‘Chose skills over another degree’: Zepto business analyst shares why she skipped MBA plans | Exclusive

Amidst high competition, some students have started preferring shorter courses that focus on practical skills or help them get jobs faster. These students prefer practical learning and work experience to prepare for real jobs. 

Nikita Singh also made a similar choice. Despite having the opportunity to pursue an MBA, the Hansraj College Zoology graduate decided to move into data and business analytics instead. She now works as a business analyst at Zepto.

Why did Nikita Singh walk away from MBA?

Speaking to Financial Express, Nikita said the decision was emotionally difficult and took days of serious reflection. She had already spent two years away from academics and did not want to pursue another degree without complete clarity about her future goals.

She shared that peer pressure initially pushed her toward the MBA path. But as the admission date approached, she began questioning whether she truly wanted it for herself. “I kept asking myself if this was truly what I wanted, or if I was just chasing an MBA because of peer pressure,” she said.

The biggest question for her was not only about money, but also about time. She started viewing two years as a valuable asset that could go into either classroom learning or real industry exposure. At that stage, she still did not know whether she wanted to build a career in marketing, HR, operations, or analytics. Spending around Rs 20–25 lakh on an MBA without knowing exactly what she wanted to do felt risky to Nikita. 

So, instead of going for an MBA immediately, she decided to first learn practical skills and get real work experience. She joined Newton School’s Data Analysis and AI program to become job-ready. Nikita said she wanted to understand how companies work before deciding on higher studies in the future.

Her interest in analytics started while helping her father in his real estate business. She started studying customer data and business trends to understand what helped the business earn more profit and improve sales. Slowly, she became interested in analytics and business data.

Nikita’s Zoology degree had already exposed her to the basics of machine learning through a course called “Machine Learning for Zoology.” During the course, she learned tools such as Python, Pandas, and NumPy. She soon realised that business analytics and scientific research shared many similarities. “Research teaches you how to observe patterns carefully, stay detail-oriented, and form logical conclusions from data,” she said.

At Newton School, she worked on projects involving Excel, SQL, Power BI, and Python. She said the projects focused on real business problems instead of theoretical exercises. The training helped Nikita understand how companies use data in everyday business decisions. Along with theory, she also worked on real projects and learned practical skills used in companies.

Coming from a non-technical background, learning coding was difficult for her in the beginning. She found SQL and Python hard at first and needed time to understand coding concepts and logic. 

To improve her skills, she practised regularly and attended mentorship and doubt-solving sessions. After nearly five months of focused learning and training, she became ready for interviews and started applying for jobs.

How did Nikita land a role at Zepto?

Nikita told Financial Express that she received a referral from one of her SQL instructors at Newton School, who worked at Zepto and believed she would fit the company’s fast-moving environment. She said recruiters focused more on her ability to solve business problems than on her academic background. 

“Most interviews involved case studies, SQL rounds, and stakeholder-based problem-solving discussions,” she told Financial Express. “Once I demonstrated the skills, my educational background became less important,” she added. 

Her role at Zepto involves working across teams such as Marketing, Growth, Product, and Inventory. A major part of her work focuses on Zepto Cafe, where she analyses business metrics and profitability trends.

In Zepto, she studies weighted average cost data to understand why daily cost changes happen due to raw material pricing, taxes, or operational shifts. She also tracks campaign performance, retention metrics, and product-level business trends using SQL and analytics tools.

Despite working alongside graduates from IITs and NITs, Nikita said she never allowed her non-technical background to become a limitation. “In my team at Zepto, most people came from IITs or NITs, while I came from a Zoology background at Hansraj College,” she said. “It could have been intimidating, but I focused on improving my skills consistently,” she added. 

The biggest risk, according to her, was uncertainty. Walking away from a respected MBA opportunity without any guarantee of success felt frightening at times. “There was always that fear of whether companies would take me seriously without an MBA or engineering degree,” she said.

But her confidence grew after joining the company. Around six months into her role, she received Zepto’s “Ace of the Month” award, a moment she describes as deeply validating.

Nikita said she does not regret her decision. She still plans to pursue an MBA in the future. But she wants to do it with a clearer understanding of her career goals and professional direction.

Nikita says students should not fear unconventional career choices if they genuinely align with their interests and strengths. “At the end of the day, companies care about whether you can solve problems, think logically, and contribute to growth,” she said. “Stay confident, stay curious, and never stop learning,” she added. 

Who is Nikita Singh?

Nikita Singh currently works as a business analyst at Zepto in Bengaluru. She joined Zepto in April 2025. Nikita has also worked as a real estate analyst at Asadeep Properties in Faridabad before joining Zepto.

Nikita pursued her BSc in Zoology from Hansraj College between 2018 and 2021. She studied at DAV Public School before college.