Hi Shalini, I have done my MBA from ISB in 2006. Undoubtedly, your takeaways from an MBA increase substantially if you have prior work ex. i know, this sounds cliched to me, but trust there are far many things to an MBA than learning kotler and NPV. The essence of strategy, the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, the importance of industry networking, all these things are clearly understood only by someone who has atleast some industry exp. Also, it helps when you hv seen the industry so that you are better aware of the trends and opportunities rather than simply following the herd mentality as freshers are prone to do.As far as indian schools (and more imp. recruiters are concerned), clearly the trend is tilting towards MBAs with prior work ex. Take the placement records of the last 2 years at all the leading B schools and you will find taht all the stellar placements were bagged by people with prior work ex. The point is your own learning from an MBA is far better if you have some work ex.
