Well!!! I am an IT Professional who is working in Capgemini India as a Senior Director. Did my schooling from BITS Pilani (M.E Comp Sc – On Campus) and Bhopal University (BE Comp Sc). For those who are interested here is my professional profile –Linked in Profile
Interest range from Reading, jogging, swimming, spirituality to sometimes doing nothing but sleeping.
Since the time I joined EPGP program I had a desire to run for Half Marathon (21.1 kms). After finishing my last EPGP exam on 16th Dec 2012 and practicing for almost 2 months, on Feb 19th 2013 I participated in Mawana Half Marathon at Delhi. I could complete the same in 2 hrs and 08 minutes (approx).
Vinay Bhutani Blog 
Hi Vinay,
Read your blog on IIM-K looked interesting. My hubby has 5 years of experience and got selected for EPGP program. Currently he has Masters degree and want to move into management.
Will IIMK be the right one for him? he is also planning to take up GMAT. What is the scope of EPGP? In one of your blogs i saw ROI. Will this course open doors for new carrer oppurtunities as soon he gets out with IIMK or how does it work?
I would suggest that in case he plans to do his GMAT to go ahead with his decision. Best thing would be to go for GMAT and do Executive MBA. He would surely loose 1 year salary and higher expenses of MBA but ROI would surely be better that going through executive MBA. There is no placement in EPGP course and that takes the charm out of doing this course. But if there is a dependency on job then this course is good for career progression. However don’t expect to become super-super great after doing the course for this course would lead you to have better understanding of organizational functions and would help you prepare for better future tomorrow.
Hi Vinay,
Hope you are fine and doing great!
This is Rakesh Saini, worked with you in past.I am also planning to do executive MBA from IIMK.I need your guidance to understand the prospects. I would like to reach you to discuss on the same.Kindly share number.
With Regards
Rakesh Saini
Hi Vinay, I have being selected for IIM-K EPGP04 program. I am working as a ERP related functional consultant on Oracle Practice. I am wanting to move towards Business Consulting (e.g. Deloitte, McKinsey etc.,). Will this degree help me on it? Whats your taken on it?
Thanks,
Vikram
Hi Vinay
Read your blog word by word and thanks for sharing your experience of IIMK and helping those struggling to know everything about this program and browsing one site to another .
Made up my mind to go for this and need to know what kind of study material should I refer to prepare for EMAT? since It has been for quite sometime I am away from books so do you know any specific training material for CAT or GMAT I should buy ?
Thanks
Deepak
Any CAT related and/or GMAT related book would help you. However starting this year they have changed the format. The exam and interview was conducted the same day. Also this time question paper was taken away from students and was not circulated. Also as claimed by IIMK the course may stretch to 2.5 years as well so be prepared for that. We got admitted in Sep 25/26th 2010 and looking at sessions now it seems our course will end only by April end 2013
hi vinay. We r young epgp04 kids. Plz share your secrets for fulgilling the mission epgp. It will benefit us. Also thanks a ton for term papers. Reg
hey vinay… this blog has been enlightening in more than many ways. i am currently in epgp4. what were you experiences after Q1 exams… the Q2 looks to be quite a challenge.. was that the case with you as well? please share .
I would say things would become easy from Q2 onward as now you would know the set of quizzes, exams, projects are being expected from students. In my case we put in more efforts for Q1 and Q2 and after wards we knew what is being expected 🙂
I’m in EPGP04 and just started Q3. There’s a lot of speculation and distress related to 2nd year Specializations or Electives (mutually exclusive). You hailing from earlier batch have taken up some specialization. Are you ruing the fact that your batch didnt have the flexibility of electives. Please give your honest and frank opinion on the issue. Also is there a lot of bidding done in choosing specializations ? Howz the bidding process ?
Hi,
There shouldn’t be any speculation and distress regarding this. I have not seen any case in my batch where someone has requested for specialization and he hasn’t got it. So stop worrying about it immediately 🙂 We do have flexibility of choosing the electives. I have seen almost equal distribution of resources except for strategy where in there are more number of people because of which they have divided it into 2 batches of almost 125 each
Regards
Vinay
Dear Vinay,
Thanks for sharing your experience about EPGP program . Can you comment on EEPGM program?I have got an offer letter and I am confused whether to take up this program.
EEPGM course is equally good however it would be without specialization. You would have an option to complete EPGP course at later point in time as well.EEPGM is a certificate course where as EPGP is a diploma course and who knows IIMK may try to get EPGP as equivalent to MBA degree as a govt recognized option
Vinay,
I am happy to see your blog while i am in googling about Executive MBA , I am having two questions to you , 1) whether EPGP is recognized by govt institution like RBI , or Govt Banks like SBi .2) how is EPGP Kozhikode campus program is differ from HDL program.
Senthil,
If your question is regarding you getting loan for the program what I know is that IIMK does have arrangement with few banks from whom who can take loan. Secondly if you are referring to reorganization from well known bodies like AICTE I am afraid to say it is not. IIM is a deemed university in fact what I know of is that none of the IIMK EPGP program is recognized. But once you do EPGP from IIMK you will be given credits to the course and IIMK does tell you that you can apply for FPM program as well
Regarding your 2nd question IDL is delivered using video conferencing and is for students who cannot spend 2 years in campus. Professors are the same who teach the subjects, books are the same… assignments are the same however rigour of full time is much more because of the nature of student mix (almost freshers or with 1-2 years in industry) and also more time on campus.
Hi Vinay
I am working as an executive level in International BPO. I hav 5 years of work experience but I am not satisfied by my carrier. Is EPGP programe will work for me.
In case you are looking at changing your career then I would suggest you to appear for CAT and do full time MBA where you can change your stream.
Through this program you would not be able to make the stride which you are looking at. Executive MBA can give you only thing so far and you would find it difficult to change the stream for sure or give it a big boost
Thank you for your feedback however not sure I am able to clear CAT as it is about 5 year I left studies. But surely looking for a change.
I suggest then fasten your seat belt and start preparing.There is no short cuts 🙂
Hi Vinay sir
It was very useful reading your blog in order to get almost all of the information regarding the ePGP course at IIMK.
So I am currently working as a senior software engineer at HSBC GLT Pune with a total experience of 38 months till date and I got selected for the EPGP-10 course this year. I foresee myself as a software development manager in next couple of years and at higher management roles later on in my career.
Would you advice me on taking this course considering my career aspirations or rather would it help me in achieving my career goals ?
To you I would suggest full time course as you just started your career. The career progression is delta in here. You wouldn’t be able to fast track your career to 2-3 levels/ grades. Plus looking at the investments made I feel for guys with 3-5 years experience I would suggest IIMB 1 year full time EPGP course .
That actually makes sense.
But what if I want to continue at my current workplace after completing the course and I am not so interested in placements?
It makes perfect sense then. Course is good and almost 50% of prof are good as well. If you can’t do full time then doing EPGP makes sense
Thanx a lot Vinay sir!
My only worry here is how much the market values executive PGDM and knowing that it is an online learning platform.
Did you find IL Platform good ?
My approach to value of education is different for different folks. We did our schooling never to get value out of for our schooling and so does our graduation. These days if I start to create value of the education for let’s say my kids life will become messy. We need education to equip ourselves with its challenges we may face in career. And once we are in this pursuit of knowing value will automatically come. It is a byproduct and not the reason to get ourselves educated.
IL platform though good sometimes becomes one way. Imagine you sitting for 3 hrs lecture with your headsets on. F-2-F has its own advantages with VC cannot give like seeing the gestures and eye contacts etc. But then technology serves it purpose and there is facility to raise questions, respond, give online tests
Interactive platform is decent … Again cannot replace f-2-f delivery but then sometimes who is delivering the lecture matters more .. A dull professor can make a interesting session boring
Hello Vinay, your blog on IIM-K epgp course was really informative. I am considering the course for 2018 admissions. I have a basic question where I need your help – I saw the certificate your shared that students get after completing the course. Does the institute also provide a transcript for each term ?
Thanks,
Manish
Hi Vinay,
Does IIM-K EPGP program currently have campus placements?
Thanks
Anjan
As far as I know there isn’t any placement. It is difficult for lateral folks with average 10-12 years experience from very diverse experience to provide job opportunity..
Dear Vinay,
Thanks so much for this blog, this seems like the only place where one can gather ground level info regarding this course. I have been selected for the EPGP-13 batch and am contemplating whether to join or not.
Regarding my background, I have 8 years of SAP consulting experience and am currently working in a Big 4 firm with a good enough salary to boot. I am definitely in a good zone professionally and have nothing to crib about. So, I really want to utilize this situation and aim for something higher, and that is where my confusion lies.
I do not mind not having placement assistance, but what I do need is a possibility of tangible benefits in the future. I really want to get myself an education from IIM but I do not want to regret this later or even midway into the course. In my line of work, MBA is not really a necessity, an EMBA even less so. So what exactly is the point of investing so much time and money if it is not going to give me a higher visibility, recognition and possibility to accelerate my career?
I know one can say that learning should not be judged on the job prospects, but in this day and age, investing so much for so little seems like a not so smart decision, even though I would be hugely disappointed and sad if I do not go ahead with this.
Thanks and Regards,
Nithin
Nithin,
All depends on what you want to do in life. If you have settled life in Big 4 consulting career some of the questions probably you should ask how do I see myself 5 years down the line and align it with regards to –
a) Do I want to get into entrepreneural jounrney?
b) Do I want to climb the ladder faster than others however in same line of business (LOB) as I am in?
c) Do I need to change the track and move to business consulting than Technology consulting – SAP Functional SME Versus Technical SME ?
Again MBA is not needed to be successful for sure. You can grow to heights when you have it in you to be succesful core technical, functional, communication and behavioural skills. For each role there are certain demands from the industry. Each roles – Tech Lead Versus Tech Architect Versus Project Mgr Versus Program Manager Versus Director or VP there are expectations from the role, the customers you would have handled, experience of interacting with clients, teams size managed , CXOs, CTOs interactions etc. In your current role if you are getting to see your interaction with Innovation/ Cutting Edge and with Senior most leadership with in / outside organization I definitely can say that you don’t need a degree to be successful. Else you need to build or skill yourself to get into those shoes.
This course requires commitment of 2 hrs almost on daily basis with 4-6 hrs on weekends so definitely it sometimes impacts your current career but if you can manage nothing like it. Do this course if you are feeling stuck at some point and or need a thrust. But again how much ahead u would go also depends on you, your circumstances, your interactions and interpersonal skills. Investment is huge 12 lakhs or so therefore think about it twice before you give in. If you could do full time I would definitely recommend that over doing executive for sure
Dear Vinay,
Let me first thank you for such a quick and insightful response, it really feels like I am getting really genuine answers to my queries.
Having thought through some of the questions that you poses, here are my answers:
A. No, I do not have an entrpreneurial bent of mind. I would rather like to see myself in leadership/strategic positions within established organizations
B. A Big Yes, I want to fast track my career from a senior consultant position to the leadership group
C. This is something that I am still undecided – whether to make use of the good techno-functional hands on experience to go for Architect/Technical consulting roles or to go for Business consulting which I believe might give more visibility and exposure
Also, after 8 years, I do feel stuck in the same cycle of techno-functional deliverables and similar type of projects. Though I do handle a small set of clients and SI partners, the exposure and interactions with senior leadership is quite limited. I do yearn to have more exciting, client/product handling and business oriented work where I can play a more noteworthy role for my organizations. Basically, something that would make me an ‘asset’ rather than just an ’employee’ for the organization.
At this stage, I do not want to pursue a full time MBA and leave the job market. I am quite comfortable with committing long hours as well. Because I constantly feel like learning and upskilling myself and do not want to slack off in a comfort zone.
I guess I already know which way my heart is pointing, I really want to pursue a good learning opportunity, that would give me good recognition as well. But the brain is constantly worried about the 12lakh investment, which ia basically my entire saving till now and whether I would regret this decision later on.
Thanks and Regards,
Nithin
In software industry growth is surely slow specially in consulting organizations these days – be it Big 4 and/or Indian Pureplay like TCS, Wipro, Infy and/or other mid size consulting like Accenture/Capgemini etc. Also the average age of reaching to the peak is also getting high as the software industry is maturiing. I remember when I was 7-8 years experience I became manager and started to handle team size of almost 15-20 however these days I see even at 14-15 years folks are still at a lead level. In Product based organizations I have seen growth happening at higher speed than consulting organizations.
On top of it certain roles and responsibilities tend to have slower growth. E.g tester, test lead, test manager roles are very limited and have limited growth opty. On Product Owner side growth is better at BSA, Senior BSA, Product Owner, Chief Product Owner because of nature of it but then after a certain point (specially in India) stagnation comes in as there are very few roles for Chief Product Owners. Plus real product owners are in US and not in India if you are working with US customers.
So there are lots of forces in play for growth to happen. Easist thing to grow sometimes is to change the organization and get into something where your contribution is valued and you can grow with the organization. But then there is a risk what if organization doesn’t grow as expected.
Otherwise getting into entrepreunial is another faster means of growth where contribution is valued, your work is appreciated, salaries are great but then there is a risk of start ups failing. I have seen folks getting to top in matter of few years if the product they are working upon gets acquired.
Doing MBA is surely an optional and lot of it is pure common sense as well. I don’t suggest it and to me MBA would lose its sheen in next couple of years as same things would be taught in UG/schools. Risk Taking, experimeting , taking risks are the only sureshot ways to grow faster. And of getting into teams within organization where you are into bleeding/cutting edge of technology. Getting into Techno managerial role is also a great way to get visibility and surely no MBA is needed.
I hope I am able to answer you …. If not ping me your email/phone and I will talk to you …
Hi Vinay,
A call would be really helpful. I have requested for a connection on Linkedin.
Thanks,
Nithin
Hi …Vinay,
I must say, I am lucky to come across you blog. what you wrote in recent post made me stone struck, because the scenarios you mentioned in post almost matched my job life.
I have 12 years of experience as oracle technical consultant, and I am still working as a lead. I have developed interest in Agile side , and finished related certifications PSM-1, SAFe5, I was getting irritation ,that I am not even manager role & no salary hike, or i am not getting proper role. What would you suggest, to go for executive MBA in india or go to masters in abroad.? First my priority question is will the EMBA in IIMK help in my growth path?
I became a manager when I was 7-8 years of experience but things have changed. These days manager median age has increased from 8 years to now say 12-14 years..Senior manager by 15-20 years and 20+ for Director and above in normal circumstances.
Lot of it has to do with how IT is evolving, demand and supply gap, opportunities etc. During my time of the 7-8 years experince I had – 6 years were in US and UK and that gave a plethora of experience to increase horizon/outlook/handling stakeholders etc . But not any more….
But yeah don’t get frustrated about it. Work towards your softer aspects like communications, team handling, people handling and take some mentorship within organization. It will help.. Just don’t do MBA for the sake of it as there is also lot to investments in terms of money and time which goes towards it