With the current market trends two significant options emerge for graduates in Science (B.Tech, B.Sc, B.E. etc.). They are MBA or MS. It is common knowledge that an MBA from outside India gives you a wider perspective than an MBA from India. For students unfamiliar with the aspects of the Commerce side of education, it doesn’t make much sense to pursue an MBA abroad, having to deal with a lot of variables. MS, however, operates on a different rung of the ladder.

In a word, one can say after understanding the nature of M.Tech and MS that the former is for the more hardworking and MS is more for the research-oriented. But in cases where finance is the concern, MBA seems the easy option in India because there are lesser variables to deal with. This article, for that purpose, attempts to understand that.

There are chiefly two things to analyse before that decision is made. This article, however, details from the POV of tier I colleges.

Here is the clarification for what to chooses study MS in Europe or India

Associated Finance:

An MBA from the IIMs would cost you between 15-23 lakhs for the two years including the living costs. India has been ranked amongst the most affordable country to study in. Therefore you need not worry much about the living costs here. An MS in Europe, on an average, costs you anywhere between USD 10000 to USD 17000 and its just the tuition costs. Costs of living and other costs such a student union fee, or other registration fees would amount, usually, to about as much as the tuition fees. That would mean the average cost of studying in Europe would range from 13000-35000 USD, translating roughly into 8 to 20 lakh rupees. This is not widely different from an MBA.

However, it is the salary component that one must consider. Though IIMs advertise an average package of 12 Lakh rupees, the average pay package ranges to about 20 Lakh rupees for a domestic placement. A foreign placement would give you significantly higher pay package. An MS from Europe would pay you about USD 60000 amounting to about 40 Lakhs per annum. There is also one more thing to consider. Countries of Germany, Poland and Czech Republic offer education at their public universities for free if you can speak the native tongue. This is the same for all post-graduation courses.

The second element that one must consider is the placement. While IIMs offer the concept of spoon-feeding for career guidance and campus placements, most colleges in Europe simply offer a service called Career Guidance cell. It is upon oneself to look for a job. So a lot depends on contacts one develops and the network they have. Anything lesser, say in terms of the grade of the college, and the eligibility of the profile is reduced as well. So that is one other concern too. So purely from the point of Salary, the breakeven appears the same for both the options- India having the comfort zone and the spoon-feeding element in addition too.

Coming Home:

True, this is applicable only for the MS option. Statistics also show that only about 30% decide to come home after a stint abroad. Broadly speaking, the applicability and the value the course has internationally is an important thing as well. So when you talk about coming home, the most important thing that has to be kept in mind is understanding whether the course itself is enough or whether it is the work experience that you’d be gaining after the course that would ensure that you find suitable jobs back home.

All said and done, with Europe’s stringent laws (take the UK for example), it is extremely difficult to stay back and gain the work experience. So unless your profile is admirably good, and the college is famous for the course you’ve chosen, your research experience is valid, there’s a huge chance it’d be tough to gain a foothold back home.

The list of countries in Europe and their associated costs as a non-exhaustive and indicative list are

All in all, if you’ve decided you wanted to settle down on the science side, MS in Europe if a slightly better option in terms of initial investment, but MBA in India offers you a sure shot at clearing your loan if you’ve taken any since IIMs advertise almost 100% placement. Therefore, choose as per where your interest lies because in reality, the pros and cons are equally split favorably.