :

• Graduates can venture into technical management domains that are currently very high in demand.
• Aspiring engineers can choose to become entrepreneurs with inside knowledge of business administration and technical management.
• A management role in the technical domain is highly in demand, offering more scope for a higher pay scale than pure technical domains.

Apart from pros, pursuing MBA has its cons considering the recent developments in the job market. Some of the cons associated with pursuing an MBA are:

• Over-competition in the job market causes rare unemployment.
• Payscale variance in terms of graduation university’s reputation.
• MBA fees are very costly, and sometimes it’s not affordable for average Indian households.
• Decrease in education quality as the number of colleges increased over the years.

Pros and Cons of M.Tech

M.Tech is one of the common career pathways for B.Tech undergrads after completion of their coursework. Like MBA, M.Tech from premium institutes from IIT’s has its value in the job market. M.Tech offers more specialized knowledge on engineering fundamentals that are learned during B.Tech course. M.Tech is done as a specialization of any engineering course. Some of the pros of  pursuing M.tech after B.Tech are :

• Graduates can venture into advanced and specialized technical roles in any organization. Graduates will be elevated to senior positions due to their advanced knowledge about the process.
• Job scopes are more finite and higher than B.Tech graduates, as M.Tech graduates, are specialized in one particular field.
• Generally, M.Tech graduates will receive a higher pay scale than B.Tech graduates and will double as years pass by with experience.

Apart from pros, pursuing M.Tech  has some minor cons on its side, based on the developments in the job market. Some of the cons associated with pursuing M.Tech are:

• The field of specialization may have limited job scopes and more competition.
• Job scopes heavily vary on graduation university’s reputation. Top university graduates find more manageable and better scopes than the rest.
• Decrease in education quality as years progress.
• The difficulty level is pretty high and requires more hard work from graduates.

MBA vs M.Tech: Syllabus

The syllabus of MBA and M.Tech differs a lot from each other in various aspects. Therefore, the syllabus of each course is listed below:

MBA Syllabus

• Management Theory and Practice 
• Strategic Management 
• Accounting and Financial Management
• Marketing Management
• Business Economics
• Corporate Finance
• Human Resource Management
• Research Methods
• Leadership and Entrepreneurship
• Management of Change
• Managing for Sustainability

Read More: MBA Syllabus

M.Tech Syllabus

• Applied Operations Research
• Energy and Sustainable Development
• Engineering Mathematics and Modeling
• Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology
• Environmental Geophysics
• Environmental Processes
• Geohydrology
• Information Technology
• Mechanics of Materials
• Nanosystems
• Thermal-fluid Sciences

Read More: M.Tech Syllabus

MBA vs M.Tech: Who Should Opt?

There are numerous skill sets and interests that aspirants should and must aspire for better advancement in the chosen fields. Some of these interests for MBA and M.Tech are listed below that may help you with a better understanding:

Who should Opt for an MBA?

Here are some of the skills or interests you should possess if you plan to pursue an MBA or Master in Business Administration:

• Management of industry and business interests
• Work on technical aspects is not favoured
• Financial, banking, consulting interests
• An interest in administrative work
• Interested in building your business start-up
• Social skills and networkability

Who should Opt for M.Tech?

If you intend to get your M.Tech, you should possess some of these skills or interests:

• Exceptional technical abilities
• Planning on pursuing a PhD
• Looking for a teaching career
• R&D interests

MBA vs M.Tech: Top Specializations

Both MBA and M.Tech offer plenty of specialization domains for aspirants. MBA specializations primarily focus on various aspects of management and business administration, while most of the M.Tech specializations are engineering-oriented.

Top MBA specializations

• MBA in Marketing
• MBA in Finance
• MBA in Digital Marketing
• MBA in Supply Chain Management
• MBA in Human Resource 

Top M.Tech specializations

• M.Tech Power Electronics
• M.Tech Robotics
• M.Tech Mechanical Engineering
• M.Tech Electrical Engineering
• M.Tech Machine Design

MBA vs M.Tech: Higher Education Scope

Generally, graduates consider MBA or M.Tech as the end-point of post-graduation studies; however, it is not.  Research-oriented graduates opt for Ph.D. or other courses to further enhance their knowledge in their interest when it comes to MBA graduates looking to sharpen their skills in a particular domain or broaden their scope lookout for short-term certification courses. Some of the courses that can be taken after an MBA degree are as follows:

• Ph.D. in Management
• CISA
• CFA
• PMP
• CIPM
• CBA
• DBA

Graduates who have a research interest often opt for a Ph.D. program after completion of an M.Tech Degree. A Ph.D. degree seals their seniority in the particular domain and enhances their knowledge even further when they practically involve themselves in the thesis development. Apart from Ph.D., there are also several short-term courses that M.Tech graduates consider after completing their degree. Some of the popular courses are :

• PhD
• Six sigma black belt certification
• CISCO Certification
• AWS Certification
• CSWA

MBA vs M.Tech: Jobs

The job scope and prospects for both MBA and M.Tech are bright. With an MBA, students can work either at an already established corporation or start their own business using management skills. They can work on the financial as well as banking firms too.

Top MBA Recruiting Companies in India

• Tata Motors
• State Bank of India
• Mahindra & Mahindra
• Google
• Forbes Marshall
• NTPC
• Intel Technology
• Hero Motocorp
• American Express
• Maruti Suzuki
• Future Retail

Read More about MBA Jobs

Top M.Tech Recruiting Companies in India

• Intuit
• Adobe
• Flipkart
• MyLikes
• Oracle
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Samsung
• Amazon

Read More about M.Tech Jobs

Some of the key employment areas and job designation for MBA and M.Tech are given below :

	MBA	M.Tech
Employment Areas	Finance, Marketing, Business administration, Technical Management, Sales, Business Development and Human Resource, Hotel Management, etc.	Robotics, VLSI Design, Automobile, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Communication Systems, Embedded systems, etc.
Job Designations	Finance Manager, Business Analyst, Marketing Manager, Sales Manager, Production Manager, HR Manager, HR Executive, Marketing executive, etc.	Systems Design Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, Data Analyst, Senior Production Manager, Research and Development Head, Embedded Systems Engineer, etc.

MBA vs M.Tech: Salary

The average pay scale for both MBA and M.Tech graduates is competitive and higher than respective undergraduate degrees. The engineers' starting salary is not competitive compared to the MBA; graduates may look up MBA as a better option for an attractive salary package. B.Tech graduates receive an average payscale around  INR 5 LPA, but with an MBA to their name, the figures can go up to  INR 18 LPA. Some of the typical job designation and average pay is mentioned below.

Job Role	Average Payscale
Production Manager	INR 8.5 LPA
Marketing Manager	INR 7.28 LPA
Technical Operations Manager	INR 9.82 LPA
Finance Manager	INR 11 LPA
Business Development Manager	INR 7.28 LPA
Human Resource Manager	INR 8 LPA

Read More about MBA Salary

Meanwhile, for M.Tech graduates, the salary is INR 6 - 12 LPA. Salary packages go into much more significant numbers over years of work experience. Some of the popular job designations and the average pay are mentioned below:

Job Role	Average Payscale
Design Engineering Manager	INR 10 LPA
Senior Software Engineer	INR 8.11 LPA
Data Scientist	INR 10 LPA
Process Engineer	INR 7.25 LPA
Senior QA Engineer	INR 9.2 LPA
Systems Engineer	INR 7.28  LPA

Read More about M.Tech Jobs

MBA vs M.Tech: Top Colleges in India

Numerous colleges and universities in India offer MBA and M.Tech courses. These top institutes are listed below:

Top Colleges for MBA

• IIM Ahmedabad
• IIM Bangalore
• IIM Calcutta
• IIM Lucknow
• IIT Kharagpur
• IIM Kozhikode
• IIM Indore
• IIT Delhi
• MDI Gurgaon

Top Colleges for M.Tech

• IIT Madras
• IIT Delhi
• IIT Bombay
• IIT Kanpur
• IIT Kharagpur
• IIT Roorkee
• IIT Guwahati
• IIT Hyderabad
• NIT Trichy
• IIT Indore

MBA or M.Tech: Which One to Choose?

The only answer to this question lies in the hands of the students. A postgraduate degree is a must if one is willing to get higher on the career scale. After graduation in B.Tech, a student is eligible for both these courses. However, the industry the student can venture into gets different as per the choice one makes. MBA vs M.Tech has been some of the popular choices of course composition among B.Tech graduates for their PG degree.

Management studies after undergraduate: One can opt for an MBA if they are interested in industry/business management, have a fascination with administrative work, have skills for networking and socializing, or wish to build their start-up. MBA covers finance, consultancy, human resources, management, and banking. MBA after B.Tech takes one into the executive department of any industry.

Baby steps for specialization in engineering: B.Tech graduates can opt for M.Tech as their postgraduate degree if they have excellent technical skills, have plans to go for a P.HD, are interested in pursuing a career as a teacher, or are interested in R&D. M.Tech coursework covers academics, engineering equipment, research, and developments. It also encourages graduates to venture into purse research-based works apart from practical training.

There is no point in comparing M. Tech and MBA courses. Both are specialized degrees and have value in their respective fields. Both M. Tech and MBA provide excellent career prospects and have gained importance over time. It all comes down to students' personal choices and opinions.