Should I leave a 29 LPA tech job to pursue an MBA at SPJIMR or wait for IIM Lucknow?

The perspectives we've gathered on this decision are genuinely conflicting — and that's actually useful, because it means the right answer depends heavily on what you're optimizing for.

Let's start with the financial reality, because the numbers matter here. The opportunity cost calculation we've seen experienced professionals lay out is stark: two years of lost salary at your current package comes to roughly ₹58 lakhs, add MBA fees of ₹27 lakhs, and you're looking at ₹85 lakhs in total cost — just to potentially land a ₹30 LPA post-MBA role, with no guaranteed outcome. From what we've tracked across similar profiles in the 26–35 LPA range, a meaningful number of people who chose to stay in tech report no regrets, citing better long-term financial compounding within the industry itself.

That said, the counter-case is worth taking seriously. From IIM-A alumni perspectives we've encountered, the regret calculus often shifts when you factor in intangible outcomes — leadership exposure, structured thinking, and access to networks that simply don't form organically in tech careers. Separately, from professionals who've transitioned through MBA into roles at firms like Goldman Sachs, one consistent observation is that certain paths — MBB consulting being the clearest example — remain genuinely difficult to access without the degree, regardless of your current CTC.

On SPJIMR specifically: from SPJIMR '26 alumni perspectives, the top 50% of the batch earned ₹40 LPA, and satisfaction levels were broadly positive — though candidly, around 10–15% of that cohort felt the outcomes didn't meet expectations. That's a number worth sitting with.

In our experience, the career-goal filter is where this decision actually gets resolved. If your ambition is to move from tech into consulting, finance, or product management, an MBA at an IIM-tier institution becomes defensible. If you're planning to stay within tech, most evidence points toward skipping a full-time MBA — or revisiting executive options later in your career. The broader view we've seen from senior professionals is also worth noting: with batch sizes growing and network density thinning, the MBA credential is gradually losing some of its legacy edge, particularly outside the top tier.

For a profile earning 29 LPA, the consensus that emerges is clear on one thing: only IIM A, B, or C — or international programs like INSEAD or LBS — offer a compelling enough ROI to justify the full cost. SPJIMR, while a strong program, sits in a zone of uncertain return at your current salary level.

A practical option that often gets overlooked: check whether your current employer sponsors executive MBAs. That path preserves your income, adds credentials, and defers the financial risk to a point where you have more clarity on what you actually want.

Our read on the wait-versus-accept question: hold for IIM Lucknow results. If that doesn't come through, the stronger move is likely to stay the course in tech and revisit executive MBA options in five to seven years, when both your seniority and your clarity about what you want from an MBA will be meaningfully higher.