What are the career options after 10th standard?
If you are a class 10th student reading this article, then at the outset you can mark my words that you are going to make it big in life. If at this stage such a question arises in your mind, it means you are career conscious and very serious in life. And if you are an 8th or 9th class student, then it is better still! Bravo, I am impressed. You guys are already a step closer to becoming successful in life. This is because many students wait a long time before thinking about what to pursue or what to become. And finally when they find out their interest areas or the available options, it is already too late. But such is not going to be the case with you. You are already different and stand ahead of others in the race by just being here. Now what you need to do is to understand what do you like to study, and research different options which are available to take up as career after pursuing the course of your choice. I hope you will find the following part of the article informative and one step closer to what you want to do in your professional life in the future.
Prepare yourself to understand that studying is to achieve a certain goal
First and foremost, make yourself realize that it is never too early to start planning for your future. Now a days the best colleges require a cut off of 98% marks. The competition is huge and no stream is left untouched. Before you actually go out and face the competition, you have to mentally be prepared about it. And the best time is now. You must know that you are not going to appear for 10th boards just because everyone else seems to be doing that, but because that is ultimately going to bring you one step closer to your target.
Pay attention to all the subjects that your teachers are taking up in the class. Understand what interests you the most i.e. which is the subject in which your flair lies. Discuss it with the peer group. Understand what subjects do your friends like, or what subjects do the toppers of your class like. Ask them questions regarding whether they have thought about what subjects to choose after class 10th or what they want to do in life. Ask such questions from teachers. It is very beneficial to ask question from your subject teachers because they are the ones who would have assessed you till now, and would know your strength and weakness areas. They would be able to guide you on what subjects to take and why. Similarly, you can also spend some time online and take career assessment tests. These would also give you a fair idea of what career options will sit you based on your aptitude and interests.
Selecting the Right Stream
If you have already finished your class 10th and are awaiting results then it is the right time to think about the career options. This will help you decide which course to choose. Many students just take up any stream without a proper career path in mind. It can be because of a number of reasons like they might think that it is too early to worry about a career, or because they want to stick with their friends, or they take up a particular stream under parental pressure or just because they think that it is the easiest. But we do not want you to do such mistakes.
At this stage it is very important for a student to understand the difference between a job and a career. Many students study to get a job. It is not entirely their fault, as their parents also usually make this mistake in guiding them. While it is important to make money and get settled, but career means much more than that. It is a continuous growth path on your career chart which leads you to where you ultimately want to be. Thus for a right career path, self-analysing is very important. So ask yourself, where do you see yourself after 10 years from now? Your answer may be “I see myself as a doctor 10 years from now”. In that case you would need to take up the science stream. Where you would know about which stream to take in this case, you might like to consider whether you really like studying science or biology, or not. If that doesn’t interest you, then this profession is not for you. Any profession requires your full commitment and dedication. And unless you it really interesting, you cannot give your best in it. If you have any doubts in your mind, you can visit a professional career counsellor at this stage. I am stressing on this stage because in later classes it will not be feasible to change streams if you would not like studying what’s on your plate. Also, apart from being doctor, engineer, and teacher etc., there are thousands of career option available these days and you should have a good knowledge about it. Discuss about it and plan in advance. It will give you an edge above the competition. For instance if we again take the example of medicine as profession, then you would want to take coaching classes to help crack the entrance examination. And these would have to start as soon as you enter class 11th. This is because the entrance course would comprise of both class 11th and class 12th subjects. And if not joined earlier, you might face tough times ahead with both board examinations and entrance examinations falling almost at the same time.
We have talked about the science stream here just as an example. There are commerce and Arts streams also which give a plethora of career opportunities. It is just not true that the one who choses science becomes an engineer or doctor, the one going for commerce becomes a banker and the one pursuing arts is doing so just because he or she could not get any other streams. I have seen many people hailing from arts background who have been doing better than many a science and commerce graduates. Never join any course on the basis of going for traditional career only because someone convinced you to do so. Following is a snippet of what the different stream subjects comprise of. This might give you an idea about what is in store for you if you take up a particular stream.
Science: If you are interested in taking up science, then Physics and Chemistry will be your compulsory subjects. There will be an option of PCB, which is Physics, Chemistry and Biology or PCM, which is Physics, Chemistry and Maths. If you are a medical aspirant, then you must choose the prior whereas if you are interested in pursuing engineering, you should take the latter. Since you would have to study compulsory 5 subjects, then you will have a language subject, mostly English. The other subject can be physical education, computer science or a second language like Hindi, which may differ from school to school. There is also an option of pure science which is PCMB i.e. Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology, which is available in CBSE board but the state boards do not offer it. You can opt for it if you are still unsure about what to do after 12th and want to study first and then decide. But this stream calls for a lot of hard work and sincerity as all the four subjects require a lot of attention and time. And a little negligence in any of these will bring your aggregate score down.
Commerce: Where science stream might sound familiar to you since you have been studying science as a subject from primary school, commerce might baffle a few students. Basically commerce is for those who like to play with the numbers. If you are the once who would want to make a mark in the business and financial world, then this is for you. If you want to become an entrepreneur or would want to join the family business, then you are at the right path. Normally the cut off marks for commerce remains below science in all the schools but the situation reverses at the graduation level. So if you a 60% holder and are looking forward to the commerce stream, you should work hard in 11th and 12th so that you can get admission in a top notch college. The subjects you will have to study would be: Accounting, Business Studies, Economics and Maths, along with English. There might or might not be an optional subject in lieu of maths, but it is better to take up maths. This is because you will study statistics in maths which will be very beneficial for you for future commerce courses.
Arts: In arts the options are much more than what is available in the science and commerce streams. Gone are the days when arts students were considered not up to the mark. Now many students willingly take up arts and prepare for civil service exams. The subjects covered in Arts are history, geography and political science which are basics and other options can be psychology, economics, physical education, or a second language like Hindi, apart from English as a compulsory language.
Thus, after 10th the options are umpteen, but what is important is that you need to understand what you interest areas are!