Abhishek Paira Shares His MBA Experience and Life Afterwards

Abhishek Paira, an alumnus of Sunstone, shares his experience of pursuing an MBA and talks about his before and the afterlife as to how the management course has changed his life for the better. He is a Bhubaneswar boy whose father is a Manager with the State Bank of India and his mother is a homemaker. He did his class 12th from Jupiter +2 Science College, Bhubaneswar and obtained 75% marks in aggregate. Abhishek then pursued Bachelors of Technology in “Instrumentation and Control Engineering” from Institute of Technical Education and Research, Bhubaneswar. Abhishek  is now working as an analyst and he never leaves a chance or a right opportunity and platform to expose himself as an analyst where he creates visualizations to explore data, articulate clear findings to drive business decisions, or use data to elicit consensus from diverse perspectives. Read the complete interview here.

Sunstone : What inspired you to pursue management?

Abhishek: During my engineering, I nurtured a dream of becoming a part of the top level management team of an organisation. After consulting my seniors and friends, I came to know that an MBA could give me the firsthand skills and knowledge that could help me survive and sustain in the corporate world.

Sunstone : Why did you choose PGDM and not MBA?

Abhishek: I was always aware of the benefits of doing PGDM over MBA. But. the admission counsellors at Sunstone gave me more clarity and insight into PGDM and thereafter I was sure that PGDM will be the right choice. My goal was to align myself with the current industry needs and expectations as a management professional, which I knew that MBA won't be able to do so as it has same old curriculum and is more theoretical compared to PGDM which has a practical approach.  

Sunstone : Is MBA helping you achieve your career goal?

Abhishek:  Yes, the PGDM curriculum imbibed combined with the knowledge gained from the eminent faculties and the competitive & enriching atmosphere in the classroom is definitely helping me to do well in my career and life.  

Sunstone : Did you take any management entrance exams? How did you prepare for the one?

Abhishek: Yes, I just took MAT. As far as preparation is concerned, I relied a lot on the mock tests. I gave plenty of mock tests and spent good time in analyzing the tests to understand my mistakes, the strong and weak areas and based on my analysis I used to tweak my preparation strategies. I also kept in touch with my peers and seniors who were also preparing for MBA entrance exams. The tips and tricks suggested by them helped me increase my speed and enhance my performance in the mock tests.  

Sunstone : How did you come across Sunstone and how it became your choice for pursuing PGDM?

Abhishek: Since I had a considerable academic record and MAT score, I got a call from good colleges that it got very difficult for me to zero down one. During that time, one of my friend told me about Sunstone ,  the facets of its PGDM program and the ‘Pay after Placement’. Thereafter, I did good research on my end and even had a good conversation with the admission counsellors at Sunstone, who clarified all my doubts and within no time I was convinced and sure that Sunstone PGDM should be my pick.  

Sunstone : What was the selection process at Sunstone?

Abhishek: The selection was made on the basis of various factors such as my MAT score, past academic records and a personal interview. The interview began with my introduction followed by some technical questions based on my academics. The interviewer was very polite and he further asked me about my background and family, why I was keen to pursue management, what were my career goals, some general knowledge questions. He was basically trying to judge my presence of mind and the way I would analyze the situations and react logically.   

Sunstone : How were the classroom lectures and college environment at Sunstone campus?

Abhishek: Being a part of the initial batches of Sunstone gave us the opportunity to create a brand name. The learning quotient was very high for us. Our teachers made sure that we got concept clarity and were made industry ready. It was the first time where I learnt to focus more on practical learning then just gaining theoretical knowledge. Peer learning and interactions, the rich experiences which the faculty shared with us was valuable and is cherished till today.  

Sunstone : From where did you do your MBA Internship and what all did you learn during that?

Abhishek: As a part of the PGDM program, we were required to complete a 9-month internship, which I did in 2 segments. Sunstone helped me with internship and got me a paid winter Internship with Mindspecs.com followed by a summer internship with SkyTester. During my internship, I learnt about business marketing knowledge, sales, promoting events, digital marketing, lead generation, cold calling etc. I also studied analytics using SAS 9.2 (Base SAS + Advance SAS).  

Sunstone : How was the placement at Sunstone? Where were you placed and at what salary?

Abhishek: I was offered placement at 3 companies through Sunstone. Out of them, I chose to join Rivigo Services Pvt. Ltd. and my initial salary was 4.5 LPA.  

Sunstone : Where are you currently working and drawing what salary?

Abhishek: It's been more than 3 years and I am still associated with Rivigo and currently drawing 10.53 LPA.