The threshold of Class 12 is the most crucial stage in a student’s life. With a plethora of career choices across various streams, more often than not it’s a daunting task for the young minds to decide the best option. Specialisations, emerging fields of study, popular courses, vocational studies – yes, choices are aplenty but the aspirant needs to explore the possibilities from the perspective of individual subject interest, availability of resources and future scope.
The choice is vital since it’s the first step of building a career and the chosen path would define the course of life. The student must have complete understanding about the subjects, personal capabilities and prospects of growth in the chosen area. Otherwise, time could get wasted in abrupt career changes resulting in loss of the most productive years of life.
The general options open to students of Science, Commerce and Art stream is to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in their respective streams. A Bachelor’s degree from any of the recognised universities serves as a ticket to pursue higher studies for students having purely academic orientation. Students with conventional career choices in all three streams can opt to prepare for different types of entrance exams:
| Science | Commerce | Arts |
|---|---|---|
| JEE Main and Advanced (for Engineering) | ICSI, ICAI, ICWAI | CLAT, LSAT, AILET (for Law) |
| NEET UG, AIIMS, MBBS (for Medical) | - | NID, NIFT (Design Entrance) |
| NEST, JEST, IIT JAM | - | NCHMCT JEE (for Hospitality) |
| - | - | IIMC Entrance, JMI Entrance, XIC-OET (for Mass Communications) |
| - | - | PUBDET, DUET, JNUEE (for Humanities) |
Some students are experimental, adventurous and seek to explore domains that are different from their chosen stream. One would simply be spoilt for choice in such a case. There is advertising, creative writing, photography, filmmaking, linguistics, paramedics, graphic designing, Animation, Event management, beauty and fitness, Physiotherapy, Yogic Science, environmental studies, and many more. All of these courses are unique and have an ever-widening scope in the contemporary job market.
Out of a multitude of business sectors, Banking, Information Technology, Hospitality, Medical, Health and Fitness, Engineering and Management are the top draws in the category of best career choices.
Choices in the Commerce stream
After 12th, students of Commerce stream can choose the lucrative option of pursuing Chartered Accountancy or Company secretary. With proficiency in handling financial nitty-gritty, matters of taxation, and auditing, it can be one of the best choices because of its significance across all business sectors. Similarly, the Company Secretary course can sharpen your skill in legal matters of the corporate sector. A combination of both can lend the tag of a most sought-after finance professional in no time. Students can alternatively choose the B.Com, B.Com (H), Economics (H), etc, and follow it up with a Post-graduate Management Degree or Diploma in different management streams from reputed universities for a flourishing career as an Investment Banker, HR Manager, Brand Manager, Marketing Manager, etc. One can also attempt the MAT for admission in the top ranking IIMs to pursue MBA. Doing MBA from IIM can expect a yearly CTC of more than 12-15 lakhs alongside the working exposure with the top MNCs.
Choices in the Science stream
For students of Science with PCM subjects, a course in Engineering would be the best choice. The ever-increasing number of students appearing in the Joint Entrance Exams every year is a testimony of its popularity. Civil, Computer science, Petrochemicals, Aviation, Biotechnology among many others have emerged as the most chosen options among students in recent times. These courses would not only be intellectually satisfying but are also monetarily rewarding for the aspirants. Students with PCB combination has a wide range of options to choose from in the Medical, Health and Fitness sector. Students can have fulfilling careers in the field of medicine, microbiology, genetics, physiotherapy, and nutrition. It could be the best choice for those who have a curious head to research and a heart to serve the community.
Choices in the Arts stream
The influx of students in the Arts stream has increased over the years clearly because of its wide array of career choices on offer. Students with a creative bent of mind can choose from courses in mass communication, journalism, filmmaking, photography, editing, creative writing, advertising, fashion designing, animation, graphic designing, interior designing, music, painting, and many more. Psychology, Sociology, linguistics, history, foreign languages are also quite in demand nowadays and can turn out to be a highly rewarding career choice. Most of the institutions offering these courses have self-devised entrance exams for admission while for others the scores of the pan-Indian entrance exams are considered during admission. Enrolment in any of these chosen courses helps to widen the horizons of thoughts and vision and imparts the necessary skill and expertise to realize your long-cherished dreams. Since this is a product-oriented sector, one has to struggle in the initial stages to create recognition but in the long-run has very high pay-outs compared to other streams.
However much the choices are, consideration of these few key pointers could prove to be immensely beneficial for a student of 12th to make the right choice:
- Consider your interest and passion for a subject/stream
- Cultivate a thorough understanding of the course paraphernalia and its execution
- Seek as much information and guidance as possible from seniors and peers in the chosen stream, parents, counsellors, and the internet
- Have absolute clarity about the prospects of the chosen course in terms of economic and psychological or intellectual fulfilment
Read also : Career Guide for Application Software: Jobs, Salary, Eligibility
