Have you completed (or pursuing) your schooling from Commerce?
Are you wondering about Career Choices for Commerce Students after 12th?
Most people tell you that CA/CS is the only Career Choice for you?
Contrary to popular belief, Commerce offers extensive choices of careers to students. Some popular and highly valued choices are presented here for your reference.
Commerce & Economics is the core of any industry or business. There are all kind of Careers available from entry level to top level. If you take a focused approach towards Career immediately after Class XII, you are bound to have enormous growth.
B.Com. (Plain)
This is the most popular course that maximum students pursue after completing their 12th commerce. It is a general degree course that continues for a period of 3 years. The level of difficulty under B Com is not very high. Admission to top colleges is highly competitive. Students can easily get admission to many colleges. Under this, students get to study subjects like Economics, Marketing, Corporate Accounting, Law, Business Environment etc.
B.Com. (Hons.)
This is similar to B.Com but in an extensive form with specialisation in a particular subject or field like Accountancy, Management, Economics, etc. The industry demand for B.com (Honours) is somewhat better than plain B.com. The admission criteria and eligibility conditions might be similar for both. These may slightly vary for different universities/colleges. The subjects are also quite similar, the
major difference being that you will get to do in depth analysis while studying B.Com (Hons).
BBA / Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS)
This is a 3 year Business administration course helping to build a base in core business disciplines. You get to explore different functional areas of a business environment. So, if you are interested in getting an exposure to the various business aspects and get a hold of the concepts of business administration, this course might be your choice. In addition to academic learning, if you pursue BBA from a good University, you get well versed with business insights and some real world business skills.
BA (Economics):
This is yet another option for commerce students to pursue after their higher secondary education. You will get to experience practical knowledge on various economic concepts, economic policies, analytical methods and programs etc. If you are keenly interested in economics and want to gain specialisation about the Economic Framework, Agricultural Economics, Macro Economics, Indian Economics, International Trade, etc this might suit you. Further, if you want to prepare for Indian Administrative Services or IAS, having an economics background shall be an added advantage for you. A very important fact is some best Economics institutes/courses require you to have Maths till 12th.
Actuarial Science
Actuarial Science is a field dealing with the analysis of risk across various fields, such as insurance, business, finance, and healthcare. Professionals in this field (called Actuaries), employ mathematical equations, statistics, and financial theories to determine risk and uncertainty associated with various future events that can impact business. To this end, they collect statistical data, conduct analysis, and design and implement numerous business strategies. It is one of the emerging career options and is extremely lucrative on the monetary front. However, it is also a relatively tough academic cycle. It can be an excellent career option if you enjoy numbers, statistics, and data analysis.
Statistics
Statistics is a field involved in the interpretation, analysis, and representation of numerical data. Statisticians collect and analyse data to solve various problems and make recommendations in organizations, both in the public and private sector. Statisticians conduct data collection, organize data, use various statistical tools and techniques to analyse the data, base conclusions and inferences on the data, and further make recommendations to stakeholders and policymakers based on the results. This is a challenging, yet rewarding, career with flexibility of work opportunities and possibilities to work across various sectors.
Professional Courses/Certifications available for Commerce Students
Chartered Accountancy (CA):
This is the best professional course for building a successful career in commerce. Becoming a Chartered Accountant opens various doors to exciting career opportunities in diversified sectors. You can act as a Tax Consultant, an auditor, an advisor, a financial officer and so. This entirely depends upon whether you go in your own independent practice or you settle for a corporate job.
No doubt the esteemed profession of CA requires lot of hard work and sincere efforts . This professional course is provided by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). The theoretical knowledge along with the practical training (article-ship) helps to build a good name and respectable position for yourself.
CS (Company Secretary)
The students who have interest in Law and theoretical subjects can opt for CS as a career option after class 12 commerce. It is also considered as a professional level course which is conducted by The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). This course involves different levels like that of CA. By undergoing this course, students understand the functioning and legal compliance relating to companies.
Cost and Management Accountant (CMA, earlier CWA)
It is a professional level course conducted by The Institute of Cost Accountants of India. The course is divided into different levels same as CA and CS. Under this students need to study and gain knowledge relating to Costing, Planning, Controlling and different aspects related to Management Accounting.
Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
After 12th commerce LLB is one of the good options which has great scope of work for all the students. The course is governed by The Bar Council of India (BCI). Students after the completion of course avail the degree as a lawyer or advocate. This course involves the study of subjects like Constitutional Laws, Property Laws, Banking Laws, etc. LLB is available as an integrated program choice with BCom, BBA, BA, etc.
CFP (Certified Financial Planner)
All the students who have an interest in areas like Personal finance, wealth management, insurance planning, and mutual fund investing etc can pursue this course. This course is governed and conducted by Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB).
Other popular certifications:
CSB (Certified Stock Broker) www.nism.ac.in/
CIA (Certified Investment Analyst) www.iiaindia.org/
CFA (Certified Finance Analyst) www.cfainstitute.org
NSE Certifications www.nseindia.com
BSE Certifications www.bsebti.com
About Author
Anurag is a Certified Career Counselor and Coach. He is an Engineer & MBA with 20+ years experience in Education Industry. All of knowledge that you find here stems from first hand experience of coaching thousands of successful students. He has been passionately working in the field of career counseling since 2019.