IMI Kolkata director: Why Indian students must rethink success beyond first salary

For many Indian MBA aspirants and their families, success is still measured by one dominant metric: the first salary offer. Placement season headlines, compensation figures, and “highest CTC” announcements often overshadow deeper questions about learning outcomes, role relevance, and long-term career sustainability.

IMI Kolkata Director Dr. Mohua Banerjee highlights the importance of developing critical skills such as adaptability and ethical reasoning for sustainable careers in an AI-driven job market.(Handout image)

But according to Mohua Banerjee, Director of IMI Kolkata, this mindset persists because salary is a tangible, easily comparable number—reinforced by societal prestige and by B-school rankings that often simplify success into placement metrics. However, she argues, this narrow definition of success no longer reflects workplace realities, nor does it serve students well in a volatile job market shaped by artificial intelligence, sustainability pressures, and constant skill disruption.

Speaking during a wide-ranging conversation on management education and employability, Dr. Banerjee cautioned against equating career success solely with the first designation or pay cheque. “A common misconception,” she noted, “is viewing the MBA as a shortcut to success, rather than a demanding process of professional and personal transformation.”

Why the first job doesn’t define the career

From Dr. Banerjee’s perspective, students should assess ROI through multiple lenses: the depth of learning, exposure to emerging skills, alignment with real workplace expectations, and an institution’s ability to stay responsive to market shifts.

At IMI Kolkata, this thinking has translated into curriculum choices that treat sustainability and ESG not as add-on subjects but as core managerial capabilities. The institute has introduced a compulsory course on ESG for responsible value creation, reflecting her belief that sustainability is now inseparable from mainstream business decision-making.

“Net Zero is no longer a distant policy target,” Dr. Banerjee said. “It is about daily managerial choices—how capital is allocated, how processes are redesigned, and how accountability is embedded into strategy.”

Employability in the age of AI

Dr. Banerjee also addressed growing anxiety among students about employability as AI and analytics reshape entry-level management roles. According to her, technical skills alone will not guarantee career longevity.

While IMI Kolkata places strong emphasis on hands-on proficiency in tools such as Excel, Power BI, SQL, and Python, she stressed that these must be complemented by managerial judgement. As AI increasingly informs business decisions, future managers must understand bias, accountability, and risk—and be able to translate data insights into decisions that make sense to diverse stakeholders.

“Employability today,” Dr. Banerjee noted, “is about analytical fluency combined with sound judgement.” This is why the institute is moving towards integrating AI and analytics across disciplines, ensuring that all graduates—regardless of specialisation—can work confidently in data-enabled environments.

Correcting misconceptions about success

Another recurring theme was the mindset students bring into B-schools. Many, Dr. Banerjee observed, arrive with fixed ideas about sectors, roles, or salary benchmarks, often shaped by peer pressure or social narratives around success.

To counter this, institutions must rely on sustained mentoring, alumni engagement, and regular interaction with industry professionals. Such engagements expose students to the realities of career progression, role-fit, and the trade-offs professionals navigate at different stages of their careers.

“The aim is not to dampen ambition,” she said, “but to help students recalibrate it—towards long-term resilience rather than short-term outcomes.”

A broader definition of success

For Indian students navigating one of the most consequential decisions of their lives, Dr. Banerjee’s message is clear: success cannot be reduced to the first salary slip. In an era of uncertainty, adaptability, continuous learning, and ethical leadership matter far more than initial compensation figures.

As management education itself shifts—from functional expertise to developing responsible, analytically confident leaders—students must also evolve in how they evaluate value and success.

The real return on a management degree, Dr. Banerjee suggested, lies not just in the job one gets on graduation day, but in the ability to stay relevant, make informed decisions, and build a sustainable career over time.