From an employer standpoint, If its full-time MBA, it doesn’t really matter much between a one year versus two years. More depends on the reputation of the school and your past experience, if any. One year MBA is catered more towards people with a solid work ex or with people who want to stick within the realms of the same industry that they were in before the MBA. With a two year MBA, the aim mostly is to change the industry. If you look closely, most US-based MBA programs are 2 years and European (some Asian too) are one year, so depending on where you would want to be geographically the term changes.
If you are an international student, then two years also help with internship and employee visa sponsorship opportunities.
- MBACrystalBall (http://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2015/02/16/hire-executives-one-year-mba-india/)
7 Reasons to hire executives from the top full-time one year MBA programs in India
1. Seasons and experienced executives – who typically opt for the 1-year version – can hit the ground running with minimal retraining requirement.
2. With their experience and maturity, they will fit into different company cultures easily.
3. Your RoI will be higher with fewer training, orientation, and fitting in requirements.
4. Your mid-management resource pool will become stronger. Freshers can be sourced from 2-year programs while 1-year programs can serve as a source for more seasoned potential leaders.
- The screening process of 1-year programs at schools like IIMA, IIMB, IIMC, ISB has made vetting easier
6. One year MBA grads are ambitious and committed proven by their commitment to relearning and continuous learning.
7. Their skills are wider and deeper and go beyond just technical skills.
- MBACrystalBall (http://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2015/02/16/hire-executives-one-year-mba-india/)
The two versions serve different purposes as far as employers are concerned. An employer looking for a relatively experienced candidate who possesses some experience in a particular sector, backed by a solid management education will prefer to look for a 1 year MBA. On the other hand, an employer looking for a relative fresher who can be moulded and slotted into various roles but with the pedigree of a good MBA would look for a younger person from a 2-year program.
The way to look at this is that a 2-year program is a long track to leadership roles with the employer while a 1-year program is a fast track. This is, of course, assuming the relevance of pre-MBA experience and fit.
- Eduswami answer
The short answer is, “It Depends”. 1 year MBAs are looked at as a pool for mid-management talent whereas 2 year MBAs are seen as junior/entry-level managers who can be trained, tooled, moved around, to serve different purposes. These employees are expected to gather a lot of experience before they can move into leadership roles. A 1yr MBA, on the other hand, could move in as a business leader right out of campus. Often times, a recruiter will visit different institutions (for 2 and 1 year MBAs) to recruit for different roles. It is quite rare to see a recruiter go to both institutions for the same role.
