Expert: David A. NewMyer - 3/22/2006

Question
Respected Sir,

I am doing my Final year Undergraduation in Aeronautics in India and i like to continue my career with MBA, but i am really confused on selecting the stream. i love to do MBA-Aviation Management in Embry Riddle . But i am not sure about the future benifits of the course( whether i could get a good job). i am confused whether i can do general MBA or shall do MBA-A as i have an undergraduate in Aero.

i will be really helpful i u could suggest me a choice  and also about the scopes available for MBA-A.

thanking you,

yours sincerely,
V.Sakthi Kannan

Answer
Hi,

Thanks for your question, I will try to assist.

As far as getting "a good job" the question is:  What sort of jobs will you get with just your Undergraduate Aeronautics degree alone and how will an MBA help you beyond that first degree?

The MBA in Aviation is taught by a relatively few number of universities that I am aware of:

*Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA

*Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

*A university in Paris, France whose name I do not know.

To find out more about those programs, do a general search at www.google.com or some other search engine.

The general MBA is available far more widely.

The difference between the two would be approximately three or so aviation courses in that there is room for that many courses as "elective" courses in the typical MBA program.  In the case of the program at Concordia University, there is also an attempt to "customize" the MBA in Aviation to aviation students by also doing some aviation work/examples in the "pure" MBA courses.

The question about whether to specialize at the master's level or not depends entirely on YOU:  What interests you the most, aviation, or general business?  If your goal is to work in the aviation industry, then, you should select the MBA in Aviation since that fits your interest.  In addition, with the growth of aviation in the Asia-Pacific market, including both India and China as well as most of the Pacific Rim, the aviation industry will be full of opportunity for many years to come.

I hope that this answer is of assistance to you!

Best wishes,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
http://www.aviation.siu.edu