Top Courses after MBA to give your Career that Boost

Introduction

So, you just completed your MBA course and you think that a general management degree won’t do justice to your career and you what are wondering what courses after MBA you can do to delve deeper into a specific area to enhance your prospects.

Then you have landed up just on the right page, as here I will be discussing some of the top professional courses after MBA that will enhance your knowledge in the particular area of your interest. I will also be telling you about how you can master whichever course you choose from the below-listed ones, the prerequisites, eligibility criteria, and the job opportunities for each particular course.

Read about the scope after MBA in details.

List of top courses after MBA

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

It is a globally- recognized professional degree that measures and certifies the competence and integrity of financial analysts. This course has become one of the most opted courses post MBA courses. So, to become a certified analyst, one has to clear all the three levels of this course i.e. Equity Investment, Business Ethics, Corporate Finance, Portfolio Management, Alternative Investments, etc. are some of the major areas. Although the exam is quite difficult to clear but in the end is also one of the most respected designations in finance and is widely considered to be the gold standard in the field of investment analysis. On completion of the course, you can find job opportunities in areas like Financial Strategist, Analyst, Consultant, Portfolio Manager, etc. I would recommend this is one of the best courses after MBA.

Project Management Professional (PMP)

It is a well-recognized benchmark for project managers. It requires the experience, education, skill, and competency to lead and direct the projects. It has various benefits which include-high market value, increased credibility and if you are really good and efficient in your work then you can surely expect higher pay. The eligibility criteria for this certification are-

• 4-year long course, 3 years of experience in leading projects, 35 hours of project management education/training.
• High school diploma/associate degree, 5-years’ experience of managing projects, and 35 hours of management/education.

PMP certification opens your doors to many different careers. Here are a few of the career choices which can be made by PMP certified professionals:

• Associate Project Manager: It is a position where you work with other project managers to oversee the projects.
• Assistant Project Manager: This is another entry-level position where you get the opportunity to work side-by-side with skilled project managers to help accomplish the tasks and learn about project management.
• Contract Project Manager: Here you won’t be having the same responsibilities as that of a full-time project manager. You have to apply your skills to new situations and learn to work with strangers.
• Business Project Manager: It is a business position where you have to work with clients, consult with other business projects, or work with company infrastructure.
• Information Technology (IT) Project Manager: Here you have to work with servers, computers, and entire networking systems, including maintaining and building computer systems.
• Construction Project Manager: When working as a Project Manager in the construction business, you are expected to supervise the construction projects.
• Project Coordinator: This position focuses on doing lighter tasks like -planning and organization in assisting the main project managers.
• Product Manager: In this position, you are required to focus on a specific product including manufacturing, promotion, and pricing.
• Software Project Manager: This position is almost the same as compared to the IT project manager, but here it deals specifically with updating the software. You need to supervise the development and improvement of existing and new software in this position.

Many MBA professionals choose PMP as courses after MBA.
To obtain a degree, an individual needs to clear an exam that assesses knowledge on various domains like Monitoring and Controlling, Initiating, Closing, etc. In the end, even qualifying for the PMP exam is an achievement itself!

Financial Risk Manager (FRM)

It is a globally recognized standard for those who manage risk and a professional designation awarded by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) to candidates on successfully completing this program. With the drastic changes happening every day worldwide, there is always a need for a professional who can manage money, risk, and investment with up-to-date knowledge and can fill up that gap. Anyone with specialized knowledge and skills in financial risk management can connect with the world’s prominent financial risk management professionals.  As far as career opportunities are concerned, there are many options in Risk Management, Trading, Structuring, Modeling, etc. FRM holders can hold positions such as Chief Risk Officer, Senior Risk Analyst, Head of Operational Risk, Investment Risk Management, to name a few. It is a great value addition to skills, credentials, and your resume. There are no minimum eligibility requirements to appear for an FRM exam. However, to be certified as a Financial Risk Manager you need to have-

• A passing score in the FRM examination
• Active fellow membership in GARP
• A minimum of two years’ experience in the area of financial risk management or another related field including, but not limited to, trading, portfolio management, academic or industry research, economics, auditing, risk consulting, and/or risk technology

Here are a few of the many roles in financial risk that FRMs are being hired for:

• Credit Risk – The risk that a debtor does not pay you back. There are loans and bonds worth several trillion dollars out there and someone is crunching the numbers and calculating the risk of the issuers. Being a credit analyst is a perfect role for an FRM.
• Liquidity Risk –When you have billions of creditors and debtors with various credit risks, multiple loan maturities, etc., this can get rather complicated. Then an FRM is the best option to go to.
• Operational Risk – These are risks arising from a company’s day-to-day operations. An operational risk analyst would combine, analyze, and monitor these risks and coordinate with various people to manage them.
• Model Risk – Banks and other corporations prepare various models to better represent their current situation and to simulate future situations. Just having these models (which are approximations of reality), can introduce worries which are called model risk. FRMs are well suited to manage such models.
• Portfolio Risk – A collection of unique assets can really add to the difficulty of the overall risk profile of investments. These assets react in different ways to different events and can increase or decrease the risk depending on their connections. It can all become a bit complex and this is when you need someone to create a better picture of the portfolio level risk.
• Fixed Income Risk – The risks are inherited in fixed income products like government and corporate bonds. Such assets are sensitive to credit events which can affect the risk of the issuer as well as interest rate movements.
• Derivatives Risk – These are assets that derive their value from other assets. Their risk profile, therefore, can have traits that make them very valuable for prevarication or risking. Either way, you need someone to calculate and manage the risk.
• Commodity Risk – Companies trading in commodities or using these commodities for their core business operations and hence would keep an eye on commodity risks. For example, airlines are totally dependent on oil pricing and automobile manufacturers are probably concerned about iron ore prices as well.
• Market Risk – This is the risk emanating from the market that a company operates in. For example, eCommerce is a market risk for brick and mortar stores because it is drastically restructuring the retail market itself.
• Regulatory Risk – This is not just about following all the written guidelines, but there is a fair bit of measurable manipulating too. For example, banks have to comply with a number of different financial stability ratios imposed by regulators like capital adequacy or sectoral exposures caps, etc.

Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications (PGDCA)

Are you a techy freak who would love to work in the IT industry or the software industry? Then this is the exact course for you.

This course post-MBA is designed for students who are interested in computer applications in different fields like banking, accounting, and insurance. It provides students with professional knowledge of this course, it also provides specialization in computer science with technical, professional, and communications skills. Lastly, it also trains students to become future IT professionals.

For the eligibility of this course to get enrolled in it you need to have the following credentials in place-

• Any Bachelor’s course degree of minimum 3-year duration from a recognized University
• Mathematics is one of the subjects at 10+2 level or Graduation level.

PGDCA is one of the best courses after MBA.

Post this degree you need not worry about the job as you can work in any company with multiple role options such as- software engineer, computer machinist, application expert, mobile developer, system manager, system analyst, support engineer, database administrator, network engineer, and much more.
As for the average salary offered to the professionals on completing this course ranges between 2 lakhs to 10 lakhs annually, which increases with experience and expertise. Various multinational organizations such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), National HCL, HP, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Instruments, Vodafone, etc. hire such professionals.

Data Science

Confused about being a data scientist? Well, LinkedIn listed data scientists as the most promising job in 2017 and 2018.

This field is evolving as one of the most promising and in-demand career paths for skilled professionals. Today, successful data professionals understand that they must move ahead with the traditional skills of analyzing large amounts of data, data mining, and programming skills. In order to uncover useful intelligence for their organizations, data scientists must master the full range of the data science life cycle and possess a level of flexibility and understanding to maximize returns at each phase of the process.

Data science professionals are rewarded for their highly technical skillset with competitive salaries and great job opportunities at big and small companies in most industries. With over 4,500 open positions listed on Glassdoor, data science professionals with the appropriate experience and education have the opportunity to make their mark in some of the most forward-thinking companies in the world.
The eligibility criteria to enroll in this course is to have a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent. The starting package post this course ranges from 2 lakhs to 8 lakhs, annually.
Data Science is now in demand for career options and creating demand for skilled professionals so one can consider Data Science as an interesting course after MBA.

Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA)

The CRMA is one another mark of professional division for internal audit practitioners. Earning the CRMA degree will assist you in showcasing your ability to:

• Provide a guarantee on core business processes in risk management and governance.
• Educate the organization and the audit committee on risk and conceptualization on risk management.
• Focus on planned organizational risks.
• Add worth to your organization.

CRMA candidates must meet the following eligibility requirements for education, character, work experience, and ID. Before a candidate application can be approved, ALL documentation (proof of education, character reference, and identification) must be received and approved by that institution.

CIA Part 1
The candidate must have successfully completed the required necessities and passed Part 1 of the CIA exam. This can be done before, during, or after completion of the CRMA exam, but must be completed before the granting of the certification.

Education
Candidates must hold an Associate’s degree or higher to be approved into one of The IIA’s certification programs. Common equivalents are a Foundation Degree, Diploma of Higher Education, Higher National Diploma, or three A-level certificates with a grade of C or higher are also acceptable.

Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM)

It is a program that provides you with the ability to understand and evaluate production and inventory activities within a company’s global operations and effectively manage global supply chain activities.
This certification enhances the professional value of an individual, increases their earning potential, and provides a career advantage over peers. One can learn new terminologies, concepts, and strategies related to various knowledge areas like procurement and supplier planning, demand management, MRP, capacity requirements planning, sales, and operations planning, master scheduling, performance measurements, supplier relationships, etc.
As far as the eligibility criteria to enter this specific course is concerned, there are no prerequisites in terms of either qualifications or experience. Anyone who is having a passion for the internal supply chain can opt for CPIM.

You won’t regret doing this course in any such way as it will only enhance your career prospects even more. The job opportunities this course provides are immense such as –

• Supply chain manager
• Supply chain analyst
• Inventory manager
• Materials manager
• Purchasing manager
• ERP consultant
• SAP consultant

Doctor of Business Management

A DBA is the highest academic degree in management education which acknowledges a student’s extensive skills and knowledge within the business industry. The degree is a follow-up to an MBA and many DBA programs require several years of management experience for admission. These courses help in acquiring information on the latest research and theories in business.

DBA generally lasts for three to six years. Unlike a Ph.D. degree in management, a DBA is focused on practically-oriented research instead of theoretical research.

With this degree in your hand, you have many job opportunities options available to you such as-

• The most obvious career path for DBA graduate is Corporate Executive
• Consultant
• Economist
• Professor
• Entrepreneur
• Director of Human Resources
• Government Employee
• Logistician
• Assistant manager
• Administration manager
• Business administrative executive

The recruiting companies are various universities, the banking sector, MNCs, and the administrative sector with the job package of 4 lakhs to 8 lakhs.

Final Thoughts

Most of these courses require you to invest your time and finances, so it would be better if you plan out your career goals way before and see if any of these courses align with your long-term planning.

Lastly, if you actually go for these courses then you need to have concerted determination to fulfill the various requirements as the courses after MBA  demands and carry forward your plans for the future.

If you still think none of these options are where your interests lie, you can always turn to education as a career option. The world will never be in shortage of good teachers who are willing to educate the next generation.

Chegg is an education-based company, the main aim is to help students build their careers. It is one of the best options of the online earning website for students, professionals whoever has expertise in any of the subject matters like Accounts. Psychology, Computer Science, and many more.