A lot of people today question whether an MBA is still worth the money and time, especially when YouTube, AI tools and podcasts can teach almost everything for free. But for some professionals, the classroom experience still carries a very different weight. One such example comes from an ex-Oracle Bengaluru employee who later became a founder. Looking back at his journey, he says the MBA didn’t just improve his salary; it completely redirected his career path and eventually helped him become an entrepreneur.Ex-Oracle Bengaluru employee Pradeep Kannan, now the founder of The Falooda Shop, recently took to X to share how his MBA played a defining role in his journey from a corporate job to entrepreneurship.'I would not have become an entrepreneur without my MBA'Pradeep Kannan explained that his MBA was the turning point in his professional life. He said that if he had not pursued the degree, he does not believe he would have ever become an entrepreneur.Reflecting on his early days, he shared that when he started his MBA in 2010, he had “no business acumen” and came from a tier 3 town in South India. For him, the MBA was the first structured exposure to how businesses actually operate. He described it as a foundation that he could not have built anywhere else, especially at that stage of his life.You Might Also Like:From Rs 25,000 salary to Rs 1 lakh a monthOne of the biggest changes he highlighted was his career growth after completing his MBA. He said his salary increased from Rs 25,000 per month to around Rs 1 lakh per month, marking a significant shift in both opportunity and confidence.For him, this jump was not just financial. It also reflected the broader transformation in how he understood business, decision-making and long-term career planning.— Pradeepkannanj (@Pradeepkannanj) Why he still values his MBA in the age of AIKannan also made an interesting comparison between his time and the present. He noted that today, people can learn almost everything online. According to him, AI can teach strategy, YouTube can teach finance, and podcasts can teach marketing. But he pointed out that in 2010, such resources were not easily accessible or widespread.That gap, he said, is what made formal education more important in his case.You Might Also Like:'It changed the direction of my life'He acknowledged that for many people, an MBA may feel like just another degree. But for him, it carried a very different meaning. He described it as a life-changing experience that shaped not just his career, but also his mindset.Looking back, he said the MBA ultimately “changed the direction of my life,” helping him move from a corporate role at Oracle to building his own venture, The Falooda Shop.