Login Register
Follow Us

Options for non-med students

Q.Our son is studying in Class XII (non-medical stream). I want to know what career paths other than engineering are open to him.

Show comments

Pervin Malhotra
email your queries to careers@tribunemail.com 

Q.Our son is studying in Class XII (non-medical stream). I want to know what career paths other than engineering are open to him. Please suggest some courses he can opt for. — Pooja Bhasin

A.For those studying Science (non-medical) the sheer number of career options open to them is incredible.

Aside from engineering, their combination of subjects (physics, chemistry, maths, economics or computers) make them eligible for courses across in the sciences, commerce, finance and management. Moreover, you are also free to pursue just about any other profession open to the humanities and arts – a truly mind-boggling choice of nearly 2000-plus career options 

A brief list of careers in various areas include the armed forces (all 3 branches), pilot, architecture, courses in pure, physical & applied sciences; computers and IT, maths and statistics, actuarial science, law, hotel management, mass communication, commerce & management (BBA, BCom, etc), economics, CA / CS / CWA and even courses in designing, if he so chooses.

Now is the ideal opportunity for you and your son to together explore different careers, their academic requirements and future prospects.

Course selection is the first of many critical career-related decisions that you will make. 

A career choice must be made after factoring in an individual’s unique combination of interests, personality, and abilities (hard and soft skills). Do take a reliable aptitude/personality test to help identify the fields that are most suited for your son. I have an excellent one which you could take if you wish. Just send a blank email to testcaring@gmail.com and I’ll mail you the details.

Career path after BCom

Q.What are my career options if I pursue MCom instead of MBA after completing BCom? — Kunal Jain

A. While an MBA is a professional, job-oriented PG programme, a master ‘s degree in commerce or MCom is an academic and theoretical in its content and approach. 

After completing your MCom, the main avenues open to you those in Teaching, Accounting & Audit, Finance, and Banking. 

By adding a BEd to your MCom you are eligible to teach at the Plus II level. Once you clear the NET exam, you can even teach in Colleges and Universities.

MCom graduates can find suitable employment in financial research and analysis, taxation, stock market, insurance & financial planning and advisory, banking, financial services sales/ executives with all kinds of product and service providers. Also, jobs in accounting, financial processing and documentation as well as in KPOs. You can sit for general competitive entrance exams such as the Civil Services, State Selection Commission of each state. Your MCom qualification also allows you to appear for the selection exams of the Income Tax, Customs and Excise Departments, Comptroller & Auditor General, Bank Probationary Officers.

Designing is a mainline career

Q.I’m mid-way through my graduation pursuing a BSc course, and am very clear that I don’t wish to pursue it further. I would like to go for a course in fashion designing. Would this be a correct decision? How should I decide? — Shagun Kharbanda

A.Design in general, and fashion design in particular, is a well-established mainline career today. But the fancy salaries and glitzy photos we see on the Instagram and Facebook newsfeeds are only for the handful of genuinely talented designers graduating from the premier fashion schools. That too, after years of sweat and hard work. For the rest, establishing a toehold in the industry is no cakewalk. 

Moreover, carving a successful career in any of the many design-related fields demands the right mix of skills and talents. You must possess good creative sense and visualisation, be good with colours and design, be able to sketch/draw/paint reasonably well and be good with your hands. If you fit the bill, then why just fashion design, even other design-related careers such as textile design; knitwear design; accessory and jewellery design as also footwear design. Other creative fields that you could consider are visual merchandising, graphic design, product design, and architecture and interior design.

However, if your creative skills are not that heightened, but you would still desire a career in a creative field, then check out courses such as fashion merchandising, fashion styling, fashion management or even fashion communication. If you aren’t quite sure about pursuing a course in any of these fields straight away, then take up short-term diplomas courses in some of these areas. 

Show comments
Show comments

Top News

Most Read In 24 Hours