“They may study humanities subjects during their undergraduate, but they shouldn’t, given that they were science students (PCM) in high school.”
“Why will you leave science and switch to commerce or humanities?”
If you are someone who is troubled by such cynical questions and comments, you should know that it is absolutely alright to quit science! Yes, switching from science to another academic stream is not a sin. Having studied science and mathematics during high school does not mean that one must continue to pursue the disciplines at a higher level. In fact, a plethora of avenues for exploration open up after having studied PCM in high school:
1. Management
If you are interested in learning the concepts of leadership and management, management is the correct line of study for you. BBA/BMS is a course wherein you will learn about the various aspects of effective business management and strategy. This academic training is essential for business managers and aspiring entrepreneurs. Typically, this is a 3 or 4-year course and is open to students from all the academic streams. However, Maths as a subject in high school is an eligibility requirement for some universities.
A few concepts that you will learn about: business strategy, financial accounting, organization behaviour, legal regulatory framework, basic management skills, international finance, marketing, market trends, and competition and entrepreneurship development.
Having earned a BBA/BMS degree, one may explore the following career streams:
- Marketing
- Finance
- Sales
- Operations
- Human Resources
- Strategy
For more information on management, please refer to the following link:
BBA vs. B.Com vs. B.A Economics – Which One Should You Go For?
2. Hotel Management
If you are someone who loves to curate enjoyable, pleasing experiences for others, please consider hotel management as a career choice. Some of the best hotel chains in the country, such as Oberoi, Taj, and ITC, conduct training programmes for students interested in hotel management.
During such training programs, one studies about food and beverage service, front desk operations, housekeeping, marketing, accounting, customer relations, and pretty much everything that goes into the smooth functioning of a hotel! It is a truly holistic and challenging experience.
Post your training, you will be eligible to work in the follows domains:
- Hotel Industry
- Restaurant Industry
- Airline Industry
- Retail Industry
- Culinary Arts
- Customer Relations
3. Design
Design is a career option that is a good fit for students who are innovative and like thinking out of the box. If you are someone who visualizes objects in 2D and 3D, chances are that you will enjoy designing. Some of the best colleges for design include the IITs, NID, and NIFTs.
The concepts that you will be learning in a design course are the following: fundamentals of arts and design, image representation and transformation–II, typography, world of images and objects, problem identification and problem analysis, design and human evolution, knowledge organization and communication, and applied science for designers.
Some popular fields in design that are open to students from all academic streams are:
- Product design
- Graphic design
- UX and UI design
- Fashion design
- Textile Design
- Accessory design
- Interior design
- Exhibition/Space design
4. Law
If you are someone who likes to collate and work with information while embracing the principles of critical thinking, then law is a career option that you should explore. There are various integrated degrees under the sphere of legal studies:
- B.A. LL.B.
- B.Sc. LL.B
- BBA LLB,
- B.Com LL.B
Each of the above is a 5 year course wherein you will study modules within science, commerce or arts based on the degree you pursue. The concepts that will be taught in law are: customary laws, freedom of the press, contracts, crimes, privacy laws, ethics, law of torts, consumer protection, poverty and development, legal writing and research, tax law, and gender and laws.
The various areas in which you may seek employment are the following:
- Corporate law
- Litigation
- Judiciary
- Legal consultancy
- Legal journalism
5. Languages
Are you an avid reader and writer? If you are, then you may enjoy a career in languages.
Studying English, Hindi or any other regional Indian language opens the following doors for you :
- Journalism
- Editing
- Content writing
- Copywriting
- Scriptwriting
- Teaching
- Blogging
Studying foreign languages opens the following career options for you:
- Diplomatic services
- Tourism
- Entertainment
- International organizations
- Publishing
- Translating
- Interpreting
- Translation
- Teaching
6. Mass Communication and Journalism
Do you have a flair for public speaking? Do you wish to communicate with a large number of people? If yes, then mass communication and journalism might be intriguing and lucrative career options for yourself. Be it television, print media or digital media, content is something that is required in all of these domains.
A BJMC (Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication) degree entails the following: basics of communication, writing for media, introduction to journalism (reporting, writing & editing), socio-economic & political case studies, cultural studies, media laws & ethics, basics of camera, lights & sound, media management, advertising, public relations, national & international affairs, and event management.
Post the completion of your degree, you may explore the following career choices:
- News reporting
- Print journalism
- Content writing
- Food blogging
- YouTube blogging (Vlog)
- Event management
- Advertising
- Public relations
7. Social Sciences
Social sciences are the sciences that primarily investigate human society and the interpersonal relationships between its members. You may pursue either a B.A. in the social sciences or a B.A. (Hons.), the latter being a more intensive program. Some of the fields within popular social sciences are the following:
- Economics: Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Economy, State and Society, Indian Economic Development, Public Economics, Economics of Health and Education, Political Economy, Money, and Financial Markets, Econometrics etc.
- History: Social Formations and Cultural Patterns, History of India, World History, Civil War, History of Africa, Gender in History, History of Modern China, Cultural Diversity in India, Perspectives on Environmental History, Religion and Religiosity, Understanding Heritage, Archives and Museums, Indian Art and Architecture, Understanding Popular Culture, etc.
- Geography: Disaster Management, Cartography (study of maps), Human Geography (involving human, economics, transportation etc), Climatology, Population Studies, Urbanization, Agriculture and Food Security, Biogeography and Biodiversity, Indian Geography, World Geography, Sustainable Resource Development, etc.
- Political Science: Political Theory Paper, Forms of Governance, Political Processes, Theories of International Relations and World History, Global Politics, Development Process, and Social Movements, Dilemmas in Politics, Public Policy, Contemporary Political Economy, State Institutions and Civil Society Organisations etc.
- Sociology: Caste, Class, Tribes, Village, Kinship, Religion, Gender as a Social Construct–Sex, Gender, Sexuality, Gender differences and inequalities, Culture, Industrial Society, Environment and society.
- Psychology: Emotion, Memory, Group dynamics, Social Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Organizational Behaviour, Counselling Techniques, Psychological Assessments, Human Perception, Learning, Aggression and Violence, Self and Personality, Brain and Nervous system, Communication etc.
Some career options after studying social sciences are as follows:
- Civil services
- Public policy
- Social work
- Climate change
- Development studies
- Gender studies
- International relations
- Clinical psychology
- Counselling psychology
- Education and training
Conclusion
You can be rest assured that there exists a multitude of exciting opportunities for yourself, given that you strive to follow your passion and sincerely work toward achieving your goals. To quote a seer, “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
