When Sanjay Patil (MBA, MSMA and Grad Certificate in BA ‘17) arrived at Bentley University in 2015, he wasn’t here for just any graduate degree.
He came to Bentley to pursue his second and third graduate degrees along with a grad certification.
“I have always been keen on gaining knowledge; education is like a craving and I have immense respect for everything I learn,” he explains. Though he already has an MBA in Finance from India, he was curious about marketing and wanted to explore the subject while experiencing a new culture.
That yearning for knowledge led Patil to pursue a dual-degree at Bentley: an MBA in Marketing and a Master of Science in Marketing Analytics.
Adding an Analytical Approach
Patil is part of Bentley’s MBA program, which promotes this type of dual-degree, meant for students who want to be effective leaders in a tech-centric economy.
This fusion of business administration and analysis was a major draw for Patil, who says it has offered him a chance to develop a more “holistic profile” of both technical and soft skills.
It is also evident in his graduate classes. For example, as part of the MS in Marketing Analytics, he has already taken Intermediate Statistical Model Building and Customer Data Analysis. He then focuses on leadership and management through his MBA in Marketing courses, with offerings such as International Marketing, Consumer and Buyer Behavior, and Enhancing Creativity.
Credits from some classes apply to both degrees, making it possible for him to complete two more degrees in just two years.
Outside the Classroom
Patil’s classwork has already begun to pay off in the workforce. He completed an internship in Production Management at Red Hat over the summer, where Bentley’s emphasis on group work and class discussions made him stand out.
He says that “being accustomed to group dynamics and having the ability to speak up confidently in a group” had prepared him for the realities of a job. “It sounds very basic, but it makes a huge difference when done in a professional set-up.”
The group work Patil experienced was a result of Bentley’s small class size and was a major reason why he chose Bentley.
One of his goals in entering the graduate program was to “expose [him]self to a different culture, of education, and of society.” Going to school in America allowed him to learn in a new educational culture; his classmates showed him a new societal culture.
With classmates hailing from all over the globe, Patil has the chance to “gain and share knowledge with a diverse group.” And in addition to working with these students every day in class, he has also gotten to know them as President of the Graduate Student Association (GSA).
Two New Degrees and a Growing Industry
Now that his graduation is approaching, Patil is planning to return to the professional setting with two new degrees in hand.
His drive to learn won’t diminish once he’s out of the traditional classroom setting, however. Though he originally only planned on pursuing an MBA in Marketing, he added the MS in Marketing Analytics because of the opportunities data presents.
“In the end, data is invaluable no matter where it is,” he explains. With a degree in Marketing Analytics, Patil can apply his expertise to any field, allowing him the flexibility to explore.
“Analytics can never function on its own – I love it that we have to understand the field in which we are, to be able to make sense of all the advanced tools,” he says.
Another big challenge he predicts he’ll face on the job is seeking balance. Analysts must coordinate forces which are often at odds with one another, he explains: the balance of accuracy and feasibility (in both time and money) and considering the “dynamism of the industry” at the same time keeping up with the daily tasks that need to be completed.
The rewards of the analytics industry, however, make this second and third degree worth it for Patil. He sees the speed at which demand for marketing and data analytics is growing, and is excited to enter the field and begin making meaningful contributions to businesses.